A while ago I concluded that I had accidentally eaten part of a habanero, a conclusion not embraced by all but one which remains in place in my mind. This belief was reinforced when last night I unthinkingly popped a whole roasted pepper into my mouth and then thought to ask, just as my diaphragm went into convulsions, “Was that a habanero?”
It was. I’m still feeling it. The immediate, five-minute symptoms last night and last May were quite identical. Happily, we were able to flag a waiter down to bring a shot of rum in short order. The rum was quite helpful.
Where the hell are you dining that they’re A) serving habanero peppers at all, and B) not telling you in advance?
you know, I love that feeling where my skull seems to be lifting away from my brain.
Mike, it may be time to take a break from eating whole peppers.
Actually, whole milk is better, at least for the getting the burning sensation out of your mouth. That’s because what causes the burning are oils from the peppers, and drinking something like water or rum won’t dissolve those oils (in fact, they’ll probably make it worse). Milk, on the other hand, is a lipid, and will dissolve the oils from the hot peppers…
But, dude, the rum helps you forget.
“Diets rich in chilies, other capsaicin-containing peppers and many other ‘hot’ spices (such as turmeric) actually improve general health and may prevent several serious or life-threatening illnesses” . . . just as long as you don’t EAT any of those peppers. Or: “Habaneros: now with up to 50% more fast-acting internal chemical-burn action! Use this all-natural plant remedy to dissolve many major organs!”