Heat alone does not make a good dish. Heat in addition to a flavor that is enhanced by it is a good thing. Heat for the sake of bragging rights is not.
@brennyn@kittykat9180@kjady If you think miracle whip is disgusting when I was a kid my parents were doing these fad diets in the early eighties. One of my parents favorite snack foods(was a chip dip that was quite simple to make. The recipe was: one part Miracle Whip mixed with one part cottage cheese. I still have nightmares about that concoction.
@kjady@sicc574 Damn, the mother of one of my friends used to make that but with crushed up grapes in addition to the cottage cheese. I never knew it was a fad diet thing.
@kittykat9180@sicc574 while that sounds weird mayonnaise based salads are common. Swap with miracle whip for lower calories… Doesn’t sound THAT gross. I mean I wouldn’t make it/would give you a look but. Mehbe is not that bad.
@Cerridwyn My brother can eat hot pepper spicy things but he can’t tolerate wasabi. Our sister is the opposite. I like both, but not too hot on the peppers.
@Cerridwyn@Kyeh Ginger and Pepper all the way. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dish “too hot”.
Wasabi though, not for me. With me it’s not about the heat to the mouth with wasabi, it’s a combination of the flavour and the awful feeling it brings up my nose, makes my nose feel “curdled” if that makes sense. It’s not the heat, it’s the unpleasant feeling in my nose from wasabi.
Why? It hurts going in, hurts going through and hurts going out! I guess if you like the sensation of biting your tongue and giving yourself a colon exam without anesthesia, then go for it.
@kuoh I only very recently learned that “burns coming back out” is something that can actually happen, and not just hyperbole meant to express how hot something is. I’d never experienced it until I ate a dozen scorpion peppers in one sitting.
@brennyn@kuoh Like you, I’d never had it happen to me until just a couple years ago. I didn’t eat scorpion peppers or anything. (I can’t even remember what it was…) But I ended up a lot closer to diarrhea than usual, and I attributed it to that.
I normally only experience the burn once, though. Sometimes followed by stomach pain, if I didn’t have enough safe food to buffer it.
@brennyn@kuoh@xobzoo Hi, I’m here to make things weird! Try eating super spicy food when you’re rocking an ostomy. I’m thankful that I’ve been restored to factory settings and all my parts are back where they should be
@hchavers spice killing taste buds is a myth… (Although everyone loses taste ability a little as they age)
However, there’s definitely “getting used to it”. My wife has been the usual cook for most of our time as parents, and the kids didn’t like spicy food.
When I took over cooking duty for several years the kids began to gradually not just tolerate spicy food, but began to love it. The last year or two, the Mrs. has been doing most of the cooking again and I’ve noticed the kids heat tolerance has gone down again. (Although one of the three still loves everything super spicy).
Spice and heat is definitely acquired, and, at least while young, you can gain/lose tolerance/appreciation of it.
@hchavers North American default levels of “sweet” are also far more pronounced than in much of the rest of the world, as visitors from other countries often remark. And it’s locally variable upward, as in the case of the “swate tay” in Mississippi, which can resemble pancake syrup.
@whomeyesu Most of those reporting smell sense loss seem to return to normal in three to six weeks, and the longest delay I’ve heard confirmed so far is a little over six months. I would not be surprised if some were longer, seeming to be permanent - and probably some are. And I’d also add that quite a few report that their sense of smell is less acute when it returns. Sometimes that doesn’t change, either.
I hate how restaurants here call mild or medium food items “spicy”. I’m frequently disappointed when I order something spicy and it only has a little heat to it. Mexican restaurants and wing restaurants are the worst for this. They’ll mark something as maximum spicy, and it barely has any heat at all.
Going to an Indian restaurant for lunch today… That restaurant knows how to properly spice some food.
@OnionSoup What really gets my goat is when they let you specify heat levels from 1 to 5 but they make the dish exactly the same no matter what you order.
I’m fine with something not being spicy, not everything has to be, but don’t lie about it.
@werehatrack having never been to Houston I’ll have to take your word on that.
In the South East (or at least Carolinas/Georgia where I’ve spent most of my time), it seems anything stronger than milk seems to be considered “too spicy”. Not that there isn’t some great Southern Cuisine, there’s some great restaurants/food, it’s just they don’t seem to like heat.
I had a stomach ulcer, and it was being extra irritated by gerd (or the gerd was being extra irritated by the ulcer?), so I was told to stop eating spicy food until the ulcer issue was resolved. Now that I can eat spicy foods again, I’ve found my tolerance is GONE. I keep finding myself ordering dishes that I loved and used to eat all the time, and I can’t eat more than a bite or two. Uggggg!
I like it as hot as it gets until it ruins the meal. Dishes that try to be obnoxiously hot are stupid. Dishes that are crazy spicy that are designed by purpose, by culture, by wisdom and by chefs… those are elevating. Meals that make me say wow more than three times get my attention. If I have to say, ‘wow that sucks’, or ‘wow that’s awful’, I’m out.
@capnjb I agree with this. It’s like, I love hot food, but adding hot sauce to something too mild doesn’t help. The heat and flavour have to compliment each other.
I don’t think making Rice Krispies spicy would taste good for example.
@OnionSoup I will agree with the Rice Krispies, but I do like hot sauce in my cottage cheese in the morning. I’m also a big salt person. I love flaked sea salt on my watermelon. I love to cook and try new things, so I’ll throw hot sauce, salt, mirin, pretty much anything on my spice rack (which is about 5’ tall) on random things and if it works, awesome, and if not, now I know I’d like to think I have an adventurous palate But, yeah, not everything works
@capnjb scrambled eggs is another breakfast food some people like spice added. It’s funny, my wife (who usually isn’t as much into spice as me) loves tobasco sauce in her scrambled eggs, me, who loves spice, doesn’t like spicy eggs.
So death wings 6 for $10 or challenge 20 for $30-eat them all and your meal is free is considered appetizing. Just licking a wing burned my intestines and made me tear. No thanks!
I will take some heat if it has a good flavour. Most really hot stuff tastes bad to me.
Heat alone does not make a good dish. Heat in addition to a flavor that is enhanced by it is a good thing. Heat for the sake of bragging rights is not.
I’m from the midwest. Black pepper is sometimes too much.
@kjady
My friend from Ohio was like that - I was shaking black pepper into a pan and he said “whoa, go easy with that!”
@kjady I have relatives that, no joke, think that Miracle Whip is too spicy.
@brennyn @kjady miracle whip is disgusting
@brennyn @kittykat9180 @kjady If you think miracle whip is disgusting when I was a kid my parents were doing these fad diets in the early eighties. One of my parents favorite snack foods(was a chip dip that was quite simple to make. The recipe was: one part Miracle Whip mixed with one part cottage cheese. I still have nightmares about that concoction.
@kjady I have the same black pepper shaker that I had from college. It’s still full.
@kjady @sicc574 Damn, the mother of one of my friends used to make that but with crushed up grapes in addition to the cottage cheese. I never knew it was a fad diet thing.
@sicc574, that sounds rather nasty.
@kittykat9180 @sicc574 while that sounds weird mayonnaise based salads are common. Swap with miracle whip for lower calories… Doesn’t sound THAT gross. I mean I wouldn’t make it/would give you a look but. Mehbe is not that bad.
They are very different kinds of heat. I like ginger I can eat very hot Ginger items I don’t like your classic pepper hot So Different Strokes
@Cerridwyn My brother can eat hot pepper spicy things but he can’t tolerate wasabi. Our sister is the opposite. I like both, but not too hot on the peppers.
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh Ginger and Pepper all the way. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dish “too hot”.
Wasabi though, not for me. With me it’s not about the heat to the mouth with wasabi, it’s a combination of the flavour and the awful feeling it brings up my nose, makes my nose feel “curdled” if that makes sense. It’s not the heat, it’s the unpleasant feeling in my nose from wasabi.
“Love it”, but also agree there is a point of diminishing returns.
Why? It hurts going in, hurts going through and hurts going out! I guess if you like the sensation of biting your tongue and giving yourself a colon exam without anesthesia, then go for it.
KuoH
@kuoh I only very recently learned that “burns coming back out” is something that can actually happen, and not just hyperbole meant to express how hot something is. I’d never experienced it until I ate a dozen scorpion peppers in one sitting.
@brennyn @kuoh Like you, I’d never had it happen to me until just a couple years ago. I didn’t eat scorpion peppers or anything. (I can’t even remember what it was…) But I ended up a lot closer to diarrhea than usual, and I attributed it to that.
I normally only experience the burn once, though. Sometimes followed by stomach pain, if I didn’t have enough safe food to buffer it.
@brennyn @kuoh @xobzoo
/youtube paint the bowl then wash it away Tom Segura
@brennyn @kuoh my “in” definitely tolerates heat better than my “out”… Lol. It’s really only whole peppers that seem to burn on the out.
A well mixed vindaloo, doesn’t burn coming out. Snacking on some mini chilli peppers, it’ll burn more on the exit than the entrance.
@brennyn @kuoh @xobzoo Hi, I’m here to make things weird!
Try eating super spicy food when you’re rocking an ostomy. I’m thankful that I’ve been restored to factory settings and all my parts are back where they should be 
It’s fun to hit the limit.
@Salanth Until you have a blowout just before rounding the corner to the bathroom hallway.
KuoH
North American and Europe spicy is fine. Thailand and India spicy is too much for me, way too much.
Do these people have any taste buds left? Maybe that’s why they always cook with some type of curry (to add something they can actually taste).
@hchavers spice killing taste buds is a myth… (Although everyone loses taste ability a little as they age)
However, there’s definitely “getting used to it”. My wife has been the usual cook for most of our time as parents, and the kids didn’t like spicy food.
When I took over cooking duty for several years the kids began to gradually not just tolerate spicy food, but began to love it. The last year or two, the Mrs. has been doing most of the cooking again and I’ve noticed the kids heat tolerance has gone down again. (Although one of the three still loves everything super spicy).
Spice and heat is definitely acquired, and, at least while young, you can gain/lose tolerance/appreciation of it.
@hchavers North American default levels of “sweet” are also far more pronounced than in much of the rest of the world, as visitors from other countries often remark. And it’s locally variable upward, as in the case of the “swate tay” in Mississippi, which can resemble pancake syrup.
@hchavers @werehatrack Many people are reporting that some covid variants have removed all taste and smell senses which never returned though.
@whomeyesu Most of those reporting smell sense loss seem to return to normal in three to six weeks, and the longest delay I’ve heard confirmed so far is a little over six months. I would not be surprised if some were longer, seeming to be permanent - and probably some are. And I’d also add that quite a few report that their sense of smell is less acute when it returns. Sometimes that doesn’t change, either.
@hchavers @werehatrack yes. America uses a lot more sugar. Very noticeable when visiting. After living here a while it starts to taste normal though.
Total wuss here - nothing spicier than Pizza Hut pepperoni!
I like spicy but there’s a point where it becomes the flavor. I like to taste the food.
I love spicy food.
I hate how restaurants here call mild or medium food items “spicy”. I’m frequently disappointed when I order something spicy and it only has a little heat to it. Mexican restaurants and wing restaurants are the worst for this. They’ll mark something as maximum spicy, and it barely has any heat at all.
Going to an Indian restaurant for lunch today… That restaurant knows how to properly spice some food.
@OnionSoup What really gets my goat is when they let you specify heat levels from 1 to 5 but they make the dish exactly the same no matter what you order.
I’m fine with something not being spicy, not everything has to be, but don’t lie about it.
@OnionSoup
If you ever visit Houston, making this assumption will not serve you well at all. In Youngstown, Ohio, yeah. But not here. Oooooh, no.
@OnionSoup I feel like I’m taking the 1 chip challenge whenever Taco Bell “accidentally” puts the hot sauce packets instead of mild in my order.
KuoH
@werehatrack having never been to Houston I’ll have to take your word on that.
In the South East (or at least Carolinas/Georgia where I’ve spent most of my time), it seems anything stronger than milk seems to be considered “too spicy”. Not that there isn’t some great Southern Cuisine, there’s some great restaurants/food, it’s just they don’t seem to like heat.
I had a stomach ulcer, and it was being extra irritated by gerd (or the gerd was being extra irritated by the ulcer?), so I was told to stop eating spicy food until the ulcer issue was resolved. Now that I can eat spicy foods again, I’ve found my tolerance is GONE. I keep finding myself ordering dishes that I loved and used to eat all the time, and I can’t eat more than a bite or two. Uggggg!
I like it as hot as it gets until it ruins the meal. Dishes that try to be obnoxiously hot are stupid. Dishes that are crazy spicy that are designed by purpose, by culture, by wisdom and by chefs… those are elevating. Meals that make me say wow more than three times get my attention. If I have to say, ‘wow that sucks’, or ‘wow that’s awful’, I’m out.
@capnjb I agree with this. It’s like, I love hot food, but adding hot sauce to something too mild doesn’t help. The heat and flavour have to compliment each other.
I don’t think making Rice Krispies spicy would taste good for example.
@OnionSoup I will agree with the Rice Krispies, but I do like hot sauce in my cottage cheese in the morning.
I’m also a big salt person. I love flaked sea salt on my watermelon. I love to cook and try new things, so I’ll throw hot sauce, salt, mirin, pretty much anything on my spice rack (which is about 5’ tall) on random things and if it works, awesome, and if not, now I know 
I’d like to think I have an adventurous palate 
But, yeah, not everything works 
OWLS! TOWELS! JOWLS! AWESOME!
@capnjb scrambled eggs is another breakfast food some people like spice added. It’s funny, my wife (who usually isn’t as much into spice as me) loves tobasco sauce in her scrambled eggs, me, who loves spice, doesn’t like spicy eggs.
So death wings 6 for $10 or challenge 20 for $30-eat them all and your meal is free is considered appetizing. Just licking a wing burned my intestines and made me tear. No thanks!