9 ms·

Mexican here. I find it amusing that people focus on how spicy their peppers are. They are missing the point. There are many pepper varieties and each has a di

• teaearlgraycold 10y ago
  The burn is an important part of the pepper experience. For some, building a tolerance to capsaicin is a hobby. They're not missing the point, they're just eating them for a different reason. And what's nice about building up an extreme tolerance to capsaicin is that afterwards you are able to better experience the flavor of peppers, without focusing entirely on the heat.
  • elboru 10y ago
    Exactly that's why it's common in Mexican recipes to leave seeds, it's a totally different experience to eat Guacamole with and without pepper seeds.
    • duaneb 10y ago
      To my understanding, capsaicin is in the flesh around the seeds, but the seeds themselves are not spicy and tend to add sweetness. Is that correct?
      • markdown 10y ago
        I too have read that, but my experience is completely different. Nothing burns like the seeds.
        • mindcrime 10y ago
          That jibes with my experience. Leaving the seeds in seems to create a hotter dish.
      • dragonwriter 10y ago
        AFAIK, the seeds tens to be coated in the oils from the surrounding flesh and bring heat for that reason, but less than the ribs themselves. I don't think there is heat in the seeds, but that's something of an academic distinction in most cases.
  • patcheudor 10y ago
    Yup, I've been eating super hots for a number of years now including fresh Carolina reapers. They simply don't hurt at all when I eat them and honestly, getting past the heat really brings out the ability to taste the flavor and I can tell you from experience, if you are experiencing pain, you aren't tasting the flavor. For anyone picking up the hobby, know this, you will reach the point where your stomach and other parts of your body will become a limiting factor so build up slowly. I own a bidet.
• ythl 10y ago
  That's because for us mortals, the flavor is completely overpowered by the capsaicin in most cases. I have relatively low capsaicin tolerance, and so I can't tell the difference between flavors of two different but equally spicy peppers because my brain is too occupied with the burn. It's hard not to focus on it.
  • huherto 10y ago
    :) You will notice that Mexican food is frequently accompanied by a variety of sauces and/or peppers. So you can try them and make the decision on which you want and how much you want and maximize the enjoyment. It is gotta be hot but not too much that you stop enjoying the food. That is how children learn.
    • zip1234 10y ago
      And also plenty of salt and limes to dim the heat when necessary.
      • dragonwriter 10y ago
        Neither salt nor lime dims heat; both salt and acid enhance it.
    • khedoros1 10y ago
      Mexican food is usually designed to be complemented by different peppers, but a lot of American foods are modified from European traditions, where spicy peppers are rarer. So, spiciness itself is a more unusual taste in our food. I think that the American culture (especially thinking about the Midwest) has the idea of "spicy vs not spicy", but not the idea of which flavor of pepper goes well with which kind of food. A lot of restaurants here will have black pepper and Tabasco sauce, but not much else, despite the fact that the vinegar in Tabasco will destroy the flavor of a lot of foods. There's a culture of "spicy and mild", but not a culture of "spicy, but subtly flavored". Of course, I can always go to a Mexican restaurant and find a salsa that matches my food well. But even there, there are usually "mild", "medium", and "hot" labels on almost everything, rather than telling you what kind of peppers were used in preparing the sauce.
• M_Grey 10y ago
  I used to think that whole idea was crap, until I started seriously eating spicy foods. Now I really love the different flavors, not just heat, you get from peppers. Habanero are almost fruity, Jalapeno more like an amped up bell pepper, and so on. Then you have the differences in quality of burn; is it a numbing burn like szechuan pepper? A "back of the throat, choke you" burn like a Thai chili? It's a whole new world of stimulation!
  • klipt 10y ago
    Just FYI, Sichuan pepper is a great spice, but isn't related to the chili family (habanero, jalapeno, thai, etc) at all.
    • M_Grey 10y ago
      What is it exactly? It looks a bit like a spiny berry to my untrained eye.
      • klipt 10y ago
        Wiki says: "The genus Zanthoxylum belongs in the rue or citrus family, and, despite its name, is not closely related to either black pepper or chili pepper." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper
        • M_Grey 10y ago
          Well, I learned something new today, thanks.
          • malkia 10y ago
            Me too! Thank you!
      • jimmywanger 10y ago
        Citrus, like the other guy said. For a long time, importation was forbidden because the US is very protective of its citrus crop. We had to bring it back over from China.
• jordigh 10y ago
  Mexican here too. I do like the burn, which is a separate sensation from the flavour. The burn is a pleasant, controlled pain. It also makes the flavours more intense. I regularly consume habaneros, and I've recently tried ghost peppers in the form of hot chicken wings. I didn't know hot sauce could make my whole hand burn, but it did, for an entire day. I can see why people put on gloves to handle ghost peppers. I want to try them again, but my wife doesn't think I should.
  • logfromblammo 10y ago
    Topically applied capsaicin ointment has been used to alleviate [osteo-] arthritis pain. Basically, it overstimulates the pain receptors, and they attenuate to a lower level. Wearing gloves is a good idea while processing capsicums, but also quietly chant to yourself "Don't touch your eyes. Don't touch your eyes. Don't touch your eyes."
    • maxerickson 10y ago
      I think I'd put some safety glasses in the kitchen if I found myself chanting that. I frequently put them on in situations where they aren't terribly necessary exactly to remind myself to keep my fingers out of my eyes.
      • croon 10y ago
        In some cases glasses make it worse. Then you inevitably have to adjust them or scratch between the eyes when they get itchy, and then check-mate.
  • huherto 10y ago
    yes, yes. The burn is important. I was just trying to stress the importance of flavor. The best is when it is so hot but so good and the only thing you can do is keep eating. You know that it is really going to hurt when you stop.
    • jordigh 10y ago
• dwc 10y ago
  From the US here, but close enough to the border with Mexico to have grown up eating spicy foods. I agree completely. I have been growing peppers for a while now, and selecting the pepper for a dish is a lot more than choosing the level of heat. There's a wonderful variety of flavor to be found.
• ianai 10y ago
  New Mexican - agree. You can dial the heat to whatever you want, but I'm there for the flavor.
  • tunap 10y ago
    For me, I seek certain peppers for the taste & heat is a bonus... especially fresh chiles. A mild habanero, however, I don't know if that would fly. IANANM, but my college roommate was. We roasted+peeled pounds of red & green chiles when his mom sent the fresh crop. Tasty times.
    • ianai 10y ago
      It's funny how NM chiles can be hard to find. As soon as I cross the border they go from a main ingredient to "it's a what?"
• blhack 10y ago
  I think it's kindof funny that people somehow associate Mexican and Indian food with being spicy. I almost think it scares them off of trying some of those dishes. In my experience, Mexican food is rich, but not spicy. Same thing with (some) Indian food. Maybe I'm trying the wrong food, though? I've only traveled in western India (Maharashtra). I would love some recommendations for dishes to try! BBQ (from the US) is the hottest food I have ever found. Mexican and Indian food barely registers compared to that stuff.
  • jghn 10y ago
    Where are you finding BBQ which registers as "the hottest food"? I can't think of a single regional BBQ style which would qualify as needle moving at all for me.
    • stock_toaster 10y ago
      My guess is hot wings.
      • lgas 10y ago
        But... hot wings aren't BBQ?
    • chrismcb 10y ago
      I'm guessing you're never met "the man" direction Dixie's BBQ. I'm not a big fan of spicy BBQ but there is definitely hot BBQ.
      • danshapiro 10y ago
        For the curious, this is a barbecue joint in Redmond, WA, just outside of Seattle and near Microsoft's headquarters. The owner, Porter, is famous for a hot sauce called "The Man" which is served out of a small, beat-up pot with a long handled spoon. If you get him talking, he'll tell you a story about someone trying to sell him capsicum extract-based sauce for his new BBQ restaurant (there's another interesting backstory about it being a car repair place previously). But it was too expensive, so he went upstream to his supplier and started buying it wholesale. He cooks it up with peppers, but the base is prefab. It's also near-lethal... consume with caution. Disclaimer: was last there >10 years ago, so much may have changed.
• kaeluka 10y ago
  You're assuming that you know what 'the point' is. You don't, because it doesn't exist.
  • GavinMcG 10y ago
    Be more charitable in your reading of others' comments. Even if you could take them to be presumptuous or rude, responding as though they are more nuanced will lead to a better experience for everyone. Here, it's entirely plausible (and frankly likely, given how easy it is to come up with a dismissive answer like yours) that the author meant something like "those who are inspired by cuisines that traditionally use a lot of peppers, like Mexican cuisine, seem not to understand the reason they're used in those cuisines."
    • kaeluka 10y ago
      It's entirely possible that the other person has the opinion you read into the post. It's possible that they don't. Nuance is easily lost online. I'm not trying to offend, just to be clear and to clarify the other person's position in the process. I am not angry at the poster, but I sincerely think that the first dismissive statement here was the one I replied to. It shuts discussion down before it gets to happen. As someone who enjoys spicy food (and used to eat super spicy food), I have been confronted with this argument often. If you put yourself in my shoes for a second: it is pretty insulting -- here's something you care and are excited about. And there's someone who doesn't understand, and claims you're missing 'the point'. I think it's valuable for a discussion to point this out in no uncertain terms. Edit: thank you for the feedback though! Next time, I'd probably say the same thing with a bit of extra sugar coating.