Capsaicin

Definition

Capsaicin is concentrated in the pith and membranes of chilli fruits rather than the seeds, and it is poorly soluble in water and readily soluble in fats and alcohols. It acts on a heat-sensing receptor rather than on a taste receptor, which is why the sensation arrives later than sweetness, builds rather than spikes, and outlasts the flavour around it. Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution with very little free water and no fat, so extracting capsaicin into it is slow and uneven — contact time does more than temperature, and heat helps mainly by lowering viscosity.

Where the word gets used loosely

Chilli heat is often attributed to the seeds. The seeds carry little capsaicin themselves and pick it up from the surrounding pith; taking them out of an infusion mostly removes a source of bitterness rather than a source of heat.

Honey records that discuss this

• Euphorbia honeyOverwhelmingly pungent — a sharp peppery burn at the back of the throat that builds for some seconds after swallowing and dominates everything else. Beneath it there is a warm caramel sweetness that most people never get to.

Guide records that discuss this

• Hot honey and infused honeyHot honey is not a kind of honey. It is honey with chilli in it — a prepared food, made after the bees have finished, and one that behaves differently enough from plain honey that the usual reassurances about keeping do not all carry over.