The Best Way To Cool Your Mouth After Eating Hot Sauce
Some people can taste even the essence of a hot pepper the moment they take a bite of a dish with some kick, while others choose to hardly taste anything other than spice in their meal, and they like it that way. Regardless of the level of Scoville Scale heat one can endure from the kitchen, anyone can overdo it. For the moments when breathing is the only task that can be focused on, here's a trick to cool your mouth down enough to dive in for another bite.
Eating spicy food at record speed to avoid the inevitable lingering mouth burning is one way to put off the pain, but there are other ways to relieve the discomfort that involve less heartburn. There are various solutions when your mouth feels like a dozen flames, but the general consensus is that the best way to chill your mouth down is with dairy, confirms NDTV Food.
Reach for milk to cool down
There's a reason that many spicy dishes are often served with dairy-based products such as sour cream with Mexican fare and raita alongside fiery Indian dishes, and that reason is to mellow the heat. Heated peppers contain capsaicin, which is what tells your mouth it's time to feel pain. Dairy fights the capsaicin with casein (via NDTV Food) and provides some comfort. Houston Methodist agrees that dairy is the way to go when your mouth feels like a million degrees.
There are other options if dairy isn't your thing or the milk in the fridge is starting to smell a little too funky. Chugging something acidic like lemonade or orange juice will ease the pain, as will starch. A thick piece of bread will help protect your mouth from capsaicin. The one thing not to do is probably the thing that your instincts tell you first: drink water. As good as chugging water may feel initially, it will actually cause the burn to keep stinging.
Aside from amping up a dish, spicy foods have a handful of benefits that don't just enhance the flavor, but your health as well. Heathline reveals that spicy food can accelerate your metabolism, help combat cancer cells, and ultimately make you live longer. This is sure to thrill hot sauce enthusiasts, and maybe even bring some mild eaters over to the spicy side.