Recently I’ve been making a fair bit of hot sauces and experimenting with different chillies. I’ve found that I’m able to handle (with some discomfort) a fresh habanero, but a fresh bird’s eye will floor me. Speaking with other’s who like spice, they have said thing like “I can eat Asian chillies, but can’t handle South American chillies”
Is there an actual difference in the chillies that causes a chilli lower on the Scoville scale to feel spicier? Or is is just anecdotal?
In: Biology
Different kinds of spice feel different. For instance, one kind of chili pepper might feel immediately spicy on the tongue but with a short-lived effect. Another kind might build up in spice with every bite, and maybe you feel that spice more in your throat. If you’re used to one spice sensation, a different spice sensation might be harder to handle.
Fresher is generally spicier, and as for some being hotter it just depends sometimes something says ghost pepper and that just makes a small proportion of the sauce it’s not all ghost pepper.
While the overall question is pretty purely individual/anecdotal, there is one element that IS worth mentioning: East Asian “chile peppers” vs South American chile peppers.
Some things from East Asia are *not* actually peppers, meaning, they don’t come from the genus capsicum. Sichuan peppercorns, for example, come from a tree in the citrus family, the thorny ash. Actual capsicum is native only to the Americas, though it has been cultivated worldwide since the Columbian exchange. Since they’re from a different genus, their “spicy” molecules are different, and thus a person could easily have a different response for that reason alone, completely unrelated to the individual/anecdotal element.
As for your first point, I think it’s important to note that the number of seeds as well as the size of the individual chili can affect the concentration of capsaicin in the particular chili. Many habaneros (for example) are grown to be plump and juicy, which means it’s a more watery bite you’re getting.
The Scoville Scale only measures one type of chemical, but there are other chemicals that can taste hot. Ginger and cinnamon can both be hot in strong concentrations for example, and ginger has no capsaicin and cinnamon has only a tiny amount. I’m guessing the peppers that are classified as weaker on the Scoville Scale but taste very spicy have other chemicals in them that don’t count toward that score.
AFAIK there can be a large variance between spiciness within the same species. In Mexico, it’s a well known fact and its jokingly attributed to whether or not the cook was angry that day.
I’ve read that if depends on watering. A somewhat stressed plant makes for spicier peppers and plentiful water results in less flavorful ones. This can lead to huge differences.
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