Why is chilli so spicy?
The taste of any substance is what we experience through our taste-buds. The surface of our tongue is covered by little bumps that look tiny warts. These are called 'papillae' and the taste buds are located on the walls of these papillae.
There are about 3,000 tastebuds on a human tongue. They register three different tastes-sweet, salty and bitter.
They are also capable of registering sour taste but it is possible only when the other three tastes combine. Different parts of the tongue are sensitive to different tastes. The back is more sensitive to bitter, sides to salt and sour and the top picks up sweet taste.
Scientists believe chillies contain a substance which irritates the pain nerve-ending located on the tongue.
Recently it has been revealed that when someone eats chillies its juice crosses the 'teste limit' of the tastebuds and so he or she experiances a burning sensation.
This sensation coupled with profuse sweating makes us imagine that the chilli is hot.