Hot sauce

The Secret to Surviving the Hottest Hot Sauce

Even if you prefer extra spicy foods, trying even a bit of the hottest sauce will give you a burning feeling. To ease the burn from the capsaicin in your meal, you may go for a glass of water in a moment of panic. On the other hand, a glass of milk might help you feel better.

Milk is an excellent mouth soother because the protein casein efficiently neutralizes the capsaicin molecule, which is the source of the burning sensation you feel after tasting a hot sauce. Dairy goods like yogurt, ice cream, cheese, butter, and sour cream can also help tone down the heat if you don’t have any milk.

If you plan to be part of the “Hot Sauce Challenge,” you must equip yourself with information to help you survive the hottest hot sauce.

What Can A Hottest Hot Sauce Does To Your Body?

As many of you know, the burning sensation in your tongue after eating spicy food is just psychological. It makes sense and is reasonable. If so, why?

A spicy dish might give you the same burning feeling as touching a hot pan and vice versa. Heat triggers the activation of specific pain receptors in the body, which alerts the brain that the sensation being experienced is scorching.

Your brain will transmit pain signals to your brainstem and spinal cord if it detects your mouth or skin damage. This pain is beneficial in preventing burns from a hot pan since it causes the hand to be quickly withdrawn.

Capsaicin, an oily alkaline compound found in hot peppers, tricks your tongue’s temperature-sensitive pain receptors into thinking it’s hot but does not produce heat or cause harm. By stimulating these pain receptors, capsaicin misleads the brain into thinking the mouth is in danger, resulting in the burning sensation that is meant to discourage further consumption of the spicy meal.

Capsaicin may momentarily fool your pain receptors, but they may be reprogrammed to disregard it. Having capsaicin-sensitive receptors repeatedly activated by a diet high in spicy foods increases the likelihood that these receptors may become desensitized.

Because their taste buds have been trained, regular eaters of spicy meals have a better tolerance for the sensation of searing anguish than people who don’t eat such things as regularly. Those not used to eating hot sauce or spicy dishes may be scared off by the sauce’s extreme heat and look for relief in a cool drink or condiment to dull the burn.  

Practical Tips To Survive The Hottest Hot Sauce

It is worth noting that capsaicin is soluble in alcohol, oil, and fact, but not in water. If you drink a lot of water after consuming hot sauce, the capsaicin will spread throughout your mouth, making contact with more pain receptors and making the burning sensation much more intense.

They were drinking soda and beer, thinking they could ease pain and burning sensation, which is not a good idea since they are mostly water. High temperatures trigger the release of neurotransmitters in the brain that cause a response to the spicy compound capsaicin.

If your tongue catches fire after tasting a hot sauce, try one of these time-tested remedies:

Dairy

Consuming dairy right after you eat hot sauce is an effective remedy. A glass of milk or some yogurt may help relieve the burning and pain in your mouth. The discomfort is partly lessened because casein, a protein in dairy, degrades capsaicin.

Capsaicin and casein are non-polar, unlike the polar molecules that make up water. Because it binds to capsaicin, preventing it from reaching the mouth’s pain receptors, this produces a repulsive effect. Milk, when consumed after eating hot sauce, may help alleviate the resulting discomfort.

Lemons and Tomatoes

Even though it seems paradoxical, combining lemons and tomatoes to ease pain and discomfort after consuming hot sauce has a solid scientific basis. To balance out the acidity of the spice, try eating any of these alkaline foods.

If you need a fast pick-me-up, grab a dish of some tomato slices and salad and eat them. The health advantages of lemon juice, pineapple, and orange are all quite similar to one another. If you have a mouth ulcer, try gargling with tomato juice or, failing that, chewing on raw tomatoes.

Starch

Eat some starchy food, such as warm toast or cooked rice. Starch prevents your mouth from being directly exposed to capsaicin and absorbs some of the chemicals in hot sauce. Potatoes, too, offer potential benefits, but only if they are fully cooked and have no spices added.

Grab a slice of raw bread if you want to feel better fast. A bowl of rice cooked in salt water may help to absorb excess acidity.

Honey or Sugar

Despite common belief, sweeteners like honey and sugar make things hotter and more relaxed. After trying that blistery spicy sauce, half a teaspoon of honey or sugar may be in order. A sugar cube could do the trick if you need something to calm you down quickly. Consuming honey or sugar infused with oil-based capsaicin may reduce pain and inflammation.

Drink Alcohol

Before anything else, remember that alcohol only acts as a temporary soother for the burn of hot sauce. Take note of this before you order a drink or beer with your side of spice. MythBusters, a show on the Discovery Channel, put fans’ suggestions to the test, including the idea that a few drinks may dull the taste buds.

Because oil and water don’t mix, and because the beer help to spread the oily capsaicin without reducing its effectiveness, they found that drinking a few sips of beer gave brief relief. However, always remember the need for moderation while drinking. One episode of MythBusters suggests that you could need 10 ounces of 70-proof tequila to dissolve one ounce of pure capsaicin compound.

Consume Some Milk Chocolate

A chocolate bar may help your mouth’s burning and tingling sensation. According to the USDA, milk chocolate is better for easing symptoms than dark chocolate because of its higher casein and fat content. Cacao’s high-fat content can help wash away some of the capsaicin on your tongue since it dissolves better in fat than in water.

Final Thoughts

If something is scorching, how do you react? Most of you would reach for a bottle of water. If your mouth is on fire, chugging a glass of water can help extinguish the flames. However, capsaicin is an oil found in nature.

Capsaicin causes damage to cell membranes, and drinking tons of water won’t help. However, it could help spread the oil throughout the rest of your mouth. Use any of the options I have provided above if you need immediate help to ease the burning sensation caused by hot sauce.

Among other tips I have listed, drinking milk after consuming food with hot sauce is the most effective way to prevent a burning sensation and neutralize the pain. So, if you want to be part of the Hot Sauce Challenge, bring yourself loads of milk on hand.

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Bill Kalkumnerd
Bill Kalkumnerd

I am Bill, I am the Owner of HappySpicyHour, a website devoted to spicy food lovers like me. Ramen and Som-tum (Papaya Salad) are two of my favorite spicy dishes. Spicy food is more than a passion for me - it's my life! For more information about this site Click

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