It's actually the placenta. Seeds just happen to pick up the heat from the adjacent placenta. I can see varying discrepancies and would not rely on testing this way. Besides, WHEN the pepper gets picked can also play a part. For example: I've grown relatively hot peppers(thai, for example), and they were nice and hot in the summer and fall. But when I picked a bunch more in the winter, they were totally heatless. But those seeds were planted and grew to the same heat level as the original parent plants.

Kevin

Thanks woohooman. I knew the placenta was the hottest part, but if the seeds picked up some of the heat, I would assume that it would be hot, maybe not as hot, but hot anyway. So, for example, if you happen to eat a ghost pepper seed and it was only as hot as a bell pepper seed, how would you know the difference? Shouldn't the Ghost seed be hotter than the Bell Pepper seeds?

Interesting about the Thai. I suppose seed heat could be controlled by how it was picked, when, and maybe how it was dried (maybe it was washed to remove mold, meat, etc). That would remove some of the heat for sure.

I also do not recommend doing this as a way to determine if your seeds are what they ordered. I like to grow them out and if they are something other than what it is suppose to be, so be it. Hot or not, it is all good eating and a enjoyable hobby.

This post was edited by RonnyB123 on Thu, Mar 13, 14 at 14:28

No, you're right. That's why I mentioned that seeds pick up "some" of the heat. Sometimes, in the case of a ghost, tons of it.

Regarding the Thai. Had nothing to do with how or anything else. It was WHEN it was picked. Winter pods are notorious for losing quite a bit of heat. In the case of the Thai, ALL discernible heat.

In all cases, I wouldn't rely on licking a seed to tell me how hot a pepper may be. Especially for peppers that don't get a lot of their heat until they ripen to a final color fully.

Example-- young, green, ghost pods that are green and not fully developed... very little heat.
Jalapeno -- same thing... MORE heat than the ghost counterpart.

Kevin

The seed itself has almost no capsaicin. Any that you detect on it is from the placenta. I suspect commercial vendors wash their seeds. Stick some of mine in your mouth and you'll get an unhealthy dose of dried placenta!

In short, it isn't a good way to ID plants.

Dennis

I think DMForcier is on the right track regarding the way seeds are handled.

Swapped seeds are usually homegrown and processed by hand. Lots of capsaicin transfer from placenta to seed going on.

Commercial seeds are a little different. I had a conversation a few years ago with a seedsman who produces seed for Southern Exposure, Baker Creek, Fedco and a few others. We were discussing how he processes various seeds. For peppers, he ferments them. IIRC, he runs ripe pods thru a blender (dull blades) and creates a slurry. Then he fills a 50 gal barrel about half full(?) with this slurry and fills to the top with water. He lets it ferment for x days (3, I think), stirring a couple times a day. The viable seed sink to the bottom and the meat, placenta and immature seeds float. At the end of the ferment, he dumps all the flotsam along with the water, leaving fresh, viable seed. Then he dries them on screen, and presto, seeds destined for your garden. Notice the absence of human touch.

Rick

The seeds are not hot in fact they have zero heat. This is a very common misconception. It drives me crazy when I see someone on a cooking show say " remove the seeds if you don't want it as spicy". The seeds just happen to be located next to the placenta so they get oil on them. So if you wash the oil off they are not hot , it's just like getting capsaicin oil on your fingers.

I agree that it depends on how the seeds are handled. I hadn't noticed much residual heat left on them in the past. But after seeding a couple times ago from a new vendor, i was unpleasantly surprised to find that my fingers were quite spicy when i decided to rub my eye