Flaming foods

It’s not uncommon for brows to drip at the taste of a small cayenne pepper. José Bonner, a professor who teaches Biology of Food, has a seasoned tongue for these flaming cuisines and can explain the common steamy reaction.

“Chemicals in spicy foods, like chile peppers, interact with our heat-sensing receptors and make the neurons fire,” Bonner says.

The effect of spicy foods depends on the temperature-sensing neurons, not our taste buds. So the spicier something tastes, the higher the body’s temperature will rise — to the point where it might actually break a sweat.

Feeling daring? Test your taste buds with Bonner’s zesty recipe. Just be sure to have a glass of milk nearby to quench the flames.

Smokey Habañero Salsa

1 ripe tomato
1 habañero chili
1 chipotle
Juice from 1/2 “juice” orange
Dash of onion and garlic salt

1. Put chipotle in boiling water, turn off heat and let cool, chop very fine.
2. Remove skin from tomato, chop coarse.
3. Grind the habañero and use as much as you’re comfortable with.
4. Squeeze to juice from 1/2 of a “juice” orange.
5. Add dashes of onion, garlic salt, or any other spices you prefer.