Why chilli burns your mouth

By Ian Farrell2021-09-02T07:22:00

A photo of a woman reacting to eating spicy food

Source: © Frantic00/Shutterstock

How milk cools things down and water doesn’t

Many of us have eaten a spicy meal that’s too hot for comfort. This article explains the chemistry going on in your mouth when you eat chilli and looks at the science happening when you drink to cool things down. Hint: cold water isn’t the answer. It also looks at the Scoville scale, a measure of the hotness of chilli.

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