# Hot Flavour ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 6, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831 "2002-12-06T01:28:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831/1 "2002-12-06T01:28:20Z")

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Is pure capiscum the hottest flavoured substance known?  
What about the essencial oils of black-pepper or ginger for istance? Also do things that actually sting have the same hot-taste effect, ie would stinging nettles taste ‘unbearably’ hot?  
Cheers, Keithy

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**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831/2 "2002-12-06T02:37:17Z")

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As far as I know it’s the _only_ “hot” flavored subtance known. If there’s another food that tricks us into thinking the temperature in our mouths has risen significantly I’d like to know about it.

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**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831/3 "2002-12-06T03:27:37Z")

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Here’s a staff report on [capsaicin](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mchili.html).

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**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-flavour/140831/4 "2002-12-06T17:10:42Z")

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I understand the linking between Capsaicin and pain. But it is certainly not just any-old pain (tooth ache doesn’t ‘taste’ hot, does it). Also black pepper and ginger (cinnamon as well and others) can ‘taste’ hot but don’t as far as I know contain Capsaicin.  
Are there a particular set of pain receptors, that when they are stimulated give the hot-taste sensation?  
If they do exist, can they be stimulated (say electronically) to give the same effect?  
Cheers, Keithy