You bite into a piece of fresh pizza or try a spoonful of homemade soup — and the next thing you know, you’re in terrible pain! Your excitement for delicious food (an excitement we know well here at TipHero) has gotten the better of you, and now you have to suffer through a painful, swollen, burned tongue.

Nobody ever takes tongue burns seriously, but that doesn’t mean they don’t seriously hurt. Since none of the usual burn remedies work when it comes to healing something in our mouths, we always thought that there wasn’t much we could do.Thank goodness for Howcast, who shows us that this common kitchen staple is actually a healing agent in disguise.

Thank goodness for Howcast, who shows us that this common kitchen staple is actually a healing agent in disguise. The next time you jump the gun and don’t let your food cool down first, all you need is this one unexpected ingredient to stop the burning almost immediately.

Luckily for most of us (especially those of us with a sweet tooth!), this is something that pretty much everyone is guaranteed to have on hand: sugar. Any type of sugar should work, but regular white sugar is most commonly suggested.

Sprinkle a dash of sugar onto your tongue, trying to get as much onto the burn as possible. Then, press your tongue up into the roof of your mouth; this will help the sugar dissolve faster and therefore soothe your tongue faster.

A word to the wise, however, don’t put TOO much pressure on your tongue or you’ll just make your burn more painful.

Once the sugar has dissolved, you should notice that the scalding pain has gone away! If the irritation persists, try another sprinkle with the same technique. This should have your burn soothed in no time at all and you can go back to enjoying your pizza or soup!

The best thing is that this quick hack can be done anywhere — whether you’ve burnt your tongue at home or in a restaurant, you can always find a quick sprinkle of this pantry staple to reverse the burn.

Have you used sugar to soothe a burned tongue? Have you tried anything else that works for you? Tell us in the comments.