Water, milk, honey, whipped cream… What should we really consume to relieve an overheated mouth after eating spicy food? Here are the foods to avoid so as not to aggravate the burning sensation and those to favor to put out the fire.
No to water, beer and soda!
Interviewed by the American edition of HuffPost, Kurt Miller (better known as Johnny Scoville), a self-proclaimed pepper eater, advises against drinking water, beer or soda to try to calm the burning sensation in the mouth. He explains that water only makes things worse because it only moves the active components of the pepper elsewhere (throat, esophagus). “What happens with water is it displaces the capsaicin in your mouth.” warns Kurt Miller. “You may feel relief for a second when the water is on your tongue. But as soon as you swallow the water, this relief disappears.”he adds. Although the water provides slight relief at the time, it aggravates the burn because it then comes back stronger because the spices have been spread all over the mouth.
The effect is the same with beer. “Beer is essentially made of water. And although it seems to alleviate the pain momentarily, it doesn’t actually do anything”, says Shahina Waseem, nicknamed the “UK Chilli Queen”.
But arguably the worst drink for relieving a chili burn is soda. For Mike Jack, a Canadian who managed to eat 50 Carolina Reaper peppers (the hottest in the world) in 6 minutes and 49 seconds, soda only intensifies the burn. One study showed that carbonation in soda activates a protein, TRPA1, linked to pain in nerve cells. This protein is activated by certain spicy foods like wasabi.
Gargle with milk before spitting it out
If there’s one drink to soothe a chili burn, it’s milk. A study published in 2019 revealed that fat in milk can interact with capsaicin, an active compound found in many spicy foods. With milk, the relief is real but temporary. For Kris Fragale, another competitive chili eater nicknamed “Scoville Unit,” the best way to get relief from milk is to hold it in your mouth for a few seconds like a gargle and then spit it out. He advises against swallowing the milk because when it is mixed with the spices in the stomach, it can cause digestive problems.
Other milk-based products can relieve discomfort: yogurt, whipped cream, ice cream or even cheese.
Peanut butter to form a protective barrier around the tongue
For Kurt Miller, the best remedy for chili burn is peanut butter. According to him, this food forms a protective barrier on the tongue, preventing active ingredients from penetrating inside. “My theory is that peanut butter coats the taste receptors on the tongue because it is very thick.”he says.
For other spicy food experts, sugar and acidity help counterbalance the effect of capsaicin. They recommend pineapple juice and pickle juice for example.