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Discussion thread: HOT CHILE peppers episode is published! (Patreon)

Published:
2026-07-08 22:13:56
Imported:
2026-07

Content

*This episode is published and ready to hear wherever you get podcasts. Let's talk about it.*

Scoville units. Nightshades. Hot ones. Sweet ones. Scandalous data. Burning remedies.

Ya'll, we got a whole episode on chile peppers with The Chileman himself: horticulturist and Capsicumologist Dr. Paul Bosland. It's an absolutely delightful romp with someone whose passion and knowledge is everything you could ever hope for.

Also: I abuse myself with Ashes 2 Ashes hot sauce, so you don't have to. Let's talk about the episode in the comments.

Recovering,

Your Podfather Dadward

Ps: today marks 4 years since your Grandpod, my dad Larry "Pete" Ward, passed away into the Grand Ole Everything and I just want to thank you all again for how much love you always showed him, and us. To hear his voice, you can listen to the Lutrinology episode about otters, which happened to come out on the day he died. Also that episode will ruin otters; sorry.

Files

Capsicumology (CHILE PEPPERS) with Dr. Paul Bosland - alie ward

Scoville units. Nightshades. Hot ones. Sweet ones. Scandalous data. Pull up a seat for a wild, hot ride through New Mexico. Pepper expert, horticulturist, and Capsicumologist Dr. Paul "The Chileman" Bosland of New Mexico State's Chile Pepper Institute dishes up stories of how chile peppers got from

Comments

Lizzy Martinez

Thinking of you Podfather Dadward 💕

Alie Ward

Thank you, Lizzy! One of my dad's favorite "sobremesa" memories was when a guy friend of mine came over for dinner and dared me to eat a hot pepper (scorpion, I think?) I was in tremendous pain, but laughing. But we all made this friend try the pepper, and he also suffered greatly for it. There was a lot of crying through tears, and now the memories do the same.

Alie Ward

probably a scotch bonnet habanero, come to think of it!

Pan

OMG It tastes like bees!!! I don’t usually laugh at other’s pain; but, a hour later, I’m still laughing. Thank you.

TB33

As a proud resident of NM, thank you Dadward for shining light on our incredible state and chile heritage!!

Alie Ward

It was so lovely! I ddn't even make it to Taos or Earthships or Chaco Canyon, Ghost Ranch... I need to go back.

TB33

Please come back anytime!! NM would be thrilled to have you. October is Balloon Fest and green chile roasting season - that's the best time to come but it is pretty packed with tourists.

Elinor Wahl

The Moruga scorpion is no joke! It was specifically bred both for extreme heat and intense fruity, floral flavor (and looks like the fruit version of pure rage)

Elinor Wahl

I wanted to plead with you before you tasted that hot sauce, but it's good to see you're still alive! And I hope if you try it in the future, you put it in a nice, flavorful dish in a quantity that isn't so taxing. It was also really interesting to find out about cultural preference in the texture of pepper heat!

Alie Ward

Yes, I was not expecting that the textures would differ! Have you ever had a lot of Szechuan at once? It's such a weird tongue feeling.

Dr. Primo Delicata, retired organ grinder

As a resident of the southwest US, participant in the Pueblo (Mirasol) vs Hatch chile controversy, and even named after a vege, I thought I knew chiles. Turns out I didn’t know shishito. Thanks for a wonderful and joyous episode. PS one of the world’s great aromas is the roasting of chiles in the fall.

Megan E

This was a fun episode! Er though, I was a first-time-question-asker and my question didn’t get asked…did I submit it incorrectly? 😥

Elinor Wahl

The sensation caused by Sichuan peppercorns is the prized 'ma la' or 'numbing' flavor! It works in a way dramatically chemically different from chili peppers - the hydroxy-alpha sanshool in the peppercorns reacts with taste receptors to produce a sensation like an electrical current. And apparently, diners like it precisely because it can take the edge off other hot peppers, and enhance the flavors of dishes in that way

Alie Ward

Hi, Megan -- unfortunately we had sooo many to get through that we didn't get to touch on your chile piquín question! Keep asking them! And keep letting me know I haven't shouted you out yet!. Also you're free to ask more than one question per episode so it's usually a matter of time!

Alie Ward

Aaahahahah! Do you fire roast them?

Dana Balicki

haven't listened yet to chili pod -- but i still remember so vividly how you so lovingly and tenderly shared about grandpod's passing. and that lutrinology episode did, indeed, ruin otters. xo

DeWaine Tollefsrud

I love Thai food and when we visit there I always order it "Thai Hot". Waitstaff will double check and my dear darling darling will confirm. More than once the kitchen staff came out to watch! :D. That said, I do have to make sure I have a light schedule for the next morning for the "after burn!"

Dr. Primo Delicata, retired organ grinder

1. Fire roasting creates the most wonderful aroma and flavor. There are numerous stands with large propane fired drum roasters in the area and at chile festivals in the fall. 2. You asked about suggestions for road trip interviews. Consider a visit to Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) outside of Crested Butte in Gothic, Colorado. They have been doing climate research since 1928 and have a number of expert “ologists”. Dr David Inouye is an ecologist who has been studying pollinators since 1971, including hummingbirds. He is an excellent lecturer and I suspect would be a good interview.

Sonjabird

Alie- I know you said that what happened to you after the Ashes to Ashes was between you and Gremmie- but I’m dying to know if it was as hot on the way out as it was in the way in?

JENN 'Benthopelagic squirrel' ALVAREZ

I wish id thought to ask "why aren't jalapeños hot anymore?" Its a constant conversation over here. Every time we pick up a jalapeño from the store hoping for heat, it ends up being like a bell pepper 😑 I feel like white ppl are somehow to blame. 😂😂 (im a white ppl😒) I love this episode (Bees!)😂

Nyxxia Vale

Omg Í used to work at the Chile Pepper Institute with Dr. Bosland, he was on my thesis defense committee! It’s so good to see him get some very well earned attention and accolades. He’s a great human being and NMSU does stellar academic work! Go Aggies!

CurtisDawg

Hottest episode yet! Learned so much! Now I know more about the chile varieties I put in my chili.

CurtisDawg

Holy Scovilles! Thanks for taking one for the team Alie!!! Hope you've recovered from the Ashes 2 Ashes. 2 hottest sauces for me? Da Bomb and The Man. The Man was a sauce created by the late Gene Porter at Dixie's BBQ in Bellevue, WA. Also - I keep a few hot sauces in the work fridge. I encourage my coworkers to use them. No one has taken me up on the offer. What does that say about my colleagues???

Jaclyn Ficcaglia

Thanks for answering my question and great episode! I was so excited to hear it answered on the pod! So close on the pronunciation of my last name 😉

Alie Ward

They have self preservation, Curtis.

Alie Ward

NO WAY. What was your dissertation about?

Alie Ward

So far, all good. THANK THE GODS. I appreciate you asking.

Nyxxia Vale

I actually worked for Dr. Bosland when I was an undergrad and then went to a different lab for Grad School. I did a project on looking at whether a set of genes in MRSA (Stphylococcus aureus) coded for an intercellular pump that helped it pump drugs out of the cell matrix. 😄

Heather Woodford

OMG I'm feeling so bad for Alie at the end of the episode 😰

Heather Woodford

I have a SEARING memory of eating habanero corn fries at a Caribbean restaurant like 20 years ago. I found out that day that the eustachian tubes REALLY DO connect to your throat. The only time I've ever felt that spicy pain IN MY EARS before! Anyone else had that experience before???

Beth Stanley

Ahhhh! I'm starting to listen to this one, and I'm SOOOO excited! I'm from NM, and Hatch GC has been part of my identity for pretty much my whole life. Thank you for going to Hatch and Las Cruces for this one!!!

choirqueer

IMMEDIATELY went to the website and ordered Cherry Bomb Karma Sauce and Pecan Chile Brittle. VERY EXCITED :D

Katy

I just started the episode, and I'm already loving this and want to send it back in time to a lot of people I've had conversations with. Born and raised in Albuquerque, and have a high spicy tolerance, but I live elsewhere now, so trying to explain "it's about the actual flavor of the green chiles, not just about how hot they are" to people who've never had them and like to flex/punish themselves with their food is just so weird to me. Also the explanation about chile vs chili - incorrect spellings there are a pet peeve.

Yuri

I agree! I'm much more interested in the flavors, not heat.

Yuri

Im glad you are ok!!!! I just finished the episode and came here to find out if you were alright 😬💖💖💖💖 Edit to add: i wanted to send you loads of bread pudding through my phone for your poor stomach! And some Seirogan - it is a traditional Japanese medicine that has creosote in it and is good for stomach pain, it can even numb bad tooth pain by leaving it on the tooth! It smells bad but the relief is amazing. Any way, again so glad you are ok!

Katy

I won't lie, I like a good kick! But the flavor really matters to me - and so many of those super hot sauces taste like ass or are just used indiscriminately in dishes where they don't compliment the other flavors. New Mexico green chiles have a unique taste to them (that's imo the best of the chiles) and I've had so many conversations with people who aren't from there who assume the hype is about the heat alone, so they'll brag about always going for 5-alarm sauces and I'm over here like, "Okay, but does it taste good?"

Nalarider

Great episode, Alie. The tip about wearing gloves when processing chiles is a very good idea. However, I usually don't wear gloves but I do have rubbing alcohol standing by. When I'm finished with the chiles I pour alcohol on my hands, rub them vigorously (washing my hands with alcohol), rinse off the alcohol with water, then wash my hands with soap and water. Capsaicin is soluble in alcohol. Soap and water alone never seem to get the capsaicin off my hands, but alcohol always does the trick. If you don't use alcohol you'll think you've washed it off your hands and you'll dry your hands. Then you'll do something like touching sensitive mucus membranes and you'll realize you've inadvertently added to a long list of 'stupid chile tricks' that those of us who love chiles have compiled.

Susan G

I am glad to have this proof of life! You sounded so miserable after trying the ashes to ashes! I have lost alllll my tolerance to chile as I have gotten older. Also, I am in Australia and I have a funny story about 'chili' powder... seeing my US cookbooks calling for 'chili' powder back when I could have spicy food I went out and bought 'chilli' powder here... I didn't realise that in the US it was a spice blend, ours is just straight up chile (though it doesn't specify a type, not cayenne because they do have that as a different one) and I absolutely destroyed myself putting 2 tbs (and Australian tbs are bigger than US ones as well) into soup. rip me. lol Eventually I learned we have 'Mexican chilli seasoning', which is not quite the same was the 'chili' powder over there but is similar... but until that discovery I was wondering what on earth was going on with American's and their huge amounts of chilli powder. 😅

Megan

Omg this ologist sounds amazing!

Megan

This is a top 10-ology for me (been listening since the beginning 😁). It's crazy, because I was just asking my spouse what was up with the numerous spellings of chiles after seeing a NM plate. I forgot to Google it but Dad Ward came in clutch, per usual ❤️. I could listen to Dr. Bosland talk about plant genetics for days, weeks, months!

Yuri

Is there a conversation thread for Conversational Psychology? I looked but couldn't find one Edit to add: that's really funny and i didn't even realize it 🤣

Marc Rubin

Road trip / interview ideas? Take a road trip to the Gunnison Valley of Colorado and interview a veterinary gerontologist, biologists at RMBL, Billy Barr (famous hermit/meteorologist), and/or the scores of expert faculty at Western Colorado University!! Just dont come in January or February... Low of -20°F is not uncommon 🥶! Speaking of veterinary gerontology, this month's senior spotlight is Sophie! https://www.instagram.com/p/DaioyuxFBut/?igsh=bGpnanhmYnNlNWU0

Ted Vician

Yes, I’ve had my ears sting or itch from really spicy food.

Ted Vician

Remembering back to the 90s, when ridiculously hot sauces became a fad the first time around and pop culture found out about the Scoville scale. One of my friends got very into trying them and I remember asking why he didn’t just drink gasoline. I actually like spicy food, I just don’t get the idea of consuming straight heat with no other flavor.

Ted Vician

I’m intrigued by the idea of baking spicy chocolate brownies.

Alli B

Omg! Thank you. This is important information! I hope @alieward shares it far and wide in the episode description or as an aside somehow!

Alli B

Loved this episode! So rich and made me want to eat tons of New Mexican food!

Katie Murray

This episode made me ANTSY to go get some tortilla chips for the salsa in my cupboard.

Lauren Cooper

How were the poops after that hot sauce? I gotta know. Also, does anyone else get itchy ears when eating spicy things or is that just me?

Lauren Cooper

We sometimes specify white people hot vs Indian people hot when we go out for dosas 🤣

Alice Rubin

Ologies could have been named, "today I learned." The hottest peppers are at the bottom of the plan? They should be marketed that way! I may be braver if I could be promised my pepper came from the tippy top of the second growth! But, probably not lol!