[CH] Cap (was What's going on at...)
Calvin Donaghey (gdonaghey@bitstreet.com)
Mon, 27 Mar 2000 23:12:53 -0600
Carp-
I don't know how up to date my info is, but here it is anyway, combined
from several sources.
7 different Capsaicinoids have been isolated. 6 naturally occurring and
one synthetic.
They are all reported to affect the subject in different ways, some
definitely more radical than others, and often more pronounced in
different parts of the mouth, throat or tongue. They have a cumulative
effect when added together in different ratios, and are found in varying
concentrations from pod type to pod type. They have no flavor. They
have no effect on the person's ability to taste, but may affect the
cognitive requirements necessary to pay any attention to taste.
There has been some work on isolating which pods have which
capsaicinoids and in which combinations, but it is not well-documented
as yet. The two most burning or irritating compounds are capsaicin and
dihydrocapsaicin, the mildest is nordihydrocapsaicin. The
longest-lasting burn is supposed to be homodyhydrocapsaicin.
Supposedly, Paul Bosland does enough work with HPLC that he can read the
characteristic peaks and identify the peppers, but I have not read any
of his work on the subject. Would be very interesting to this 'ol
country boy, though. Pure capsaicin is supposed to be 16,000,000
Scoville units, but I don't know whether nordyhydrocapsaicin would also
be 16,000,000 Scoville units. This is because HPLC has somehow been
normalized to the original Scoville organoleptic taste tests, and they
were, after all, taste tests. As a scientist, I feel the need to reduce
it to concentrations or percentages to make it less fuzzy.
That said.....it still boils down to individual experience. I have a
friend who chomps down habaneros but won't even put one of my Tepins in
his mouth, even with food. He says they burn him up. To me, the Scotch
Bonnets I'm growing are hot, but not nearly as hot as the Jamaican
Reds. I grew Red Savina (TM) pods for 2 years and none of them were as
hot to me as the Jamaicans, or as hot as my hybrids. I'm growing a
hybrid cross between a Tepin and a wild chinense from South America that
blows my stack every time I eat one, and it seems hotter than anything
I've ever tried. It could be that I'm just more sensitive to that
particular combination of chemicals present. It could be that it IS
hotter, or that the juice carries the heat all over your mouth and bombs
you all at once, I don't know.
It certainly is an interesting subject, no matter how the chemistry is
laid out.
Calvin