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The amount of capsaicin in a chile depends on its genetics, its growing conditions (hot, dry conditions increase the amount), and its ripeness (with the capsaicin peaking just when the green fruit starts to turn color). Capsaicin is concentrated in the placenta of the chile, the white internal membrane that holds the seeds. From there, it migrates into the seeds and along the inner walls of the pepper, where it is found in lesser amounts. For that reason, you can manipulate the amount of capsaicin in your cooking by cutting away all or part of the core and seeds. When you do this, or when you handle any chile, make sure to protect your skin with disposable rubber gloves. Or hold the uncut chile by its stem as you prepare it (you can safely cut the flesh from the core while holding the stem with your ungloved fingers). Either way, avoid getting any capsaicin oil on your skin. It’s hard to wash away, so washing your hands doesn’t do much good.

The amount of capsaicin in a chile is measured in Scoville units, a measurement invented by Wilbur Scoville, a chemist working for the Parke Davis pharmaceutical company, in around 1912. One drop of pure capsaicin in 1 million drops of water is equal to 15 Scoville units. Sweet bell pepper measures 0 on the Scoville scale, and pure capsaicin measures 16,000,000 units. The following chart gives the relative amounts of capsaicin for common chiles. Variables in growing conditions and ripeness of individual peppers account for the range within each chile variety.

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SCOVILLE UNITS FOR CHILE VARIETIES

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Black pepper is the dried berry of a climbing vine in the genus Piper. Its active agent is piperine, which increases as the skin ripens from green to red, peaking just as the fruit starts to turn color. During drying, the skin of a ripe pepper berry turns dark brown to black, giving dried black peppercorns their distinctive appearance. Most of the piperine and aromatic oils are contained in the skin (the interior of a peppercorn is largely starch), which is why polishing the skin in order to make the peppercorn white rids it of most of its aroma and heat. Green peppercorns are harvested before ripening, and pink pepper (not to be confused with pink peppercorns, which come from another plant entirely) is made from fruit that is picked just as it is changing color and preserved in brine instead of being dried.

SALT

Salt is like no other seasoning. It is a mineral (the only one we eat in its pure form), an essential nutrient (without it, the osmotic pressure that supports your cells would collapse), one of the basic tastes (your tongue has specialized taste receptors to help you perceive the presence of salt), a preservative (it discourages the growth of bacteria that spoil food and also allows flavor-producing salt-friendly bacteria to flourish), and a flavor enhancer (it enhances the aroma of foods and suppresses bitter sensations). With salt, seasoning is easy; without it, a cook needs an arsenal of flavor enhancers to take its place.

The expansive role that salt plays in the production of food comes from its chemical structure. Composed of a positively charged sodium ion bound to a negatively charged chlorine ion, salt breaks into its component parts when dissolved in water. The tiny fast-moving ionic atoms penetrate food easily, where they react with proteins, opening them up so that they can readily absorb seasonings and other flavorful components in a recipe. They also draw moisture out of food, which concentrates flavors, solidifies textures, and makes raw protein turn opaque. These changes, which replicate the effects of cooking, are why foods like gravlax and prosciutto are said to be “cooked” in salt. The same reaction is responsible for salt’s ability to draw bitter juices from vegetables, like eggplant or cucumbers, and it is why we cure meats with salt before smoking (excess water in meat would resist the absorption of smoked flavors, which are