The science of spiciness - Rose Eveleth

Nauka o pikantnosti - Rouz Evelet (Rose Eveleth)

Prevodilac: Jasna Andjelkovic Lektor: Mile Živković

Why does your mouth feel like it's on fire

Zašto imate osećaj vatre u ustima

when you eat a spicy pepper?

kada jedete ljutu papriku?

And how do you soothe the burn?

I kako smiriti požar?

Why does wasabi make your eyes water?

Zašto vam suze oči od vasabi sosa?

And how spicy is the spiciest spice?

I koliko je ljut najpikantniji začin?

Let's back up a bit.

Sačekajmo na trenutak.

First, what is spiciness?

Prvo, šta je pikantnost?

Even though we often say that something tastes spicy,

Iako često kažemo da je nešto pikantno,

it's not actually a taste,

to zapravo nije ukus,

like sweet or salty or sour.

kao slatko, slano ili kiselo.

Instead, what's really happening

Zapravo se dešava

is that certain compounds in spicy foods

da određeni sastojci začinjene hrane

activate the type of sensory neurons

aktiviraju čulne neurone

called polymodal nociceptors.

koji se nazivaju polimodalnim nociceptorima.

You have these all over your body,

Imate ih po celom telu,

including your mouth and nose,

uključujući usta i nos,

and they're the same receptors

i to su isti receptori

that are activated by extreme heat.

koje aktivira ekstremna toplota.

So, when you eat a chili pepper,

Tako kada jedete čili papričicu,

your mouth feels like it's burning

vama gori u ustima

because your brain actually thinks it's burning.

jer mozak smatra da je zaista tako.

The opposite happens when you eat something

Suprotno se dešava kada jedete nešto

with menthol in it.

sa mentom u sastavu.

The cool, minty compound

Hladno jedinjenje sa ukusom mente

is activating your cold receptors.

aktivira vaše receptore za hladnoću.

When these heat-sensitive receptors are activated,

Kada se senzori za toplotu aktiviraju,

your body thinks it's in contact

vaše telo misli da je u kontaktu

with a dangerous heat source

sa opasnim izvorom toplote

and reacts accordingly.

i odgovarajuće reaguje.

This is why you start to sweat,

To je razlog zašto se znojite,

and your heart starts beating faster.

i srce brže počinje da lupa.

The peppers have elicited

Papričice su izazvale

the same fight-or-flight response

isti "beži ili se bori" osećaj

with which your body reacts to most threats.

kao kada ste fizički ugroženi.

But you may have noticed that

Ali možda ste primetili da

not all spicy foods are spicy in the same way.

nije sva pikantna hrana ljuta na isti način.

And the difference lies in the types of compounds involved.

Raznolikost leži u jedinjenjima koja su uključena.

The capsaicin and piperine,

Kapsaicin i piperin,

found in black pepper and chili peppers,

u crnom biberu i čili papričicama,

are made up of larger, heavier molecules

sačinjeni su od većih i težih molekula

called alkylamides,

zvanih alkilamidi

and those mostly stay in your mouth.

i oni uglavnom ostaju u ustima.

Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi

Senf, ren i vasabi sos

are made up of smaller molecules,

sačinjeni su od manjih molekula,

called isothiocyanates,

zvanih izotiocijanati

that easily float up into your sinuses.

koji lako odu do vaših sinusa.

This is why chili peppers burn your mouth,

Zato vas od čili papričica peče u ustima,

and wasabi burns your nose.

a od vasabija gori u nosu.

The standard measure of a food's spiciness

Standardna mera za ljutinu hrane

is its rating on the Scoville scale,

označava se Skovilovom skalom,

which measures how much its capsaicin content can be diluted

koja pokazuje koliko se kapsicin iz neke hrane može razblažiti

before the heat is no longer detectable to humans.

do tačke kada čovek više ne registruje toplotu.

A sweet bell pepper gets 0 Scoville heat units,

Paprika babura dobija 0 Skovilove toplotne jedinice,

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

dok Tabasko sos broji između 1200 i 2400 jedinica.

The race to create the hottest pepper

Trka za najljuću papriku

is a constant battle,

je stalna bitka,

but two peppers generally come out on top:

ali dve papričice se uglavnom ističu na vrhu:

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

Moruga Škorpija sa Trinidada

and the Carolina Reaper.

i Sekač iz Karoline.

These peppers measure

Ove papričice mere

between 1.5 and 2 million Scoville heat units,

između 1,5 i 2 miliona Skovilovih toplotnih jedinica,

which is about half the units found in pepper spray.

što je polovina jedinica u suzavcu.

So, why would anyone want to eat something

Dakle, zašto bi bilo ko pojeo nešto

that causes such high levels of pain?

što izaziva tako visok nivo bola?

Nobody really knows when or why

Niko zaista ne zna kada ni kako

humans started eating hot peppers.

su ljudi počeli da jedu ljute papričice.

Archaeologists have found spices like mustard

Arheolozi su pronašli začin nalik senfu

along with human artifacts

zajedno sa predmetima

dating as far back as 23,000 years ago.

iz vremena od pre 23 000 godina.

But they don't know whether the spices were used

Ali ne zna se da li su predmeti korišćeni

for food or medication or just decoration.

za ishranu, lečenje ili samo za ukras.

More recently, a 6,000 year old crockpot,

Bliže nama, lonac star 6 000 godina

lined with charred fish and meat,

pronađen je zajedno sa ugljenisanom ribom, mesom

also contained mustard.

i senfom.

One theory says that humans

Jedna teorija kaže da ljudi

starting adding spices to food

počinju da dodaju začine hrani da ubiju bakterije.

to kill off bacteria.

And some studies show that spice developed

Dok neka istraživanja pokazuju da su se začini razvili

mostly in warmer climates

pretežno u pojasima toplijih klima

where microbes also happen to be more prevalent.

gde su više zastupljeni mikrobi.

But why we continue to subject ourselves

Ali zbog čega se podvrgavamo

to spicy food today

začinjenoj hrani i danas

is still a bit of a mystery.

i dalje je misterija.

For some people,

Nekim ljudima,

eating spicy food

ljuta hrana

is like riding rollercoasters;

je kao vožnja toboganom,

they enjoy the ensuing thrill,

uživaju u uzbuđenju koje pruža,

even if the immediate sensation is unpleasant.

iako im je trenutni doživljaj neprijatan.

Some studies have even shown

Neka istraživanja čak pokazuju da oni koji vole da jedu ljuto

that those who like to eat hot stuff

are more likely to enjoy other adrenaline-rich activities,

više uživaju u drugim adrenalinskim aktivnostima,

like gambling.

kao kockanju.

The taste for spicy food

Sklonost ka 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 u tome uvežbate,

to up your tolerance for spice,

i povećate prag tolerancije za ljuto,

know this:

znajte 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

I zapravo, istraživanja pokazuju

that people who like to eat spicy foods

da ljudi koji jedu ljutu hranu

don't rate the burn any less painful

ne označavaju bol manjom

than those who don't.

nego oni 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,

Stoga, mučite svoje receptore toplote koliko god želite,

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.