Milk Will Cool Your Mouth if This Curry Week Gets Spicy
This
week is Curry Week and here at Creamline we’re keen to celebrate this seven day
festival, dedicated to the nation’s favourite dish. As the nights get darker
and the days get colder – what better way to warm the cockles of your heart,
than by treating yourself to a colourful curry?
Whether you’re adventurous enough to try a vindaloo or you prefer to stick to a milder korma, anyone who has tried curry has opted for a dish that’s too hot to handle at one time or another. Most will reach for a glass of water to cool their burning mouths but this has little effect. So, what should you do the next time you’ve got steam coming out of your ears? Well, anyone who knows spicy food will tell you: think milk...or dairy in general.
There’s science behind why milk and dairy food stops spice burning, so don your thinking caps and please look towards the blackboard. The reason spicy curry creates a burning sensation is all down to a molecule called capsaicin which bind to cells and simulates the feeling of heat. Though, don’t worry: spice doesn’t actually harm you, it just tricks the body into a false feeling of temperature. Milk comes to the rescue by soothing the burning sensation because it contains a protein called casein, which dissolves and removes the spicy capsaicin molecules. It works in the same way washing up liquid removes the food from your washing up.
Okay, so milk has helped you to make it through your curry, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a sweet dessert? How about the favourite Indian sweet drink – mango lassi? It’s simple to make. Just combine 130ml of fresh Creamline milk, 255ml of yogurt, the pulp of three mangos and four teaspoons of sugar in a blender for two minutes and voila – the perfect end to any spice filled night!
