Hyperbole aside, it is interesting to see the sheer breadth in tolerance across friends and family. I'm far from a spice masochist, but I've never shied away from heat since my teenage years. What I find more interesting is the amount of stereotypical spice and heat avoidance I've seen from white family and friends; an example of which I recently heard from a friend, “I don't add spice to my chili, since I know some people don't like that.”
I'm genuinely confused by people who avoid adding additional flavour to their food. Heat avoidance I can understand to an extent, some folks are more sensitive to heat and pain sensations than others. But spice avoidance even from your garden variety spices genuinely befuddles me; and I can not understand how some people do not come across using things like Rosemary, Basil, or Cumin in their cooking.
I'll explain it to you :)
I think a lot of people cook how their parents cook. I taught my mom how to better season her cooking, to great success, but I don't blame her for not ever really learning. She learned from my grandma who spent her life on a tiny farm in the prairies, I'd be surprised if they came across cumin very often.
So, you grow up eating beef and vegetables seasoned with salt and pepper and homemade butter and eventually your palate doesn't really require the same stimulation and variety that people with access to more varied ingredients do. It's not that plain-eating-folks aren't aware there's more variety out there, but if they've spent their whole life _without_ those other options, it's just not something their body naturally want. As someone who appreciates music, it'd be easy for me to look down upon those with less developed palates, but to what end? People enjoy what they enjoy, I don't think there's any superiority to be had in liking basil just like there's no superiority to be had in liking djent.
I live in florida. There are people here that literally carry Sriracha sauce in their car. I will have people over for breakfast [eggs, bacon, toast, muffins], they will go to their car, and pour Sriracha sauce all over their eggs. It's pretty normal for them to put it on everything they eat. Eating just a potato seems strange to them, it needs that burning sensation. I think it is almost the opposite of a developed palate - it's more like they lost their ability to detect and enjoy simple flavors. Like an alcoholic that can't be in a social setting without liquor.
I think that's the keyword here. The behavior you're describing does sound very dependent, but those dependent on alcohol are a minority. I don't have numbers on capsaicin, but I'd be comfortable betting that the need to spice everything is also not the norm.
If taste and flavor preference is largely environmental as is argued, it makes sense that extremes exist on the edges.
You're already looking down on people who taste things differently than you do.
Someone else might acknowledge that increased complexity is typically an indicator of a later development stage, while preferring or finding moral goodness in an earlier stage of development, or having no value judgement on it at all.
Let's go with "people who've had less opportunity to try novel ingredients and flavors". Does that work for you rendaw?
It's not a flavour, it's just pain. You can experience capsaicin on any mucuous membrane of your body. Your tongue and lips just happen to usually be the most convenient ones, but you're not using your taste buds on capsaicin.
Nothing wrong with enjoying painful food. I like exciting my pain neurons too. But not everyone likes pain, while far more people enjoy flavour.
It can, unfortunately, be an outlet for people who are dealing with some shit, and they might not realize it. Not saying that's what's up with OP, but I think it's why I've done it myself a time or two, despite usually being civil and open to a conversation.
Give them an ole "he who controls the spice, controls the universe!!"
Tastes delicious! But I learned a long time ago that it's an ingredient I need to avoid whenever I'm eating while on the run. Err, on the go.
On the flip side, I never understood the "coffee makes you poop" meme, but it's apparently a similar biological reality for a lot of people.
>I'm genuinely confused by people who avoid adding additional flavour to their food.
I think there's a communication breakdown here. They're not saying they don't like flavorful food, they're saying they don't like spicy food. "Spicy" and "spice" are two different things, but are often used interchangeably by folk who aren't much into, or don't know much about, cooking. The comment your friend said should (I think, at least) be interpreted as, "I don't add spicy spices to my chili".
Now, I could be totally wrong, and you'll come back to confirm that your friend used absolutely no spices whatsoever, at which point... how does it even taste like chili? :)
EDIT: Cute anecdote; I have to use the word "seasoning" whenever cooking with my two year-old. If I say "spice", she immediately assumes it's gonna be "spicy" and begins to flip out lol.
Either that or they think that food that tastes good is somehow bad/sinful or makes them feel out of control. Orthorexia is an example of this.
Now if you give me a piece of chicken, of course I will need a ton of spices to make it edible. Indians and the American south have found the best in my opinion (curry and cajun ftw).
Genetics? Who knows but they’re out there.
I bought various chili types seeds in the past from them without any problems.
Their free color catalog just came out last week: https://www.rareseeds.com/requestcat/catalog/
Carolina reapers: https://www.rareseeds.com/carolina-reaper-hot-pepper
I wonder if we ever start to see application-specific biocomputing systems integrated into server farms, we might really start calling our servers "livestock".
Mildly OT, but reminds me of this iconic scene[0] from Roger & Me[1].
In some ways, (the movie[1], not the clip[0]) doesn't hold up too well. In others, it's still spot on IMHO.
In my memory she was an older woman; seeing it now, the woman looks so young.
Also TIL there is a follow-up short film called "Pets or Meat" https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-27-tv-24-sto...
I used to think I had no limits until I ate a Carolina Reaper whole. The pain in my mouth was tolerable, but it caused a stomach pain that felt like my gallbladder had returned, lasting for one absolutely hellish hour.
Checkout Mad Dog 357: https://maddog357.com/ it's the real deal.
Edit: I always presumed the high after spicy food was endorphins.
That was my assumption too.
I've had one experience with smelling a bowl that had some mexican style dish with habaneros over it. Just the smell made me salivate so much I could feel it in the back of my mouth as a pleasurable anticipation.