   The Chile Pepper, Part III - April 14, 1999 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County This is the last installment on chiles (I promise). In the previous columns, I discussed culture, varieties, and heat. Then I realized that I neglected chile safety. Really, hot chiles, such as Habaneros and Chiltepins can be downright dangerous. Even the milder ones can cause minor skin irritation. There is a solution: when roasting or preparing chiles, simply wear rubber gloves to avoid getting burned. Some scientific research has been done on relieving chile burns. In the New Mexico study, 20 female volunteers placed both hands in roasted, peeled, ground green chile for 40 minutes. After the exposure they plunged one hand into cold water and the other into vegetable oil. Subsequent interviews related that the oil worked better than water at relieving the burning. It makes sense when you realize that capsaicin (the hot stuff) is oil soluble. The oil dilutes the capsaicin and it diffuses back into the oil solution. Conversely, we all know that oil and water don=t mix. Chinese chefs put this principle to good use when they make hot chile oil. How about this scenario: you are at the Chinese restaurant and you ordered the Kung Pao Chicken. You are starving. The dish is served and you take a big bite. You didn't realize that those dark-colored things you thought were peanuts were actually dried Thai chiles (I think this happens fairly often). So, what do you do to relieve the burning: A. drink water; B. drink a TBSP of olive oil; C. drink one half cup of heavy fruit syrup; D. rinse your mouth with glycerol; or E. drink one half cup of milk? This is another real study that used slices of Serrano chile followed by each of the five aforementioned remedies. Participants indicated the amount of time it took to recover using each one. Water took eleven minutes while milk took only seven minutes. By the way, for those of you that regularly carry around a bottle of glycerine, you can recover in only eight minutes. Science is a wonderful thing. Hint: maybe this is why some of our Chinese restaurants have soft-serve ice cream at the buffet. Chiles also have medicinal properties. I know that when I eat lots of chile, I don't get colds as easily. I swear it's the heat but analysis also shows that fresh chiles are chocked full of vitamins A and C. Another myth about chiles is that they will rot your stomach lining. In another study (this is the last one this week I promise), doctors used videoendoscopy (fiber optics and miniature video cameras) to look at 12 people's stomach linings as they directly injected 30 grams (that is slightly over one ounce) of ground Jalapenos. No effect was seen on the stomach linings. By the way, aspirin and alcohol are know to have negative effects on the stomach lining. On a different note, imagine being the subject in these sorts of studies. All I can say is: "the pay better be good". Capsaicin is also used to treat shingles. The product is called Zostrix and was also used experimentally for relief of mastectomy pain, diabetic neuropathy, and phantom-limb pain. Many smokers kick the habit by chewing nicotine gum only to find they become hooked on the gum. Researchers have putting capsaicin in placebo gums to help nicotine addicts kick their gum habits. I don=t know what this column has to do with gardening, but I keep telling myself that there is a connection. Here are some issues to ponder. Should we issue goggles and safety gloves to protect supermarket shoppers from environmental Habanero exposure? These fiery devils are certainly more dangerous to human health than many chemical pesticides. Remember: when chiles are outlawed only the outlaws will have chiles. Oh well, would you please pass the milk. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on gardening and variety selection. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. |