Hot! Hot! Hot!

Me mind on fire, me soul on fire
Feelin' hot hot hot –
Lyrics to Hot! Hot! Hot!, sung by Buster Poindexter

Do you like hot foods and hot peppers but sometimes bite more than you can chew? Here are some do’s and don’ts when your mouth and tongue are on fire.

• Don’t drink water or alcohol. These spread the burning chemical, called capsaicin, around but do nothing to block it.

• Consume something acidic – lemon aid, orange juice, tomato juice, etc. Suck a lemon or lime. Eat a bit of mild salsa.

• Dairy helps – milk, yogurt, and sour cream are acidic but in addition the milk protein casein breaks up the hot capsaicin. You need milk fat to get this protein – skim milk is not so effective.

• Starch helps – bread, rice, tortillas, and other carbohydrates coat your mouth and provide some protection against capsaicin. The sugars in starch also lessen the impact of the heat.

Bottom Line

When working with super hot peppers, don’t forget that your fingers become coated and are weapons of pain. Rubbing your eyes with capsaicin stained fingers is an experience you won’t soon forget. I once had a burning pain under my fingernails when scraping the seeds out of peppers.

And remember, no matter how bad it feels, nothing is really burning - no physical damage. Capsaicin merely triggers the heat sensation in our nerves.