Chilli heat increasing over time

[anonymous-user]

Dear all,

I have recently been engaging in the rewarding and frugal passtime I like to call soup vat.

I have made two pressure cooker-fulls of spiced parsnip soup. Each had one and a half birdseye chillies in which are kept in the freezer.

My family and GF's family are unable to dispatch all of the soup on the first day. It typically lasts for 3 days and I am sure that the heat of the chillki becomes more pronounced the longer it is left.

Two questions

- Does anyone else find chilli heat increases as something sits and "ages"
- Does anyone know (if true) why this is.

I could google it, I could read around for it but I would rather have a conversation of sorts. I am sure you lot won't disappoint.

Best,

Fred.

[devnull]

Thinking about this logically, surely it would just be permeation of the chilli over time? A bit like how a curry tastes better after a day - the spices have had a chance to soak!

[otolith]

Same reason your tea gets stronger the longer you leave it brewing - you're just extracting the capsaicin from the chillies.

[anonymous-user]

otolith said:

Same reason your tea gets stronger the longer you leave it brewing - you're just extracting the capsaicin from the chillies.

Even though the soup is homogenous and all blended up?

[otolith]

Tea leaves are pretty finely chopped too!

When it's blended, you're only chopping the chilli up into tiny solid pieces, not obliterating it. The finer you chop it, the quicker the capsaicin will leach out, but it will still happen over time.

[anonymous-user]

otolith said:

Tea leaves are pretty finely chopped too!

When it's blended, you're only chopping the chilli up into tiny solid pieces, not obliterating it. The finer you chop it, the quicker the capsaicin will leach out, but it will still happen over time.

That explains it very well. Thank you very much.

Best,

Fred.