Discussion
For a while, I was under the impression that all spiciness, or burning sensation in food flavoring, would come from capsaicin, the compound that causes it in chili peppers. Then I realized that Sichuan peppers are a quite different kind of heat. Wasabi (horseradish) is different yet again.
How many hot-flavored compounds are there? At least five!
Kalsec: "The Elements of Heat"
@clacke Don’t forget the synergies with pyrazines that can amplify “the heat” and add their own nuttiness & umami components.
I think they supply the starting materials as well as the enzymatic machinery.
I knew the allium stuff was sulfur-based si was surprised to see sulfur in only one of the five things in your lead toot.
@idlestate Oh, you actually looked at the molecules. 😅
Now that you mentioned it, I looked at them too, and that is indeed surprising. These are all so very different in both composition and structure, and yet we perceive the end result as simillar.
@clacke I have a friend who is extremely sensitive to anything spicy, but she found sichuan pepper pleasant. We both experience it as some sensation different from spicy.