Re: [CH] Can you still taste anything?
Rob Solarion (solarion@1starnet.com)
Thu, 2 May 2002 16:04:26 -0600
Hear, Hear, Ken! Bull Pucky indeed! How many times have I had people warn
me that I am going to "burn out" my tastebuds by eating so much hot pepper?
"You can't taste anything but the heat! You can't taste the 'other
flavors'!!!" they groan and moan. When I start laughing and try to deny
such an idea, they believe that I am lying. I feel sure that this is a
common shared experience. There is absolutely nothing "wrong" with my
tastebuds.
This was a stupid experiment. It is not anything at all like "real life"
eating. Personally, I don't know how people actually survive WITHOUT
eating hot peppers! That is something beyond my comprehension. Really!
Roberto
*****
Too Much Chili Burns Out Flavor
Bad news for spice lovers: Chili actually reduces your ability to taste other
flavors, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis.
In a painful series of experiments that you may not want to try at home,
graduate student Chris Simons put capsaicin -- the hot chemical from chili
peppers -- on one side of volunteers' tongues. The volunteers then rinsed with
solutions representing the five flavors of salty, sweet, sour, bitter and
"umami," the flavor linked to monosodium glutamate, and rated the intensity of
the flavor.
"Capsaicin always suppressed sweetness, bitterness and umami. Saltiness and
sourness weren't affected at all," Simons said.