Hot sauce na 'sing tindi ng kamandag ng gagamba' inilunsad

MANILA, Philippines — Sinubukan ng ilang British scientists mula sa Kent, England na gayahin ang pakiramdam ng makagat ng isang makamandag na gagamba, bagay na inilangkap nila sa pagkain.

Ngunit bakit?

Sa pag-aaral kasi ng Venomtech, isang laboratoryo na nagpapakadalubhasa sa lason ng hayop (venom) para gumawa ng gamot, nakita nilang gumagana ito kahalintulad ng anghang ng sili.

Dahil dito, nauwi sila sa pagpapaunlad ng isang hot sauce.

"The science behind it, the venom of the Trinidad Chevron Spider actually acts the same way as chili does," paliwanag ni Steven Trim, managing director at founder ng Venomtech, sa panayam ng KMTV.

"In other words when it bites people, it actually causes that burning pain that warns predators away."

Bagama't hindi pa gumagamit ng totoong venom sa kanilang sauce, naisip nilang pamilyar ang tao sa ganitong klase ng kirot.

Dahil dito, gumawa sila ng "synthetic" na bersyon ng venom na kanilang ginamit sa produkto.

Nagawa ito ng kanyang four-man-team nang ma-isolate ang "peptide component" ng venom, ang tanging bahagi ng lason na kailangan nila para sa lasa.

Nakita rin daw nila na magagamit ang ibang components ng venom para makagawa ng bagong anti-malarial at pain relief drugs.

Hinaluan pa rin naman daw nila ng normal na sili ang synthetic na version ng venom sampu ng iba pang sangkap.

"Chili, the feeling of heat, is actually a feeling of pain, and it's the plant's defense to try and stop mammals [from] stealing the seeds," wika niya.

Una nila itong inilabas Halloween noong 2018 at tinawag na "Steve's Scientific Sauce."

Masarap naman ba?

Nakakuha naman daw sila ng halu-halong reaksyon nang ipatikim ito sa mga tao.

"People who really like chilis often think, 'Oh it could be hotter, but it's really warm and got a good depth of flavor into it.' Whereas, those people who are not familiar with chilis go 'Wow, that's hot.' So I think we got it about right."

Pero saan naman kaya ito babagay?

"I think it goes really well with... Mexican dishes. We've done some quesadillas and put them up on our website," ayon kay Trim.

"A lot of curry, you can use the chili sauce as a substitute for that."

Dahil sa dami ng mga bumibili, nagbabalak na rin daw ang kumpanyang mag-expand.

"We've got a few great plans. The first of which is... when you mix the chili sauce with mayonnaise, you can make a really good dipping sauce. And that has been called venomaise," isang produkto na balak nilang ilabas ngayong taon.

Dumaan na rin daw sa trial ang ginagawa nilang "venom chili cheese bread."

Paggamit ng tunay na venom sa sauce

Kahit na synthetic version pa lang ang ginagamit nila sa ngayon, hindi pa naman nila isinasara ang posibilidad na gumamit ng totoong lason ng gagamba.

"Yes, we did actually talk to the food standards agency about it and they didn't say 'No, you can't do that,'" sabi niya.

"It's very possible. But it would definitely be the platinum for our range of the chili sauces because of the expense of doing it."