# Do you like your food spicy?



## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

Lakigigar said:


> I like spicy food! I love it! There are only two things you need in life: spicy food and spicy sex. :kitteh:


Oxygen and water are useful too.



Golden Candle said:


> Most of my life i have not been able to handle spicy food/thus didn't like it, but lately I have been training myself to eat it more so that I can become used to it (do you think that's possible?) and open my horizons - I've tried for coffee but it just isn't working for that (oh well, less teeth and breath staining for me)


I never did this consciously but I think I did adapt to it over time, because as a kid I had a lower tolerance. I think just eating spicy food semi-consistently changed my tolerance. I remember the first time I had these and had to eat like one every 5 minutes, lol: 










By my teens they were not even memorably hot anymore.

I would think it's possible to build up a tolerance since it has to do with sensory receptors (makes me think of drug tolerance). 

I just found this article about it: Can You Train Your Tongue to Tolerate Spicy Foods? | more.com


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## Cherry (May 28, 2017)

ninjahitsawall said:


> Oxygen and water are useful too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh interesting  

Thanks for that, I read it the link you sent me also, I feel like...after reading that...hmm, what's the point of building tolerance to it anyway XD hahah.


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## He's a Superhero! (May 1, 2013)




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## Turelie (Jul 22, 2010)

I love hot food, but "too much" hot makes me hiccup.  Not one or two cute hiccups, more like 5 minutes of "I'm dying" hiccups. Mrs Renfro's Jalapeno Green Salsa is about as hot as I can stand, and the hiccups definitely show up.


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## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

Golden Candle said:


> Oh interesting
> 
> Thanks for that, I read it the link you sent me also, I feel like...after reading that...hmm, what's the point of building tolerance to it anyway XD hahah.


Actually, I thought they were getting at the same thing as you at the end. "....can open up many culinary horizons."


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I like spicy foods, but the spice has to have depth to it. Too many times "spicy" things are just hot to the point it's like battery acid and that's all you taste. It has to have more flavor to it. With all the traveling I do, one of the things I tend to buy a lot and try in local areas is their local hot sauces. I bought 2 hot sauces and a jar of salsa when I was out in Colorado: https://www.impulsivetravelerguy.com/locally-made-products-bought-colorado/


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## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

Spicy yes

Hot not so much

Difference to me
One is for taste the other sets your mouth on fire


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## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

Librarylady said:


> I like it a bit mild. Too spicy is not for me.


Me too. I can't do too spicy. I don't want to have to have the garden hose next to me while I'm eating dinner, lol.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Glenda Gnome Starr said:


> Me too. I can't do too spicy. I don't want to have to have the garden hose next to me while I'm eating dinner, lol.


Drink milk. It works better.


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## Glenda Gnome Starr (May 12, 2011)

PowerShell said:


> Drink milk. It works better.


Thank you for the suggestion. I go to potluck dinners on a regular basis. Sometimes the soup is not spicy and other times, it is. I never know which I'm getting, lol.


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## Nephandus (May 16, 2017)

Fumetsu said:


> The hotter the better, so long as it does not over power any actual flavor.


Exactly this. Aside from Smother liking bland and burnt and controlling food like it were part of her religious psychosis, the only reason I eat anything not "hot" is for sheer diversity of flavors.



ninjahitsawall said:


> According to one Indian restaurant I went to, vindaloo is a 9-10 and the dishes I think are at a good level for me are 7-8. SO I voted for "blazing" rather than inferno, I'm sure someone somewhere has a higher tolerance than I do (using Indian food as a barometer because that's usually the spiciest thing I eat).


Funny, this is why I preferred the "chicken chettinad" at the local Passage to India. It was always hotter than they'd make the vindaloo if you asked them to spice it up, which I'd get the goat vindaloo for flavor diversity. They explicitly wouldn't spice up the chettinad (or the "authentic mother style" dal makhani, but I think that's more a sacrilege matter). It'd clear my sinuses everytime, so I needed a roll of paper towels handy. Too bad there's lots of legal hassle from people who like to think they can handle heat. It's genuinely hard to get stuff that used to be bloody tradition around here (hot substyle of NC "red" style BBQ particularly).


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## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

Nephandus said:


> Exactly this. Aside from Smother liking bland and burnt and controlling food like it were part of her religious psychosis, the only reason I eat anything not "hot" is for sheer diversity of flavors.
> 
> 
> Funny, this is why I preferred the "chicken chettinad" at the local Passage to India. It was always hotter than they'd make the vindaloo if you asked them to spice it up, which I'd get the goat vindaloo for flavor diversity. They explicitly wouldn't spice up the chettinad (or the "authentic mother style" dal makhani, but I think that's more a sacrilege matter). It'd clear my sinuses everytime, so I needed a roll of paper towels handy. Too bad there's lots of legal hassle from people who like to think they can handle heat. It's genuinely hard to get stuff that used to be bloody tradition around here (hot substyle of NC "red" style BBQ particularly).


Huh, I don't think they necessarily call it "chettinad" here, but when I get chicken curry it isn't as spicy as vindaloo. Actually on the menu of one of the places I go to, they mark how spicy things are. vindaloos get two chili peppers and curries get one.

American-based food is usually disappointing to me in terms of spiciness. I went to a Buffalo Wild Wings last year and couldn't believe their "hot" level was actually considered hot. I haven't gone back there since haha. I've had hotter wings from the freezer at the supermarket.


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## Nephandus (May 16, 2017)

ninjahitsawall said:


> Huh, I don't think they necessarily call it "chettinad" here, but when I get chicken curry it isn't as spicy as vindaloo. Actually on the menu of one of the places I go to, they mark how spicy things are. vindaloos get two chili peppers and curries get one.
> 
> American-based food is usually disappointing to me in terms of spiciness.


"67.CHICKEN CURRY" vs "70.CHICKEN CHETTINAD (SPICY)"
Menu-North, South Indian and Indo Chinese Food at UNCC

As far as I can tell Chettinad is a region, so it's like saying Szechuan Chicken, kinda vague on the recipe, so I don't know if it has a proper name. It's the only thing they warn you about on the entire menu.

Somewhere in the 90s, I remember as a teenager that a LOT of things got toned down, locally and big name, seemingly due to litigious wimps. It wasn't even just heat but "spicy" in general. Sucks since I wasn't allowed much diversity from family-standard bland Southern till well after. I only got what little I did due to one uncle who also drank his coffee scalding, before I transferred to uni at age 28 (IIRC...).


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## starscream430 (Jan 14, 2014)

Inferno, my friends. I enjoy the taste of Scorpion Peppers and Ghost Peppers!


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Medium spicy!


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## dizzycactus (Sep 9, 2012)

Well, I don't have enough context to say how spicy my food is in more absolute terms, only relative to other people. 

I can eat vindaloo from an Indian restaurant, but struggle to eat most raw chillies, if that helps.

I'm the spiciest eater I know, but I'm aware that the internet is a very superlative place, where everyone is a genius at whatever they do, so I'd be surprised if there weren't a good 50% of the forum who drink ghost chilli smoothies lol


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

ninjahitsawall said:


> American-based food is usually disappointing to me in terms of spiciness. I went to a Buffalo Wild Wings last year and couldn't believe their "hot" level was actually considered hot. I haven't gone back there since haha. I've had hotter wings from the freezer at the supermarket.


Where were you in America. Remember, it's a huge country. In the Midwest where I grew up food is very bland and people don't really spice up their foods. In Texas, where I live now they add a lot of spicy to foods. Obviously the tolerance for hot in the Midwest is much lower than Texas. You have to keep this in mind when generalizing America as a whole, especially with food.


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## lolalalah (Aug 1, 2015)

I like spicy food, but I like it from mild to blazing (rarely blazing), since I need to still feel the taste of the food without exaggerating its bitterness.


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## Nephandus (May 16, 2017)

PowerShell said:


> In Texas, where I live now they add a lot of spicy to foods.


That "one uncle" was Texan for much of his life.


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## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

PowerShell said:


> Where were you in America. Remember, it's a huge country. In the Midwest where I grew up food is very bland and people don't really spice up their foods. In Texas, where I live now they add a lot of spicy to foods. Obviously the tolerance for hot in the Midwest is much lower than Texas. You have to keep this in mind when generalizing America as a whole, especially with food.


NYC and surrounding metro...lol. The hotter wings from the supermarket, same region (Northeast US) but in the suburbs. It's a little ass-backwards, but I guess that's what happens when cities become gentrified and afraid of offending everyone. :abnormal:

To a lesser extent, Denver + metro. Though it seems like they've retained a bit more due to proximity to the Southwest and Latino countries, oddly enough.


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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't like spicy. The burning sensation is far too distracting from any flavor so it's just not fun.


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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't like spicy. The burning sensation is far too distracting from any flavor so it's just not fun.


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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't like spicy. The burning sensation is far too distracting from any flavor so it's just not fun.


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## pinwheel (Sep 17, 2016)




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## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

Nope, not at all. I'll tolerate something being a little bit spicy if I otherwise like it, but having a non-spicy version of the same thing would always be preferable. I've never thought, "this food would be better if it was spicier." I want to taste my food, enjoy the flavour, so why would I want to have a horrible burning sensation in my mouth?


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## Flaming Bassoon (Feb 15, 2013)

I like hot, like approximately jalapeno/sriracha spiciness. I handle spicy food very well for a white girl from Wisconsin. Anything greater than medium heat like that detracts from the food's flavor too much imo.


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## Goetterdaemmerung (Dec 25, 2015)

NOOPE! No spice at all! Mild at most.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm in Canada now and am visiting the Upper Midwest and Canada and I can tell you food is definitely more bland up here. In the 3 years I've lived in Texas, I've forgot how bland and lacking spice it is.


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## dizzycactus (Sep 9, 2012)

Octavarium said:


> Nope, not at all. I'll tolerate something being a little bit spicy if I otherwise like it, but having a non-spicy version of the same thing would always be preferable. I've never thought, "this food would be better if it was spicier." I want to taste my food, enjoy the flavour, so why would I want to have a horrible burning sensation in my mouth?


You know that the activation of heat receptors in your mouth doesn't detract from the simultaneous activation of taste-buds, right? Although given it might be a little mentally distracting for some people, it doesn't technically reduce the sensation of flavour.


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## cuddle bun (Jun 2, 2017)

Lemmy said:


> I hate it when in some places you ask for hot/very hot and they give you mild just because you're a girl.
> Like, f*** you sexist noob. I probably eat chillies hotter than your mama, or hotter than your face.


So much this. 

The one time in my life they actually believed me that I wanted it spicy is when I came in to the restaurant with snot running down my face and told them my allergies were acting up. Then I got the spiciest soup I've ever had in my life and I was in heaven. Lesson learned, carry bag of snot in purse for emergencies...


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## Jakuri (Sep 7, 2015)

I love spicy food. My mouth will burn, but it's that sensation I am after. Not to mention the endorphin release after eating spicy food.


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## owlet (May 7, 2010)

I like food somewhere between mild and hot, as I like to be able to taste the food itself and I don't believe food should hurt you to eat it! I'm happy with non-spicy food generally, with some spicy stuff every so often.


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## cooldudez (Jun 13, 2017)

I like my food spicy no matter how hot it could be


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## Allyrah (Nov 23, 2015)

Even spicier than I like my memes.


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## Rainbowz (May 29, 2017)

To be honest, I like spicy food but not too spicy. I'm still not able to handle it to the extreme yet. I'd still always have a water bottle near me just in case I don't die. Lol


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## Mange (Jan 9, 2011)

I put hot sauce in my spaghetti.


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## Nekomata (May 26, 2012)

I hate spicy food ><; the plainer it is the better xD. Not too plain though *drowns all food in salt and ketchup*


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## RedLaceAgate (Feb 5, 2018)

I can't really handle hot food. I do like salt and pepper, milder versions of Indian food, and stuff like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg ect. I also enjoy researching health benefits of different foods and spices. I have experimented with putting tumeric in my tea, coffee, and bone broth.


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## Sybow (Feb 1, 2016)

Occasionally very hot.
If you do it, do it right :tongue:


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## Mude (Jan 11, 2018)

Spicy enough to make me sweat but not so spicy that I can't taste anything else.


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