How to avoid the discomfort of pineapple scalding on the tongue
You can avoid the painful burning, stinging, or tingling sensation on your tongue that occurs from eating pineapple.
If you've ever eaten pineapple, you've probably felt tingling, burning, or even itching on your tongue. This is called "scalding of the tongue," but you don't have to suffer anymore, since the UNAM tells us how to avoid this problem when we eat this delicious fruit.
Pineapple burns the tongue because it has a lot of "bromelain," which is a proteolytic enzyme that breaks down and simplifies the proteins that touch the palate. When these proteins touch the tongue or mouth, they start to break down, which causes a burning and itching feeling.
In other words, when we eat pineapple, these enzymes break down the protein in the tissues of our tongue. This is similar to how "protective mucus" coats the mouth, but when this protection is gone, this organ becomes much more sensitive and easily irritated.
But then, are we being eaten by the pineapple? Bromelain is not bad for people, and the tongue can make up for lost proteins and amino acids in just a few seconds, so the feeling doesn't last too long.
How to eat pineapple so that it doesn't burn your tongue
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) says that if you want to avoid this itching, burning, or tingling feeling when eating, you should avoid eating the core of this fruit, which has most of the enzyme that causes this.
Another way to avoid the unpleasant feeling is to soak the fruit in salt water before cutting it. When the enzyme reacts with this ionic compound, it has less of an effect on our tongue.
Now that you know this, eating pineapple won't be a chore, and you'll be able to enjoy this fruit that has up to 131% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C, which helps keep colds and flu away.
