Month: May 2014

Here is s re-publication of a popular blog post from 2009. Enjoy!

It seems as though when I go both online and in the “real world,” whenever I mention the fact that I’m into chile peppers and hot sauce, there’s a good chance that the people I meet will drudge up a misconception, myth, or urban legend about the subject. To help clear the constant confusion, I’ve for the longest time wanted to make a blog post that would take on the most common ideas and separate the fantasy from reality.

To accomplish this, I’ve asked Dave DeWitt to help out and verify if any of these chile pepper and hot sauce myths are true. Dave is more than qualified to answer, as he is one of the world’s foremost experts on chile peppers – he’s written more than 35 chile-related books, is a board member of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, producer of the Fiery Foods and BBQ Show, therefore rightly earning the nickname “The Pope of Peppers”. His brand new book, The Complete Chile Pepper Book, is now available on Amazon, and you can visit his Fiery Foods and BBQ SuperSite for a vast wealth of spicy information.

Scott: The capsaicin found chile peppers and hot sauces can irritate parts of the body, such as the skin, eyes, mouth and tongue. As some people have claimed, can you actually get a blister from capsaicin contact?

Dave: Yes, it’s called contact dermatitis. Like with poison ivy, some people are more sensitive and some are even immune…