What makes spicy food spicy?
In: Biology
The mustard family has allyl isothiocyanate. The pepper family has piperine. The chile (hot capsicum) family has capsaicin. Szechuan and sancho peppers have sanshools. Mints have menthol.
They’ve all developed to irritate various biological sensors to discourage feeding. Then humans came along, and took it as a challenge.
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