# Hurts so good. May I have another, sir? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793 "2001-07-09T06:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/1 "2001-07-09T06:28:02Z")
Another order of barbecued pork with Chinese hot mustard that is? Why is the hot in Chinese mustard different than the hot in, say, Mexican food? The mustard doesn’t burn the mouth like most spicy food does. It’s a different kind of burn, with a transient, vapor-like feeling that moves through one’s nasal passages. What is it? And why do I love it so? ---
**Author:** ![fnord1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@fnord1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fnord1966)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/2 "2001-07-09T06:36:07Z")
If you like the mustard, try Wasabi, its made from the same stuff, but green and about 10 times as potent. I love it myself, but I have discovered something strange, the first dose, boy it hurts, eyes water, lungs burn, then its gone, then if you have the same exact amount, nothing. I need to double the ammount to get the same result, by the end of the meal, I am spooning the stuff into my egg roll. I know partly why I love it, intense pain with no long term side effects other than a runny nose. Endorphins probably. And after the pain goes, it feels so good, like you are one with the universe, totally alive. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/3 "2001-07-09T06:48:59Z")
Actually, I eat wasabi fairly often, too. And you’re right, the effect is very similar. I don’t have the same problem with building up a resistence to it as you. It’s usually pretty strong throughout. ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/4 "2001-07-09T13:53:22Z")
**fnord** mate one descriptive post from you; that’s all it’s taken. My friends have been telling me for years to eat the wasabe, and I have always refused. I can’t WAIT to try it now. Thanks! Redboss ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/5 "2001-07-09T13:55:15Z")
Was I thinking of Kimo Sabe? Y’know, Tonto, and who was that masked man? Wasab **i**. Okay. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/6 "2001-07-09T14:00:40Z")
How does this compare with the spices in Indian food? When I ate a Bangalore Phal, I found 3 orifices oozing. \* \*relax! It was my eyes watering, my nose running and my mouth dribbling (all only a little bit). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/7 "2001-07-09T14:08:05Z")
[Budweiser ad] **Wasabi!** [/Budweiser ad] For the record the hot stuff in Chinese mustard and wasabi is horseradish, whereas Indian food uses chilies to heat up the food (although, of course, the curry is hot as well). Proper Japanese wasabi is made from a certain type of horseradish which makes a greenish paste. Much of the horseradish you get in the US and Europe is white or otherwise lighter, so Japanese restaurants often add food dye. I don’t know why you love it, but add me to the list of wasabi aficionados. ---
**Author:** ![Adithya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Adithya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adithya)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/8 "2001-07-09T14:12:39Z")
Depends,since the ‘heat’ of Indian foods varies from region to region within India itself.But there are a few dishes which can compare.Some of them are versatile in that you can adjust the amount and type of hot pepper used.Indian cuisine is not heavy on habaneros or similar so I would guess there are even hotter cuisines.Watch out for that habanero,boy it’s nuclear! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/9 "2001-07-09T14:16:14Z")
But what about the OP? The original question was why is the heat different in Wasabi (or horseradish) than it is in peppers (like Habanero, Jalapeno, etc.). I know the pepper heat comes from the molecule Capsaicin, but where does the wasabi heat come from? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/10 "2001-07-09T14:27:57Z")
Some time back there was a story about a local woman (sorry, no cite) who makes homemade horseradish sauce in her basement. Some sort of chemical mishap took place, and the woman was hospitalized, and her neighborhood had to be evacuated, because of noxious fumes emanating from her home. The potent ingredient in horseradish derivatives is a gas of some kind (_trexaluminatratebanana sulfide_, or something like that). THAT is why the “buzz” from wasabie et al is ephemaral and vaporous. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/11 "2001-07-09T14:34:52Z")
boy oh boy. And people criticize ME for misleading thread titles 😃 :: kicking dirt :: ---
**Author:** ![Adithya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Adithya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adithya)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/12 "2001-07-09T14:46:15Z")
Qadgop, Yes that’s an interesting question.Rastahomie,thanks for that bit of info.Other pungent stuff to consider are ginger,black pepper and ordinary radishes. One of the pungent compounds in ginger is (_drumroll_) 1-(4’-hydroxy-3’-methoxyphenyl)-deca-4-ene-3-one Horseradishes also contain a pungent compound allyl isothiocyanate whcih is also present in mustard oil. Garlic contains allyl sulfide. Piperine in peppercorns. Capsaicin in chillies as Qadgop mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Adithya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Adithya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adithya)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/13 "2001-07-09T14:49:50Z")
I read somewhere that capsaicin is the only exception to all of them in the ‘fact’ that the body/taste buds can build up tolerance to it gradually.The pungency of the others never diminishes.I am sceptical,but it’s interesting anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/14 "2001-07-09T15:03:11Z")
Why do you love it? One of the reasons I have heard is that eating hot spicy foods triggers a release of endorphins. Driving really fast or having sex causes a similar reaction so just guess what I usually pick to get my endorphin fix? Sex usually doesn’t cause rectal ignition afterwards and that’s always a plus in my books. If you really like it hot try some Bahamian cuisine that uses goat pepper. I think goat pepper is similar, if not the same as the habanero. As it was described to me by a Bahamian friend… “Dat jalapeno is just spice. You want hot? You have got to try dat goat peppah.” So I’m eating lobster salad and on my fork there is a little slice of something red, about the size of a fingernail clipping. I am thinking it is a slice of red pepper so pop it into my mouth… Oh for the love of God and all that is holy. I have never eaten anything so hot in my life. Pure inadalterated goat pepper, so called because goats and people are the only animals willing to put this into their mouths. It made we want to smoke a cigarette afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/15 "2001-07-09T15:59:42Z")
[WASSSSAAABI!!!](http://www.adcritic.com/content/budweiser-true-wasabi.html) ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/16 "2001-07-10T00:54:11Z")
Yes, it is definitely an endorphin addiction. I used to be able to find these _extremely_ hot Louisiana hot links at Trader Joes, but it’s been years. These were so hot I could only eat them as seasoning in other foods, usually red beans and rice. Just one of these sausages made a pot (~1.5 quarts) of red beans and rice moderately hot to my taste (and far too hot for a lot of Americans’ taste), as well as very tasty. I’d eat about two thirds of a pot of these beans (with grated cheddar and chopped onions, of course) in one sitting, enjoying a constant burn the whole time. And then when I was done, for about a half hour afterwards, I’d enjoy a buzz that was nearly as good as one I’d get from smoking a joint. Damn, I wish I could find those sausages again! ---
**Author:** ![Mobius74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mobius74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mobius74)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/17 "2001-07-10T06:28:28Z")
Hats off to \*\* JonScribe \*\* for having the presence of mind and powers of observation to make some sort of differentiation while his eyes and sinuses were telling him he was eating something he probably shouldn’t. Horseradish is great, but I much prefer peppers (datl, habanero & Scotch bonnets are a few of my non-jalapeno favorites). ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/18 "2001-07-10T06:38:19Z")
Thanks to all, particularly Adithya and Rastahomie. At least I know what to call it, though I probably can’t pronounce it. But I think a government grant is called for to further investigate the physiological aspects of Chinese mustard, Wasabi, horseradish, et. al. Oh, and apologies to jarbabyj for getting her hopes up. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurts-so-good-may-i-have-another-sir/71793/19 "2001-07-10T06:49:25Z")
As the horrified Anguillan chili vendor said as she reluctantly sold a bottle of “Susie’s Extra-Strong Hot Sauce” to my dad: “That’ll blow the asshole off a white man!”