Re: [CH] Re: V6 #176 hab mash cap stability to freezing & xanthan
Brent Thompson (brent@hplbct.hpl.hp.com)
Thu, 27 Apr 2000 09:39:46 -0700
> 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.
Doesn't seem more appealing to me, because that decrease in potency with
age occurs in all chile products, including plain dried chiles or powder,
and I wouldn't think enzymes would be particularly active without
significant amounts of water for transport. Oxidation, on the other hand,
fits the bill in essentially all circumstances.
Or maybe enzymatic destruction does occur when conditions allow, but
oxidation happens to be a faster decreaser of capsaicin potency (when it
can occur).
--- Brent