I get the hiccoughs when I start bolting down hot sauce on an empty stomach.Necrovore wrote:...EDIT: Almost forgot. If the sauce starts making you hiccup then its old. If its too hot eat cooked rice, rice is the only starch that will kill the capsacin of the pepper.
Half a teaspoon of salt or sugar on the tongue usually counteracts the burn immediately. (This trick might be of help when introducing little girls or the limp-wristed to the joys and wonders of Mexican food...)
In order to mildly counteract the "bite" of hot sauces, I find that coffee, milk, orange juice and Corona are helpful. They don't kill the heat, but they can tone it down a bit.
It seems to be a matter of area on your tongue covered by the hot sauce, so go ahead and dig in. A little isn't going to hurt less than a lot. The pain is the same, and if you shovel big, heaping piles into your gob, you'll look much more heroic than if you timidly dab at it like a milquetoast.