Re: [CH] Capsaicin Chemical Stuff
Paul Karpowicz (hondamedic@mediaone.net)
Fri, 28 Dec 2001 21:02:15 -0500
Hi Art!!!
Now this is exactly what I was talkin' 'bout. Jim delivered his synopsis
succinctly: (Snip) "Sure! Add it in at the end or cook at lower temps, or
start with a higher level to allow for loss or cook it covered." But you not
only made my head spin, I'm now cowered in a corner wonderin' how I'm gonna'
get a fresh prescription for this migraine headache!!!!
Seriously, walkin' around the scientific doublespeak,(Snip) "Capsaicin
melts at a temperature of 65ºC/149ºF and boils at a temperature 210ºC/410ºF"
means even at the low temp of only 150 degrees F (If you tell me how to make
those neat little round things next to numbers, I won't have to type the
word "degree" anymore & this whole discussion will be worth what it cost me
for the migraine prescription) tells me while I'm WARMING the recipe for
processing, I'm loosing heat from the final product, never mind bringing it
up to a boil & simmering for 5 min. Correct? Now back to my question (Snip)
"Suppose I use a tight fitting lid or maybe a pressure cooker or a ??? to
keep cap out of air & in the recipe? In other words,
is there a way for a pantry cook to reduce cap loss while cooking?" which
your only viable suggestion is (Snip) "Another possibility is to add the
capsaicin thingies at the very end of cooking after the heating of the food
is finished. Again, be sure you are upwind when you stir the capsaicin stuff
into your food." Thanks for being redundant to Jim's previously described
method & I'll be sure to stand "downwind" of your advice in the future
LOL/LOL!!! ;>)
Very seriously, thanks for enlightening this squarehead as to how to
improve his cookin' ,
Paul
PS As for not eatin' Cheetos while watchin' porno's alone, will they impart
a color on a part of my body other than fingers?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Art Pierce" <pierces@cruzio.com>
Sent: Thursday, 27 December, 2001 2:15 PM
Subject: Re: [CH] Capsaicin Chemical Stuff
> > Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 20:36:18 -0500
> > From: "Paul Karpowicz" <hondamedic@mediaone.net>
> > Subject: Re: [CH] Capsaicin Chemical Stuff
> >
> > Please don't go scientific on me/it hurts when I have to understand too
> > much at once. Suppose I use a tight fitting lid or maybe a pressure
> > cooker or a ??? to keep cap out of air & in the recipe? In other words,
> > is there a way for a pantry cook to reduce cap loss while cooking?
> > Paul
>
> Unless you have a hermetic scientific lab not much larger than the size of
your cooking
> utensil where you can handle things remotely, not by very much.
>
> Capsaicin [C18H27NO3; its IUPAC name is 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide]
> melts at a temperature of 65ºC/149ºF and boils at a temperature
210ºC/410ºF.
>
> That said, then an operational definition is that temperature means a
measure of the
> AVERAGE translational kinetic energy associated with the disordered
microscopic
> motion of atoms and molecules.
>
> Hope your head ain't hurtin'.
>
> So, if 99 capsaicin molecules are each at 10ºC and one capsaicin molecule
is at 210ºC (not
> likely, but go along with it for the result), the AVERAGE translational
kinetic energy of all
> 100 capsaicin molecules is ~ 12ºC.
>
> But that molecule at 210ºC just volatilized and left your cooking utensil
and is now traveling
> around in the air, waiting for you to inhale it, allowing you to cough and
cry. [If you thaw out
> a slice of Jim Campbell's bread in your microwave for 2 minutes instead of
1 minute, you may
> find it necessary to abandon your building (leaving all doors and windows
open) for at least
> 30 minutes.]
>
> Cooking wise, you might find that turning the hood fan to HIGH and putting
a BIG fan blowing
> out the window of the otherwise totally sealed room where the heating of
cap-laced food is
> going on, and entering only rarely, wearing swimming goggles or a face
mask - take a deep breath
> outside the room, then dash in - seal the door behind you - to do whatever
damn fool thing you
> want to do in there, then dash out - seal the door behind you - dash
outside your building
> (NOT in front of that window with the BIG fan) and now you can take
another breath - works
> fairly well when you're cookin' with cap.
>
> Another possibility is to add the capsaicin thingies at the very end of
cooking after the heating
> of the food is finished. Again, be sure you are upwind when you stir the
capsaicin stuff into your food.
>
> And don't eat Cheetos while watching porno alone; it confuses your doctor.
Rael?
>