Why does chilli get some of us all hot and bothered, and is there anything we can do to deal with the heat better? We’ve spoken to a range of experts – from scientists to chilli farmers – to get the low-down once and for all.
Often wonder what you’re missing out on as you watch your friends dousing their food in sriracha, knowing that all it’d add to your meal is a runny nose and overwhelming burn? If you’d like to be able to enjoy the flavour of chilli without breaking out in sweats, fear not: there are ways you can learn to tolerate – and even love – spice.
Owen Rosser is co-founder of Pembrokeshire Chilli Farm, which grows 15 types of chillies. Some are mild, while others pack a serious heat punch, like “the hot Naga and ghost chillies and the extreme Trinidad Moruga scorpion and Carolina reaper,” he says.
With such a passion for chillies, it’s hard to believe that just a few short years ago Rosser could barely tolerate any kind of spice.
“When we started [the business] I was a real korma kind of guy; heat was not my friend. But over the years my tolerance has definitely increased.”
Indeed, many experts think that it is possible to change your response to spice and learn to deal with stronger intensities. But how does it work?
What makes food spicy?
“Capsaicin is primarily responsible for the spicy sensation,” explains Dr Qian Yang, assistant professor in flavour science at the University of Nottingham. “Spicy compounds induce a warming sensation at low concentrations, burning and tingling sensations at medium concentrations and painful sensation at high concentrations.”
When we consume capsaicin, it binds to pain receptors on our tongues (to be specific the TRPV1 receptor), creating that burning feeling.
It’s often thought that a chilli’s seeds are what gives it that fiery kick – but that’s not quite right. It’s actually the white pith that’s attached to the inner flesh of the chilli where the capsaicin is most concentrated. It’s this that gets you all hot under the collar.
Of course, the concentration of capsaicin is different in different types of chilli, with some being mellow and others intensely hot. This is measured using the Scoville Scale, which was created in 1912.
Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville took different chillies and peppers and assessed how much they needed to be diluted in a solution before they no longer caused that burning sensation. The more dilution required, the higher the score. As you can imagine, a bell pepper (the type we stick in a salad) is right at the bottom with a score of 0. However, at the top is the aforementioned Carolina reaper which has an average score of more than 1.6 million. Have even the tiniest lick of that and you’re going to feel like a volcano’s erupting in your mouth.
Why can some people tolerate spicy food more than others?
Responses to spice – or capsaicin – vary hugely from person to person. For instance, while Rosser historically struggled with chilli heat, his co-founder Michelle “has an insane level of tolerance and always has,” he says.
There are a few different theories around why some people can handle spice more easily than others.
“Our tolerance for spicy foods comes from a mixture of nature and nurture,” says Yang. “Chilli peppers tend to grow better in hot climates like India and it has been hypothesized that the increased tolerance that people who live in these climates tend to have could be partly due to increased exposure at a much younger age. However, more research is needed to fully understand the relationship.”
Brown stew chicken
This chicken dish is given a kick with Scotch bonnet chillies, although you can easily adjust the amount you use to suit
Genetics is thought to play a part too. One study involved giving groups of twins (both identical and non-identical) jelly that was spiked with capsaicin. They had to rate both how pleasant and how intense they found it. Those who found it pleasant were less likely to find it intense compared to those who found it unpleasant. The study concluded that 18–58% of someone’s ability to tolerate chilli was due to genetics.
Science suggests some people are born with fewer of the receptors which sense capsaicin, meaning they’re less likely to experience that burning sensation. Conversely, others have more – they’re the ones who tend to struggle with spice.
Further research suggests that even your personality could influence your ability to take on spicy foods. This is something that Pennsylvania State University’s Prof John Hayes and Dr Nadia Byrnes have examined.
One of their papers states: ‘In Mexico, chilli pepper consumption is linked with strength, daring and masculine personality traits. Among American college students, eating chilli peppers has been linked with a number of ‘benignly masoch*stic’ and thrill-seeking activities, such as riding roller coasters, gambling and the consumption of substances such as alcohol and coffee. Each of these experiences, like chilli peppers, are initially aversive yet individuals learn to enjoy them, perhaps due to the appreciation that the perceived risk is harmless. This ‘constrained risk’ may be what makes chilli consumption thrilling for some individuals.’
In short, thrill seekers might be more likely to deal well with chilli.
James Elander, professor of health psychology at the University of Derby, has conducted research on how we respond to pain, and highlights how this attitude towards the physical sensation brought on by chillies will impact a person’s tolerance to spice.
“People’s initial reaction to spicy foods – discomfort or irritation – is obviously very different from the real bodily pain that some people have to live with, although a sudden dose of very strong spicy food can seem almost painful while it lasts.
“Pain is an extremely interesting phenomenon, psychologically – while pain is very real, it’s our tolerance towards pain, or our willingness to accept it, which determines how we perceive and feel it. That might also be true of experiences of eating spicy food.”
Can you increase your spice tolerance?
“People can try to desensitise themselves to the burning sensations caused by spicy food by slowly and gradually introducing spicy foods into their diet over a period of time,” says Yang. “This repeated exposure could increase tolerance slowly and people will start to enjoy hot food.”
If that appeals, it’s a good idea to start with the chillies sitting at the bottom of the Scoville Scale. Make sure you have repeated exposure to a particular chilli until you feel used to the sensation it causes. Then, the idea is you move up a notch to the next ones on the list.
Keep at a slow and steady pace while your receptors become used to dealing with the heat. You don’t want to push it too far, too fast. It’s not going to be helpful to go from bland to bird’s eye without stopping for a chipotle or two on the way.
Plus, let’s not forget that chillies vary hugely in flavour – from sweet and fruity to rich and smoky – so try to enjoy the variety of flavours as you learn to deal with the heat.
Find that you’ve pushed it too far and need instant relief? Don’t be tempted to reach for a glass of water – that’s likely to just spread the heat around your mouth. Instead, scientists suggest dairy as a way to cool things down.
“We recommend milk or milk-based products, such as yoghurt and ice cream,” says Rosser. “They need to be the full fat versions as the caseins in the milk will break down the capsaicin quicker. Dry bread can also work as it will cleanse the taste buds in your mouth.”
Ready for something spicy? Now make…
- Red hot chilli sauce
- Peri-peri chicken
- Chilli paneer
- Jollof rice
Originally published June 2023
