0 Question: Why do chillies burn even though they’re cold? Keywords: chilli Asked by JTM2003 to Paul, MarthaNari, Jonny, Hannah, Alison on 20 Jun 2015.
Paul Brack answered on 20 Jun 2015:
Chillies contain a chemical called capsaicin. When these interacts with certain parts of our tongue, it creates the same sensation that heat would, which is why chillies feel like they are ‘burning’ our tongue, even though they are not.
There’s more detail in this article http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/sep/14/chilli-hot-food
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