The science of spiciness - Rose Eveleth

Prevoditelj: Sanda L Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Why does your mouth feel like it's on fire

Zašto imate osjećaj kao da vam gori u ustima

when you eat a spicy pepper?

dok jedete ljutu papričicu?

And how do you soothe the burn?

I kako ublažavate taj osjećaj?

Why does wasabi make your eyes water?

Zašto vam zbog wasabija suze oči?

And how spicy is the spiciest spice?

I koliko je ljut najljući začin?

Let's back up a bit.

Objasnimo malo.

First, what is spiciness?

Prvo, što je ljutina?

Even though we often say that something tastes spicy,

Iako često kažemo da je nešto ljuto,

it's not actually a taste,

to zapravo nije okus

like sweet or salty or sour.

poput slatkog, slanog ili kiselog.

Instead, what's really happening

Umjesto toga, dešava se to

is that certain compounds in spicy foods

da određeni sastojci ljute hrane

activate the type of sensory neurons

aktiviraju osjetilne neurone

called polymodal nociceptors.

koji se zovu polimodalni nociceptori.

You have these all over your body,

Imate ih po cijelom tijelu,

including your mouth and nose,

kao i u ustima i nosu,

and they're the same receptors

i to su isti receptori

that are activated by extreme heat.

koje aktivira ekstremna vrućina.

So, when you eat a chili pepper,

Kada jedete čili papričicu,

your mouth feels like it's burning

imate osjećaj kao da vam gori u ustima,

because your brain actually thinks it's burning.

jer vaš mozak doista to i misli.

The opposite happens when you eat something

Suprotno se dešava

with menthol in it.

kada jedete nešto što sadrži mentu.

The cool, minty compound

Rashlađujući sastojak mente

is activating your cold receptors.

aktivira vaše receptore za hladnoću.

When these heat-sensitive receptors are activated,

Kada se senzori za toplinu aktiviraju,

your body thinks it's in contact

tijelo misli da je u dodiru

with a dangerous heat source

s opasnim izvorom topline

and reacts accordingly.

i reagira sukladno tome.

This is why you start to sweat,

Zato se počinjete znojiti

and your heart starts beating faster.

i srce vam počinje kucati brže.

The peppers have elicited

Papričice su izazvale

the same fight-or-flight response

istu reakciju "borba ili bijeg",

with which your body reacts to most threats.

kao kada ste fizički ugroženi.

But you may have noticed that

Ali možda ste primijetili

not all spicy foods are spicy in the same way.

da nije sva ljuta hrana ljuta na isti način.

And the difference lies in the types of compounds involved.

Različitost ovisi o sastojcima.

The capsaicin and piperine,

Kapsaicin i piperin

found in black pepper and chili peppers,

u crnom papru i čili papričicama

are made up of larger, heavier molecules

sastoje se od većih i težih molekula,

called alkylamides,

alkilamida,

and those mostly stay in your mouth.

i oni uglavnom ostaju u ustima.

Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi

Senf, hren i wasabi

are made up of smaller molecules,

sastoje se od manjih molekula,

called isothiocyanates,

izotiocijanata,

that easily float up into your sinuses.

koji lako odu do vaših sinusa.

This is why chili peppers burn your mouth,

Zato ljutinu čilija osjećate u ustima,

and wasabi burns your nose.

a ljutinu wasabija u nosu.

The standard measure of a food's spiciness

Standardna mjera za ljutinu hrane

is its rating on the Scoville scale,

označava se Scovillovom skalom,

which measures how much its capsaicin content can be diluted

koja pokazuje koliko se kapsaicin iz neke hrane može razblažiti,

before the heat is no longer detectable to humans.

prije nego čovjek više ne registrira toplinu.

A sweet bell pepper gets 0 Scoville heat units,

Paprika babura ima 0 Scovillovih jedinica topline,

while Tabasco sauce clocks in between 1,200-2,400 units.

dok Tabasco umak broji između 1200 i 2400 jedinica.

The race to create the hottest pepper

Utrka za najljuću papriku

is a constant battle,

je stalna borba,

but two peppers generally come out on top:

ali dvije papričice se uglavnom ističu na vrhu:

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

and the Carolina Reaper.

i Carolina Reaper.

These peppers measure

Ove papričice mjere

between 1.5 and 2 million Scoville heat units,

između 1,5 i 2 milijuna Scovillovih jedinica,

which is about half the units found in pepper spray.

što je otprilike polovica jedinica koje nalazimo u suzavcu.

So, why would anyone want to eat something

Dakle, zašto bi itko pojeo nešto

that causes such high levels of pain?

što izaziva tako visoku razinu boli?

Nobody really knows when or why

Nitko zaista ne zna kada ni zašto

humans started eating hot peppers.

su ljudi počeli jesti ljute papričice.

Archaeologists have found spices like mustard

Arheolozi su pronašli začin sličan senfu

along with human artifacts

zajedno s artefaktima

iz vremena od prije 23 000 godina.

dating as far back as 23,000 years ago.

But they don't know whether the spices were used

Ali ne zna se jesu li začini korišteni

for food or medication or just decoration.

za ishranu, liječenje ili samo za ukras.

More recently, a 6,000 year old crockpot,

U novije vrijeme, u loncu starom 6 000 godina

lined with charred fish and meat,

uz ribu i meso

also contained mustard.

nađen je i senf.

One theory says that humans

Jedna teorija kaže da ljudi

starting adding spices to food

počinju dodavati ljutinu hrani

to kill off bacteria.

kako bi ubili bakterije.

And some studies show that spice developed

Po nekim istraživanjima, ljuti začini su se razvili

mostly in warmer climates

uglavnom u toplijim krajevima,

where microbes also happen to be more prevalent.

gdje su i mikrobi više zastupljeni.

But why we continue to subject ourselves

Ali zbog čega i danas jedemo

to spicy food today

začinjenu hranu,

is still a bit of a mystery.

i dalje je zagonetka.

For some people,

Za neke ljude

eating spicy food

ljuta hrana je

is like riding rollercoasters;

poput vožnje na rollercoasteru,

they enjoy the ensuing thrill,

uživaju u uzbuđenju koje pruža,

even if the immediate sensation is unpleasant.

iako im je trenutni doživljaj neugodan.

Some studies have even shown

Neka istraživanja čak pokazuju

that those who like to eat hot stuff

da oni koji vole jesti ljuto,

are more likely to enjoy other adrenaline-rich activities,

više uživaju u drugim adrenalinskim aktivnostima,

like gambling.

poput kockanja.

The taste for spicy food

Sklonost ljutoj hrani

may even be genetic.

može čak biti i genetska.

And if you're thinking about training a bit,

I ako mislite da se malo uvježbate

to up your tolerance for spice,

i povisite prag tolerancije na ljuto,

know this:

znajte i ovo:

According to some studies,

prema nekim istraživanjima,

the pain doesn't get any better.

bol se ne ublažava,

You just get tougher.

već samo očvrsnete.

In fact, researchers have found

Zapravo, istraživanja pokazuju

that people who like to eat spicy foods

da ljudima koji vole jesti ljutu hranu

don't rate the burn any less painful

ljutina nije ništa manje bolna

than those who don't.

od onih koji ne jedu.

They just seem to like the pain more.

Jednostavno im se više sviđa bol.

So, torment your heat receptors all you want,

Mučite svoje receptore topline koliko hoćete,

but remember, when it comes to spicy food,

ali upamtite, kada je ljuta hrana u pitanju,

you're going to get burned.

opeći ćete se.