Green chilie question

[LrdGeno]

why do green chilies get hotter after putting them in the freezer? I noticed this after we found some chilies, and just smelling them made my nose run.

[MrMistery]

Pardon the stupid romanian, but what is a green chillie?

[mith]

i'm guessing something like a jalpeno chili

[Navin]

Where i live, in the tropics, there are red and green chillies. Here's a picture of one. Jalepeno peppers are fatter than the one shown in the picture.

Actually, red chillies are hotter than green chillies. I'm not sure how it got hotter in the fridge though.

[MrMistery]

Ok, now i finally understand what we are discussing.
But i am sad to say i have absolutely no idea why the green chily appeared hotter after being put in the freezer.
Let me tell you a little about why these chillies(i call them peppers) seem hot: it is all about a substance called capsaicin. This substance activates an ion channel in the cells of your tongue that let's Na and Ca inside, creating a depolarisation. The funny thing is that research shows that heat can also cause a conformational change in the same ion channel with the same result(opening the channel). Gives a new meaning to the term "hot pepper", doesn't it?
So you see, it is quite strange that you say that these peppers can become hotter after sitting in the freezer. I qould understand if they were to become hotter after staying in a very warm place...
The only actual scenario that i could immagine is that of a false sensation. Did you know that at ~40 degrees celsius the cold receptors start sending signals, sometimes causing a sensation of cold when it is in fact hot? Maybe a similar thing happens to you with your peppers, the capsaicin receptor opens for no reason at a very low temperature. Even if, i must say, it seems highly unlikely...

[amoebapower]

my friend is mexican, and she freezes the chillys before makins salsa

[i_r_e_d]

Im a man from the far away lands of mexico... Green Chilie is a pland that looks like a green tomato but long and skinny instead of round... Its very spicy and oh so good... It comes in red and yellow as well... well gotta go!

[CoolJay221]

Green chilke is the same as original chile exept the color is different

[colleengirl]

Did you freeze the chile with the seeds in them or not? In the southwest of the U.S., during harvest season, we roast the green chile-then peel and eat-or whatever!(make stew) But, for the rest of the green chile, we put them into zip-lock baggies and freeze them. Some people prefer to peel and de-seed the chiles, before freezing. The reason being is that the seeds are much hotter than the chilies themselves. That is the old wives tale at the moment anyway... :wink: :wink: P.S. Many different kinds of chiles are in the chile family. The red chile is from the green drying out on what is know as ristras. Habanero peppers are believed to be the hottest!! Chipolte is the red roasted jalapeno peppers-um at least thats what I have been taught. So, Hasta La Vista little tortillas :)

[Dr.Stein]

Hmm, according to my experience, green chilli is not that hot compared to red ones. It has a taste like a bit bitter with a little sweet and hot, whereas I can taste only hot for red ones ..

[i_r_e_d]

okay... here's a different question... How do they know which chilis are hotter? They cant taste every single chili they put out...

[canalon]

Chemist answer: measure concentration of capsaicin...
Practical answer prepare mixed solution of chilies (same conditions, and dilute them more and more, taste your dilution until you cannot feel the sting, rank your chilies with this scale. It's in fact the procedure used to measure the strength of chilies, but I cannot remember the name of the scale.