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I think the issue here is that the word "spicy" is overloaded, meaning both "hot" and "of or containing various spices". India has long used the sort of of spic
by smcl 5y ago
I think the issue here is that the word "spicy" is overloaded, meaning both "hot" and "of or containing various spices". India has long used the sort of of spices that give its food the characteristic rich, interesting flavours. I guess the hotness part comes from chili peppers from the America (I hadn't heard that before, I'm taking another comment at face value)
- thaumasiotes 5y agoIndia was the commercial source of (black) pepper; that's why Columbus' stated aim was to get to India. Tomatoes, potatoes, and chili ("red pepper") are all New World plants foreign to India.
- bumby 5y agoI believe the fact that Columbus thought he was in the Indies was why chiles derived the name of a “pepper” even though they are technically a different taxonomy, correct?
- taeric 5y agoThe names of foods are often... merely suggestive of there culinary use and fairly divorced from their scientific taxonomy. Consider that most of the "nuts" in a container of mixed nuts... aren't nuts.
- bumby 5y agoHuh. I knew the common peanut was a legume but has no idea most of the other nuts are botanical fruits/drupes. In my container, the only real nut is the hazelnut
- taeric 5y agoExactly. And at least peanut has the word pea in the name. :) Pretty sure the distinction of fruit is ignored often, as well. Coffee is my favorite example. Bean only in shape.
- bobthepanda 5y agoTo me what is more interesting is Korean food without chili peppers. Korean food is notoriously spicy today, gochugaru and gochujang are fundamental condiments of modern Korean cooking, but pre-chili recipes for things like kimchi are not notably spicy.
- smcl 5y agoThis is interesting actually. I'd be curious to see what Korean food was like before the Americas were discovered. And you have now got me daydreaming about kimchi a full hour before lunchtime, thanks a lot :D
- mcny 5y ago> And you have now got me daydreaming about kimchi a full hour before lunchtime, thanks a lot :D Just curious (and nosy), It is still early morning in the US but what did you end up having for lunch? :D
- smcl 5y agoHaha no problem I didn't have anything with kimchi and ended up going for Poke instead (https://www.pokecz.cz https://www.pokecz.cz)
- bobthepanda 5y agoThere’s a cookbook called the eumsik dimibang but I can’t find an English translation. It’s noticeable for both being the first Korean cookbook and being authored by a woman in the 1600s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumsik_dimibang https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumsik_dimibang
- hemreldop 5y agoIndia also used a lot of black pepper in its cuisine (which is local) before chili arrives on the scene. I looked into the pre chilli cuisine of south India a few years ago and it was very interesting and pepper heavy.
- Dylan16807 5y ago> I think the issue here is that the word "spicy" is overloaded, meaning both "hot" and "of or containing various spices". Do people actually use the word "spicy" for the latter?
- smcl 5y agoYep definitely. I've recently used it a couple of times when talking about alcoholic drinks - mulled wine when I've messed up the proportions (it was a little too spicy), and when trying to briefly summarise a difference between two particular whiskies (one being a bit more spicy than the other). I guess it's unambiguous in these contexts though.
- FerociousTimes 5y agoIs the word "piquant" still relevant to this use case? What about "picante" in this context?
- smcl 5y agoI've never encountered it in English, only in Czech ("pikantní")
- taeric 5y agoPretty much exactly this. That rating level when you go to an Indian or Thai place is pretty much not possible without chili peppers.