Cooling the Heat of a Jalapeno

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective was to find out which edible substance cools the heat of an ingested jalapeno pepper the fastest. Methods/Materials A jalapeno pepper was cut into four equal slices and then eaten by the four participants. A stopwatch was started, and we ate or drank the test substance. I tested water, whole milk, nonfat milk, bread, a lemon/sugar paste, and no substance. Once the participant felt no more heat in his/her mouth, the time was recorded. This was repeated for each substance 3 times. Results Whole milk cooled the heat of the pepper the fastest, whereas water cooled it the slowest - slower than no substance at all. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusion is that whole milk cools the heat of a jalapeno the fastest. This is because dairy products contain casein, which breaks down capsaicin (the chemical that makes peppers hot). Also, capsaicin mixes well with fat, so whole milk worked the best.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Pharmacology/ Toxicology · Entry J1412

Resources

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