Was your food a little too spicy?

No matter how much we love a good, spicy curry, we could just kick ourselves when we take a bite and realise we’ve been a bit too generous with the chilli peppers. It can really feel like your mouth is on fire. How can you soothe a burn like that? Well, it’s very simple: you just have one of these drinks. Whatever you do, never try to cool down your mouth by drinking water!

Burn

Is your mouth on fire because you’ve eaten something that was a little too spicy? Don’t try to cool it down with a bit of water: this won’t help you at all. That’s because hot spices and sauces contain an oil-like substance that won’t dissolve in water. So, what should you drink instead?

Milk

The most well-known method to cool down your mouth is drinking a good old glass of milk. Why does this work? Spicy food contains a substance called capsaicin, which attaches itself to the ends of your nerves. This gives your brain the signal for “fire!” Milk, however, contains casein, which in turn attaches itself to the capsaicin and basically extinguishes the fire.

Yoghurt

Yoghurt works the same way as milk in that it extinguishes the fire in your mouth. It’s even better, though, to eat some yoghurt before you start your spicy meal. Yoghurt more or less covers the inside of your mouth with a protective layer, which means the chilli peppers or other spicy things won’t have a chance to burn your mouth.

Tea

Dairy isn’t the only thing that can help you out when you’ve eaten something a little too spicy, though, which will please the lactose-intolerant among us. Tea can also soothe the pain. It might sound strange: “how can something that’s hot itself soothe my mouth?” Well, of course, you should make sure the tea is at a drinkable temperature, but then it does certainly work.

Other remedies

There are other products besides these drinks that can help soothe the burn. Try taking a bite out of some bread, or eat a bit of dry rice or a prawn cracker. This will cause the burning to stop and your mouth to cool down.  n

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