Why Do Chili Peppers Taste Hot?

chili peppers, pepper, capsaicinoids, endorphins, food, hot — An odorless, flavorless substance in peppers makes them hot.

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The culprit of the burning feeling you get from jalapeno-loaded Mexican food: chemical compounds called capsaicinoids. The odorless, flavorless substances are hidden in the white flesh inside of peppers. And when you pop a pepper into your mouth, the chemical binds to receptors that respond to pain from heat in the mouth and throat.

The brain gets the message and sends out the body’s “fire squad” to remove the hot substance, resulting in increased circulation (boosts metabolism), cooling perspiration and typical reactions to any irritant (runny nose and teary eyes).

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Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.