Naked Science Forum
General Science => Question of the Week => Topic started by: EvaH on 29/03/2021 16:01:16
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Listener Nancy got in touch to ask:
"Why does chilli seem to stay on your fingers for so long after cooking with them? Even after washing your hands multiple times it can still hurt if you touch your eyes!"
We'll be answering this on next week's show, but what do you think?
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Capsaicin, the molecule responsible for the burning sensation of chili peppers, is a very greasy molecule. It is like oil, in that it is hydrophobic and lipophilic—it doesn't dissolve well in water, but does dissolve well in oil. This means that if you get capsaicin on your skin and don't wash it off immediately, it will soak in. Rinsing with water will do nothing other than temporarily distract your nerves with a cool sensation (unless it's hot water!). Soapy water might help before it soaks in, but then you essentially have to wait it out.
I have heard of people resorting to washing their hands with high-proof alcohol (which might work, as capsaicin is fairly soluble in ethanol, but again, I suspect it is mostly about the cooling sensation. you would need to soak your hands for a long time in quite a large volume of ethanol to remove the capsaicin once it's in there.)
The best solution! Wear impervious gloves while handling, washing, cutting etc. hot peppers. (and then take them off before you touch your face, your phone, the fridge handle, really anything else!)
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The best solution!
Don't eat chilli.
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The best solution!
Don't eat chilli.
Yes, never eat chilli. Or curry - yuck! Doesn't it smell instinctively disgusting? Reject such offensive so-called food!
Instead, sustain yourself with good, honest, wholesome nourishment. In the form of beef, carrots, spuds and sprouts.
These will supply you with all the fats, proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins that you need for a long and healthy life.
I have found this to be true. At least so far. So I urge others to follow my example. What can you lose, by doing so?
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What can you lose, by doing so?
Friends! Sprouts are highly fartogenic.
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What can you lose, by doing so?
Friends! Sprouts are highly fartogenic.
Do you think so? I know that sprouts, and baked beans, have got a bad odour in that respect.
But this may be unjust. These vegetables might be afflicted with an undeserved reputation. Based not on scientific evidence, but rather on cultural influences. Such as watching movies.
For example, the movie "Blazing Saddles" presents in one of its most notorious and memorable scenes, a stereotyped image of the supposed after-effects of baked-bean consumption.
I deplore this calumny! I have regularly eaten baked-beans - and sprouts - in great abundance, all my life, and enjoyed them without detecting any trace of excessive wind.
I've tried to convey this message to my friends. But for some reason, friends seem fewer these days.
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Beans were farty long before Blazing saddles was filmed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoreanism#Vegetarianism
These days, we even know why they are windy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans#Flatulence
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Beans were farty long before Blazing saddles was filmed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoreanism#Vegetarianism
These days, we even know why they are windy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans#Flatulence
Thanks BC. But having read through the two link references which you kindly supplied, I would reply thus:
1. Pythagorus didn't know what he was talking about. He had no knowledge of modern Science.
Therefore his useless opinions on any scientific subject whatsoever (except right-angled triangles), should be entirely dismissed. I'm surprised you had to resort to such an antiquated and discredited source
2. I have eaten baked-beans and sprouts throughout my life. Without experiencing any "windy" effects. These supposed effects are not based on reality. But only on a long-standing cultural "meme" which is perpetuated in movies like "Blazing Saddles".
Cheers to you, and "bottoms up"!
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Thanks all for your input. The question has now been answered and you can find it here: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/question-week/why-do-chillies-stay-your-hands
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The same phenomenon we have with onions, right? You can wash your hands as much as you can and you´ll still smell a breeze of onion. Some people say you can rubb your fingers on metal for example on a sink and your will loose the smell. Does that work for chilli as well?
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The same phenomenon we have with onions, right? You can wash your hands as much as you can and you´ll still smell a breeze of onion. Some people say you can rubb your fingers on metal for example on a sink and your will loose the smell. Does that work for chilli as well?
That will not work for chili, but it could work for both onions and garlic. I am skeptical that it would be very effective, but there is a chemical mechanism for it:
Both onions and garlic contain sulfur-rich compounds that are responsible for their odor/eye-watering effects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syn-Propanethial-S-oxide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diallyl_disulfide
Transition metals such as iron and (especially) nickel and copper have a very high affinity for sulfur, and could react with the compounds above. I would expect this reaction to be quite slow (especially for stainless steel, which is protected by an oxide coat) but could potentially remove traces of onion scent...
Note that these reactions are slow, but fast enough to take into consideration when storing food. Cast iron, mild steel, and copper cookware/utensils will react with sulfur-rich foods on the timescale of several hours to days, so best to transfer to glass for storage.
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It's plausible that the metal, or the surface oxides of the metal, catalyse the reaction of the sulphur compounds with oxygen from the air and render them odourless.