People around the world are having a love affair with hot foods. The most fascinating characteristic of hot peppers is that no one has the same opinion as to what “hot” means.
-By John Jacobs

The labels say it all. “Eat Hot Death” or “Crank Up the Heat” or “Start the Fire.” Hot sauces promise a little pain and unforgettable flavors, making you wonder why someone would intentionally abuse the mouth. Hot sauces, hot peppers and hot spices boldly jump into recipes to take flavor up several notches.

Hot and spicy foods start their journeys with one or more varieties of peppers that have degrees of “hot.” When added to foods with other spices, the result can be a five-alarm fire on the tongue and eye-watering discomfort. Now modern research is confirming what ancient Asians instinctively knew: the hot peppers come with health benefits.

Making Peace with Hot Peppers
Chances are you have chopped green or red bell peppers to use as an ingredient in a recipe. Why are these peppers so mild tasting, while jalapeno and habanero peppers are heat generating? The answer lies in the family of molecules called capsaicinoids. The greater concentration of capsaicin, one of the capsaicinoids in a pepper, the hotter the pepper. Milder capsaicins are found in ginger, black pepper and wasabi, but the compound in peppers is the one that cranks up the heat.

The “heat” is the result of a chemical reaction in which capsaicin molecules bond with pain receptors in the mouth. The neurons are tricked by the capsaicin molecules into believing the temperature is hotter than 108 degrees Fahrenheit, causing the nerve cells to fire a signal that makes the tongue begin tingling and beads of sweat appear on the forehead.

That is, if the chili pepper is a mild one. If it is one of the hottest peppers, the mouth and throat will feel like it has been burned, the eyes will get bloodshot, sweat will pour down the face, stomach cramps may start, and one can easily imagine cartoon-like smoke emitting from the ears. The good news is that peppers do not really burn the mouth.

Wilbur Scoville decided to develop a rating scale based on the experience of the senses rather than precisely measuring capsaicin concentration. Pepper heat is measured by the Scoville Organoleptic Test and reported as Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). There seems to be a world race to develop chili peppers so hot that they are almost inedible. The Bhut Jolokia Pepper (also called Naga Jolokia) was the first to break the 1 million SHU score, but since then a variety of peppers have been developed that make the Bhut Jolokia seem mild. The New Mexico Scorpion is rated at 1.191 million SHUs. The Moruga Scorpion pepper is rated at 2 million SHUs. The Carolina Reaper is 2.2 million SHUs. For comparison, common pepper spray like that carried by joggers is 2 million SHUs.

Health Benefits of Peppers
The Chinese have long held the belief that hot peppers offer health benefits. They flavored their recipes with peppers for taste and good health. They believe peppers can promote digestion, and treat headaches and weather-related ailments. The Chinese folklore is now getting support from medical researchers studying the benefits of eating spicy foods.

Lu Qui, a Harvard School of Public Health associate professor, co-authored a study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences that found people who ate spicy foods six or seven times each weak had a 14 percent lower risk of premature death from all causes compared to those who ate spicy foods infrequently. The spice-lovers had a lower risk of death from heart and respiratory disease, and cancer.

In other studies, capsaicin has been linked to increased fat burning, tumor prevention, appetite suppression, reduced pain and improved circulation.

World is Your Pepper Oyster
All the science and SHUs aside, the burning question is this: What are the hottest recipes in the world? That is a difficult question to answer because there are thousands of really hot pepper types grown around the world. People are experimenting, too. The Peach Ghost Scorpion is a cross between the Trinidad Scorpion pepper and the Bhut Jolokia, and it is hot by anyone’s measure.

The point is that what one person considers the hottest food may be too hot or lacking heat for another person. It is all a matter of daring, physical endurance and preference. Sichuan dishes include a mixture of hot peppers and peppercorns, so they are doubly hot. Peppercorn hot comes from piperine which does not trigger as intense of a response as capsaicin. It does not take much imagination to figure out that combining capsaicin and piperine will place a food in the “hottest” category. However, Hunan cuisine is even hotter because it uses more hot chili peppers.

If you enjoy hot, then the world is your pepper oyster. Try steamed fish head in pickled chili sauce, and tell everyone you ate authentic hot Chinese food. West Africa’s hot pepper sauce with habanera or scotch bonnet (both are 100,000-350,000 SHUs) chili peppers, or African pepper soup with vegetables and meat or chicken, are favorite hot foods. India offers a host of dishes that promise fiery results. The hot to hotter green finger chili called Jwala, (5,000-50,000 SHUs) is breaded and fried, powdered and added to spice mixes, and used in a variety of recipes from pancakes to sauces.

Koreans take comfort during long cold winters by eating spicy stews made with red chili paste composed of Napa cabbage and crushed red chilies. Mexico ladles up chilate de pollo (chicken soup) and sopa de camarones (shrimp soup). Sicilians use the mild Calabrian pepper (1,300-2,500 SHUs) in their marinara sauces. For really hot, visit the Mekong River region of Isan and enjoy a hot food experience with Thai bird chilies or prik kee noo (200,000-250,000 SHUs). If a restaurant menu says an entrée is made with Choclate 7 Pot, warn your mouth of the coming 1.8 million SHUs. The point is that pepper-hot foods are not the purview of any particular country. You can find varying degrees of hot food in every country. Just be aware that hot for one person is mild or excruciating for another. That is exactly what makes peppers such a culinary delight.

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