Re: [CH] Cutting peppers and washing hands
Jonathan T. Smillie (jsmillie@protix.com)
Fri, 30 Jan 1998 11:53:58 -0600
At 08:22 AM 1/30/98 PST, Anton Schoenbacher wrote:
>O.K, here is a theory of mine, let me know if this makes
>any sense.
>
>Lets say I cut a bunch of peppers and rub my hands all
>over them, then I go to wash my hands. If I wash my hands
>in warm or hot water isn't there a good chance that my
>poors will open and trap some 'hot stuff' in there ?
>
>on the other hand if I wash my hands in cold water first,
>I can get rid of most of the 'hot stuff' before, then wash
>my hands in hot water later.
Anton:
In my experience, what temperature water you wash your
hands in does not make very much difference as to whether
"hot stuff" stays on your hands or not. Using soap does seem
to be somewhat more, but again not completely, effective. If
you're concerned about "hunan hand", the best way to avoid
it is wear rubber gloves while cutting chiles.
Since the capsaicin-bearing substance in peppers is an oil,
water alone won't help (like they say, oil and water don't mix?)
The soap probably helps because it breaks down some of the
oil. I have also heard the theory put forward that the reason milk
can help ease the burn (why would you want to do THAT?) is that
the molecules of the pepper oils bond more easily to a fat-containing
substance such as milk than to water...
However, I HAVE noticed that if I get pepper residue on my
hands while cooking in the evening, the "hunan hand" goes
away after a while but can be revived the next morning by hot water
in the shower.
Hope this helps,
Jonathan
All opinions, unconfirmed information and arrant nonsense
expressed in the foregoing paragraphs are mine- but I'll blame it
on someone else if it's convenient.