[RickSF]

I can't for the life of me find this anywhere...

I always assumed that the main ingredient in Tobasco sauce (and other hot sauces) is vinegar because the NH will react to form a salt, making the acetate which would be water soluble.  I even checked Merck; all it says:

Practically insol in cold water.  Freely sol. in alc, ether, benzene, chcl3; slightly sol in CS2


...can anyone confirm this is the case?

The molecular structure:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Capsaicin_chemical_structure.png


Thank you in advance,

[sjb]

It's unlikely, as the NH in question is part of an amide so not especially basic, imo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin#Mechanism_of_action has some notes on why you get a burning sensation, though it is a bit technical.

S

[RickSF]

Thank you for the response!

[agrobert]

The vinegar in most hot sauces is for taste and preservation.  I'm uncertain about the solubility but most hot sauces are not really homogeneous unless they are chili oil extracts.