Secret to A Hot Pepper Is Not In The Seeds

The secret to a hot pepper is not in the seeds. There is a misconception that the seeds in a hot pepper or the seeds that remain in hot sauce are what gives the heat craved by so many hot sauce addicts.

On the contrary, it is not the seeds that give off the fiery blast, but it is a chemical compound called capsaicin which is the active component of chili pepper plants.

Capsaicin is an irritant for mammals including humans and produces a sensation of burning in the mouth. Capsaicin and several related compounds are called capsaicinoids and are produced as a secondary metabolite by chili peppers, probably as deterrents against herbivores. Birds are generally not sensitive to capsaicinoids; pet parrots often love to eat even the spiciest curry or hot pepper as a snack. Pure capsaicin is a lipophilic colorless odorless crystalline to waxy compound.

Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid in chili peppers, followed by dihydrocapsaicin. These two compounds are also about twice as hot as the minor capsaicinoids nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and homocapsaicin. Dilute solutions of pure capsaicinoids produced different types of pungency; however, these differences were not noted using more concentrated solutions.

I Have a Hot Sauce Addiction

Hot Sauce Addict. That's right. I have a hot sauce addiction and I can't hide this fact any longer.

If you don't like hot sauce--stop reading this now and we won't waste each other's time. You see, you won't be able understand or appreciate my view going forward. No offense or hard feelings, it's just the way it is.

OK, YOU, on the other hand, like hot sauce and can keep reading.

Having a hot sauce addiction isn't something you can acquire or something that someone can teach you. It's something you are born with--almost if there was a hot sauce gene engraved somewhere in my genetic code. It's that special.

I find it amazing that when I think about hot peppers like habaneros, hot sauces, or salsas, I start to drool like a dog. Seriously, the inside of my mouth sweats just thinking or talking about hot sauce. I know it may sound strange or like I have a condition of some sort, but that's what happens. Maybe my hot sauce addiction is a condition or disease for that matter.

Just this afternoon, I went home for lunch and then went out to my hot pepper garden in my backyard to see how my peppers were doing. I gotta tell you, the closer I got to the pepper plants, the more I started to get excited about harvesting the crop and eating peppers on the spot. I started thinking about the possibilites of these hot peppers; I could make hot sauce, salsa, pickled peppers, garnishes for pasta and pizza. I could put hot sauce on eggs, sandwiches, and crackers.

Even as I paused before typing this very sentence, I got hot sauce tunnel vision and then my mouth watered with the anticipation of my next hot pepper consumption.

Hold on a minute. Let's re-group and re-focus. This post is not going anywhere and I am carrying on like a babbling idiot.

I have a hot sauce addiction and wanted to get that off my chest. I wanted to come clean and say what had to be said about my liking, appreciating, admiring, craving, and obsessing the hot stuff.