Once in awhile I find something that piques my interest that is different from the usual WUWT fare. This was one of those. I like this fellows blog because 1) I like hot peppers 2) I enjoyed his writing style 3) Given all the hot talk on climate lately, this seemed like a good topic to cool everybody off with – Anthony
Hot Peppers – Why Are They Hot?
From a Blog around the clock by Coturnix
Some plants do not want to get eaten. They may grow in places difficult to approach, they may look unappetizing, or they may evolve vile smells. Some have a fuzzy, hairy or sticky surface, others evolve thorns. Animals need to eat those plants to survive and plants need not be eaten by animals to survive, so a co-evolutionary arms-race leads to ever more bizzare adaptations by plants to deter the animals and ever more ingenious adaptations by animals to get around the deterrents.One of the most efficient ways for a plant to deter a herbivore is to divert one of its existing biochemical pathways to synthetise a novel chemical – something that will give the plant bad taste, induce vomiting or even pain or may be toxic enough to kill the animal.
But there are other kinds of co-evolution between plants and herbivores. Some plants need to have a part eaten – usually the seed – so they can propagate themselves. So, they evolved fruits. The seeds are enveloped in meaty, juicy, tasty packages of pure energy. Those fruits often evolve a sweet smell that can be detected from a distance. And the fruits are often advertised with bright colors – red, orange, yellow, green or purple: “Here I am! Here I am! Please eat me!”
So, the hot peppers are a real evolutionary conundrum. On one hand, they are boldly colored and sweet-smelling fruits – obvious sign of advertising to herbivores. On the other hand, once bitten into, they are far too hot and spicy to be a pleasant experience to the animal. So, what gives?
Back in 1960s, Dan Johnson had an interesting proposal he dubbed “directed deterrence” which suggested that some plants may make choices as to exactly which herbivores to attract and which to deter. Hot peppers are prime candidates for such a phenomenon. What is hot in peppers is capsaicin, a chemical that elicits a sensation of pain when it bind the vanilloid receptors in the nerve endings (usually inside the mouth) of the trigeminal nerve. As it happens, all mammals have capsaicin receptors, but it was found, relatively recently, that birds do not.
To test that hypothesis, Josh Tewksbury used two variants of hot peppers – one very hot (Capsicum annuum) and the other with a mutation that made it not hot at all (Capsicum chacoense) – and offered both as meals to rodents (packrats and cactus mice) and to birds (curve-billed thrashers).
All species ate the sweet kind about equally. When Josh offered them identically prepared meals made out of the hot stuff, the two rodents refused to eat it while the birds happily munched on it.
The study appeared in 2001 in Nature (pdf) and I saw Josh give a talk about it at that time as he was joining our department to postdoc with Dr.Nick Haddad. While my lab-buddy Chris and I gave him a lot of grief in the Q&A session on his lenient criteria of what constitutes a “hungry animal” (he needed them to be hungry for the feeding tests), still the main conclusions of the study are OK.
More importantly, it really happens in nature. Mammals avoid hot peppers out in Arizona where Josh studied them (and made videos of their behavior), but the birds gorged on peppers. When he analyzed the droppings of rodents and birds fed peppers, he saw that seeds that passed through avian intestinal tracts were fully fertile, while seeds eaten by mammals were chewed, crushed, broken or semi-digested and not fertile at all.
Additionally, the thrashers tend to spend a lot of time on fruiting shrubs of different kinds. While there, they poop. The hot pepper seeds in the droppings germinate right there and this is an ideal shady spot for them to grow.
What a great example of (co)evolutionary adaptations. Next time on this blog, the second Big Question: Why do we like to eat hot peppers?
UPDATE: I’ve added this chart of Pepper “hotness” below, to help you gauge what to eat and what not to eat (or spray). – Anthony
Source: Calbob.com and Wikipedia’s Scoville Scale
As an aside, the trigeminal nerve does not supply taste sensation. Otherwise a good article
They’re just a cruel joke by Australians on the rest of the world.
Just a T-Rex walking by, not that the ground would shake as a result, except in Hollywood.
If you’ve never watched Red Dwarf, and are a fan of British Humour (or even if you’re not), I highly recommend it. The main character, Dave Lister, has Vindaloo for breakfast. In one episode, they accidentally created a ravenous Mutton Vindaloo Beast…
Horseradish. Love the stuff. When I was eight years old, I finally got up the nerve to beg for a spoonful of the stuff. My grandma said no. Several times. I kept begging (it smells so good). Finally my grandpa intervened. He was likely tired of me begging. So he ordered grandma, against her better judgment, to serve a spoonful of it to me, and I was to eat it right off the spoon. I did. After about 15 minutes of the stuff coming out my nose, I finally was able to talk again…and asked for more.
I have been hooked on the stuff ever since.
I used to add cayenne in rather large quantities to the winter mash for my hens, a cauldron of ice fishing leftovers, kitchen scraps, whole wheat and barley, and creek water simmered over a wood fire in the yard. The girls loved it and were the steady winter layers in our area.
Had one unexpectedly super-hot jalapeno in a batch of mild ones back in 1984 and ended up with silver sulfadiazine cream on my fingertips for a week. I invested in much heavier gloves and goggles after that, and a respirator when I got the farm. The respirator helped with the early stage of salsa production but was essential when I grated horseradish!
The new foam-lined RSVP onion goggles are pretty good.
My husband gets hiccoughs when he eats hot peppers. I’m more likely to purr.
Anybody know which peppers are used in making Chinese hot oil?
A True Fable (well, it’s from Texas, so the part about being true is suspect):
[These are notes from an inexperienced chili taster named Frank, who was visiting Texas from New Jersey for the Texas State Fair.]
“Recently I was lucky enough to be the 10,000th attendee at the State Fair in Texas and was asked to fill in to be a judge at a chili cook-off.
Apparently the original Judge #3 called in sick at the last moment, and I happened to be standing there when the call came in. Since I hadn’t eaten and I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that it would be a fun event and a true taste of Texas hospitality.
They assured me that the chili wouldn’t be all that spicy, and besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted.
Here are the scorecards from the event.”
Chili # 1: Mike’s Maniac Mobster Monster Chili
JUDGE ONE: A little too heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.
JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.
FRANK: Holy shit, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with it. Took me two beers to put the flames out. Hope that’s the worst one. These Texans are crazy.
Chili # 2: Arthur’s Afterburner Chili
JUDGE ONE: Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.
JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavor needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
FRANK: Keep this out of reach of children! I’m not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to walkie talkie in 3 extra beers when they saw the look on my face.
Chili # 3: Fred’s Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili
JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans.
JUDGE TWO: A beanless chili, a bit salty, good use of red peppers.
FRANK: Call the EPA, I’ve located a uranium spill. My nose feels like it has been snorting Draino. Everyone knows the routine by now. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I’m getting shit-faced.
Chili # 4: Bubba’s Black Magic
JUDGE ONE: Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
JUDGE TWO: Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
FRANK: I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Sally, the bar maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills; that 300 pound woman is starting to look HOT, just like this nuclear-waste I’m eating.
Chili # 5: Linda’s Legal Lip Remover
JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
JUDGE TWO: Chili using shredded beef; could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
FRANK: My ears are ringing, and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me burst into flames. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from a pitcher. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming.
Chili # 6: Vera’s Very Vegetarian Variety
JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili.Good balance of spice and peppers.
JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
FRANK: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except Sally. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone!
Chili # 7: Susan’s Screaming Sensation Chili
JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am worried about Judge Number 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.
FRANK: You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn’t feel a damn thing. I’ve lost the sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chill which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava-like shit to match my damn shirt. At least during the autopsy they’ll know what killed me. I’ve decided to stop breathing, it’s too painful. Screw it; I’m not getting any
oxygen anyway. If I need air, I’ll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.
Chili # 8: Helen’s Mount Saint Chili
JUDGE ONE: A perfect ending… this is a nice blend chili, safe for all, not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
JUDGE TWO: This final entry is a good, balanced chili, neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge Number 3 passed out, fell and pulled the chili pot on top of himself. Not sure if he’s going to make it. Poor Yankee.
FRANK: (editor’s note: Judge #3 was unable to report)”
Sylvia (18:11:40) I think the peppers in oil in oriental restaurants are called hantaka.
Roger Sowell (18:58:35) Thanks, I haven’t laughed that hard i too long.
I was a great fan of this programme, especially the first three series. I won’t forget the chutney and egg sandwich as a hangover cure…it really works!
Pamela Gray (17:14:42) If you have horseradish growing, check out the flowers when they blossom, they have a wonderful scent, to me, as sweet as jasmine but distinctly different.
@roger: How could you! (do it again please?)
Pamela Gray (17:14:42) : Horseradish. Love the stuff. […] I did. After about 15 minutes of the stuff coming out my nose, I finally was able to talk again…and asked for more. I have been hooked on the stuff ever since.
Sounds like me and it’s first cousin, wasabi… I make a thick paste of it with soy sauce at Japanese restaurants. If I can still breath after a bite of sushi, I didn’t get enough wasabi on it… Wasabia Japonica and Amoracia Rusticana are closely related and sometimes (often?) horseradish is substituted for the Wasabia Japonica. Horseradish has been shown to reduce platelet activity, so it’s good for helping avoid nasty clotting problems (stroke, heart attack).
And I had left it off my list of cruciferous vegetables! It’s in that same most wonderful tribe.
I took a couple of 4 inch “tops” left from grating a whole roots worth over some months or so, and planted them in one ‘garden square’ (4 feet on a a side). In about 2 to 3 years It was all horseradish. When in the garden, I’d just grab a leaf and munch it. Not as tart as the root, but aromatic and delightful. Then one day I got a bunch of free range bunnies…
Bunnies love horseradish. It stood up to everything else with no ‘care’ at all. But you can’t thrive if every single leaf you put up gets eaten on sight.
Since then I’ve put “dog run” portable metal fences around the squares. Maybe it’s time to replant one in horseradish… the store stuff is a bit more bland than the fresh 😎
More true stories of Texas chili [grin]
Wick Fowler – a chili legend in Texas. From his website: “In 1967, Wick Fowler defended the honor of authentic Texas-style chili at the first championship chili cook-off in Terlingua, Texas, using the same recipe that goes into his famous 2-Alarm (c) Chili Kit. This zesty, robust chili won the World Chili Championship, and it’s still a winner in homes throughout America.”
Wick makes a strong chili, of very high potency, named 2-Alarm Chili. It was far too hot for many Yankees (no offense, my northern friends) and others not accustomed to what real chili can do.
So, in keeping with his naming convention of the fire-house (one-alarm fire, two-alarm fire, etc), he made a chili for his Yankee friends.
And named it False Alarm chili.
Back in the late ’80’s I was working as a production supervisor, overseeing
up to 10,000 meals per day from several kitchens and diverse locations.
My first week there we reached enchiladas and I was made aware of the
huge batch of “Accidental Insanity Enchilada Sauce” held on a full size pallet skid in a freezer I had not yet inventoried.
As I was checking the ingredients for that day’s cafeteria production I was tasting and testing temps when I came across a five litre bag of sauce marked with a large red X. The story came out, with some sheepishness, of a rushed assembly of dry ingredients the day before the batch was originally made. Turns out that 500 grams of cayenne ended up in a recipe calling for 50 grams. Conversely, 500 grams of paprika became 50 grams.
“They’re both red?”
“You don’t want taste that. I got a special pair gloves with elbow length sleeves just for handling that stuff”.
The ‘stuff’ was at least 10x hotter than the original batch was intended to be. And, it seemed that it was getting hotter as it aged in the freezer.
The cook in charge was now diluting it at more than 12 to 1.
My theory was that the oil used for sauteing the sauce veggies allowed the full amount of pepper power to be released and the sauce was continuing to evolve chemically at -40F.
At one point I suggested we might thaw and puree the sauce and turn it into a condiment of some sort. Food safety ruled out that idea and we returned to using it as imaginatively as possible.
Oil is the ticket for getting the heat into the mouth and it seems that oil tends to take away the pain when necessary.
On top of the heat factor I get hit with hiccup spasms, especially if I happen to have an empty stomach. Hot and Sour soup typically arrives first at meal and is ladled out with some flair in most restaurants.
There is something definitely comforting and bracing in well modulated pepper power.
We cooks are the souls of alchemists.
Raybann
CosmosLaundry Journal
E.M.Smith (13:03:47) :
Once I ate with Japanese people and they told me that it was rude to mix the wasabi with the soya sauce. The Chinese usually do this.
raybann (16:40:04) “My theory was that the oil used for sauteing the sauce veggies allowed the full amount of pepper power to be released and the sauce was continuing to evolve chemically at -40F.”
I learned in an East Indian cooking class, we were making our own curry powder, that if you have to use store bought curry, scorch it in the pan you are cooking in, the heat releases the oils in the spices and makes them more available for flavor in the dish. I now do it with any dried spice, eg. basil & oregano for Italian dishes.
Ray (22:31:22) :Once I ate with Japanese people and they told me that it was rude to mix the wasabi with the soya sauce. The Chinese usually do this.
Yeah, I know. I still can’t stop myself 😎
You are supposed to pick the sushi up with your fingers, barely dip it fish side down in nearly plain soy sauce, then eat it. Yeah, right…
It’s OK that way, especially made like they do in Japan with lots of wasabi under the fish; but the gringo way they serve it in some of the places in America just cries out for some ++juice++!
I try to be more discrete about it when seated at the sushi bar (then again, at the sushi bar you can tell the chef you like it extra wasabi and they load it up under the fish, then you don’t need to ‘roll your own’ …