What am I doing wrong that is making my dishes spicier when served as leftovers. Am I not simmering long enough?
For some reason the last three dishes I've cooked seem to get spicer leftover the next day. When they do obtain close to room temp they've all been stored in Pyrex and placed in the same fridge but cooked in different intervals (weeks apart). All three dishes have been cooked in the same 12 quart cast iron dutch oven.
The three dishes are from scratch and do contain fragrant spices:
- Chili
- Jambalaya
- Chicken Tikka Masala
All three are tomato based but for some reason they all seem to get spicer as leftovers. After I bring them to a boil I do simmer them from anywhere to 10-30 mins depending on the recipe. Am I possibly not simmering them enough or am I missing something in the process?
When I search for an answer the closet read I could find was: "Why do spicy foods get hotter in the fridge?"
Best Answer
"Capsaicin is soluble in alcohol, but very little in water. Because of the burning sensation caused by capsaicin when it comes in contact with mucous membranes, it is commonly used in food products to give them added spice or "heat" (piquancy)."
Time was your magic ingredient. More capsaicin became soluble. I find rich dishes have no surprise punch reheated:
"Food that's high in oil or fat dissolves the capsaicin, so it can't continue to bind heat receptors. ... Full fat sour cream or ice cream."
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How do you fix a dish that is too spicy?
Acidic ingredients such as lemon or lime juice, vinegar, wine, tomatoes, and even pineapple will all help to neutralize the pH levels of a spicy oil, and reduce some of that flaming-hot flavor. Add the juice of half a lemon or lime, or a tablespoon or two of wine, vinegar, or tomato sauce, to your over-spiced dish.Why does food get spicier when reheated?
Is Hot Sauce Hotter When Heated or Cooked? When heated, hot sauce becomes hotter. This is because the capsaicin the chemical compound responsible for the spiciness is released into the air.Why does food get spicier in the fridge?
But if you prepared a food with the source of the capsaicin in big chunks so that it didn't release its capsaicin into the food as it was cooking, then it's conceivable that after being cooked and while it was stored in the fridge it released its capsaicin into the rest of the food.What causes spiciness in food?
It turns out that capsaicin - the active ingredient in spicy food - binds to a special class of vanilloid receptor inside our mouth called VR1 receptors. After capsaicin binds to these receptors, the sensory neuron is depolarized, and it sends along a signal indicating the presence of spicy stimuli.You Can't Reheat Some Foods Under Any Circumstances
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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