Eat hot
Where peppers get their heat
By Coley Ward
CWARD@AZSTARNET.COM
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.15.2008
There's hot food and then there's hot food.
Most spicy-hot cuisine gets its kick from peppers. And nobody knows peppers like Jeff Silvertooth, who is the head of the University of Arizona's soil, water and environmental science department.
Where does a pepper get its heat?
"If you take a chile like a hot jalapeño, there is a stem inside called the placenta. On that hangs the seeds. Each of those seeds is an intact little embryo, but they aren't hot at all. It's the little yellow veins, that's where the capscaisin oils are and it's the oil in the pepper that's what's hot."
What pepper is the hottest?
"Heat is measured in Scoville heat units. Some mild peppers have a rating close to zero. Habaneros, which are very hot, have a rating between 100,000 and 350,000. And there is a . . . pepper called a Naga that has a rating between 855,000 and 1 million. That's probably the hottest pepper."
What's your favorite local dish?
"One of the best chili sauces I've had is at El Mezon Del Cobre, (at 2960 N. First Ave). They have a chipotle chile sauce that is just outstanding. The best I've ever had. I like their camarón de chipotle (shrimp)."
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