[CH] Re: V6 #176 hab mash cap stability to freezing & xanthan
Cameron Begg (begg.4@osu.edu)
Thu, 27 Apr 2000 08:04:35 -0400
Hi C-H's,
As lucidly as ever, George Nelson wrote:
> .......fairly unfazed by freeze-thaw cycles.
Who says the age of great literature is past?
>As I mentioned earlier,
>enzymes are most certainly broken free of membranes and from within vessels
>and if there are any which could degrade capsaicin they would be free to
>react. ..................
>Of course, if I recall correctly, the Cardinal said the mash produced by
>freeze-thaw is rather potent, so it appears any degradative enzyme activity
>is rather slight in this situation.
However this touches upon another mysterious reaction. We all know
that hot sauces generally exhibit a decrease in potency as they age.
I have heard this glibly dismissed as "just oxidation", and while I
accept that oxidation can still take place in a fermented sauce (most
of the free oxygen used by the yeasts) and in a dark refrigerator,
the enzyme hypothesis is more appealing. Another sort of built in
self destruct mechanism. A cunning evolutionary trait to make us
plant more and more peppers?
>Sources of xanthan gum?
Delete panic; insert calm. As ever, the generous Jim C. of MTWP&H has
filled the breach with a sample.
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Regards, Cameron.