Hot sauce is good stuff there is not doubt about that but aside from spicing up our food, and using it as a pain killer it has some other more surprising uses. Here are just a couple.
Capsaicin is the stuff that makes hot sauce hot and it can be extracted from peppers. This is the stuff they put in pepper spray and the stuff that they use to do medical experiments. They can also add it to paint that is used to paint the bottoms of ships. Seems strange? Well consider that large ships can pick up thousands of pounds worth of barnacles which not only weigh tons but also severely reduce the ships aerodynamics under the water, or would that be water dynamics. I don’t know,the point I am making is that barnacles cost shipping companies millions in additional fuel cost. Hot sauce laced paint can virtually eliminate the barnacle problem. I would not suggest tasting the paint or even licking the paint, just take my word for it.
You probably won’t find that all that useful around the house but this one you may. Like birds, hate it when squirrels eat your bird seed? Well here you go. Squirrels don’t like hot sauce but bird do. Add some capsaicin to your bird seed and spice it up for the squirrels, it doesn’t take them long to know that there are greener pastures out there and the extra vitamin A in the capsaicin actually helps the bird with their plumage. I would say you kill two bird with one stone, but that doesn’t sound right in this context.
Another good home use is to use cayenne powder to control pests such as ants or slugs. Bugs don’t like hot sauce, but it won’t kill them so if you are the type that thinks it is inhumane to kill bugs this could be a good green solution. This can also be used in situations where rodents can be a problem. Hot sauce will keep them out of certain areas or from chewing on wires.
These are just a few uses for hot sauce there are many more and they happen to be some of the most environmentally friendly and humane way to control many problems. Have a good time experimenting with hot sauce on your food or under your house.
Salsa rocks and it can give a big kick to any dish, adding just a little hot sauce to even the most bland dishes can really make them shine. So what is it about salsa that makes it so good and gives it the burn? Well really it is pretty simple. Let me give you a brief overview of the functionality of the pepper.
First you have to gobble down some salsa with capsaicin, this is the irritant that is in the peppers that causes the burn. When the capsaicin hit your mouth, the burning sensation is caused by an irritation of a cell called the trigeminal cell. Didn’t realize there was actually science to this did you? These cells send the sensation of pain to your brain. This irritation causes them to release release a substance called P, science can be simple. This is what tells the brain, “Hott!” Regular exposure to capsaicin depletes the nerve ending of P, this will lead to desensitization, meaning that you can’t taste the rest of your food. Because your taste buds regenerate your taste sensation will return but tolerance to capsaicin will remain higher than before. It is possible to totally kill of taste buds despite their regenerative properties but it would be very difficult. We would be talking about eating industrial grade pepper spray, which is nothing more than capsaicin concentrate and something like a couple of hundred times hotter than a Habanero.
Now that you know how capsaicin works you probably don’t want to eat too much of it. It is good that most companies put warnings on salsa containers rating the hotness of a particular hot sauce. If you are a stranger to salsa I would suggest starting low and working your way up the Scoville scale to a point that is just above your pain threshold. As we mentioned above your taste buds will develop a tolerance to the heat and you may actually start to like the intense sensation of heat and the accompanied release of endorphins.
Salsa can be a great addition to cooking but it is important that you learn how to use hot sauce safely and effectively. Realize that not everyone shares your love for something that can cause so much pain.
Increasing your resistance to super spicy hot sauce is similar to setting out to run a marathon. Anyone, within reason can do it, and most people give you a dumb blank stare when you explain what you are doing. You have to put in the time and effort and it tends to be pretty painful but rewarding in a strange sort of way. It is semi addictive and it makes you feel good in the long run. You are also making short term sacrifices to enjoy long term health benefits.
So, how the heck do you increase your tolerance to hot sauce? Simple, just eat a bunch. Some people start out with a higher threshold for capsaicin resistance, which is largely formed by previous hot chili consumption. These high resistance folks can start moving to smaller hotter chilies consumed more frequently.
The best way to start eating more hot chilies is to simply determine your resistance level, that is what it is comfortable for you to eat, what taste good and does not cause you to drink too much water, and run for the hills. Take a step back from this and just increase the frequency of your consumption. After you have developed a good routine of eating spicy food regularly take it up a notch. Go hotter once and within reason. If you are used to cooked jalapenos try a fresh one for a change, if jalapenos have lost their bite try something spicier, like a quarter habanero. After the burn subsides go back to eating your normal not so spicy fare and see how it taste. Chances are that it will have lost its bite for good.
At this point slowly start to increase the amount of hot sauce you use and experiment with different kinds of chilies and hot sauce. There are millions of different kinds of sauce and thousands of different chilies, many have a very good flavor once you get past the heat and all have the great benefits of capsaicin.
Suggestions for cooking
Looking for ways to add a little spice to your life?
Add hot peppers to salad
Douse your omelet with hot sauce
Spice up a smoothie or juice for a good kick
Mix a cocktail with a little heat
Hot sauce is not just for chips and dip, it goes great with nearly any food and can take the place of less healthy condiments like salt or creamy salad dressing.
Experiment with all of the different varieties for the max health benefit and have fun raising eyebrows with your ability to down chocolate covered habanero peppers.
