I was just wondering if there can be a Big difference in heat from pod to pod on a single plant? And what might be the cause? I like to mince one large red brainstrain and spread it over two slices of pizza (half of a newmans own) before going into the oven and today I did just that but about halfway through the second slice I started getting kicked in the mouth by this pepper I mean it was hot! I could barely finish my pizza and then went into panic mode and had to swish milk around in my mouth to calm it down. I have eaten about 10 of those brainstrains out of that bag and they have all been manageable. I have even eaten one by itself and didn't get burned like this. I'm just sitting here like ?
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Difference in heat from pod to pod from single plant?
- Thread starter Sm1nts2escape
- Start date
I can tell the difference from one pod to another on most of my plants. I guessing it has to do about how much shade or sun each pod gets.
The larger pods are (usually) hotter due to larger amounts of capsaicin. Temperatures and plant stress also have an affect as far as SHU. If you have two pods of pretty much the same size and started to form the pod at the same time then they should have the same heat or you wouldnt be able to tell the difference.
This publication from the chilli pepper institute correlates the capsaicin content of a pod to its location on the plant:
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/content/files/pungency_of_chile%281%29.pdf
They conclude that the lower the node position, the higher the capsaicin content. They suggest that this could be due to competition between pods for capsaicin. Since the plant has a limited supply, the more pods present on the plant, there would be less capsaicin per pod. If they are correct then one way to maximise heat in a pod would be to limit the number of pods growing on the plant.
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/content/files/pungency_of_chile%281%29.pdf
They conclude that the lower the node position, the higher the capsaicin content. They suggest that this could be due to competition between pods for capsaicin. Since the plant has a limited supply, the more pods present on the plant, there would be less capsaicin per pod. If they are correct then one way to maximise heat in a pod would be to limit the number of pods growing on the plant.
Aussie said:
Huh, that's really interesting.