Mueen Nawaz wrote:
> stbenge wrote:
>> Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
>>> Maybe I've grown slightly more accustomed to the hotter spices, but
>>> how can I still trail my 10 year old daughter who's rarely ever eaten
>>> spicy foods?  There's got to be something more to it. 
>> Maybe it's genetics. Some people are more sensitive to pain than others.
>> People will tell you this is nonsense, and that you are indeed a wimp.
> 
> 	Actually, if it really is genetic, then how does that not make him a wimp?
> 
> 	It's quite worse. It means he's a wimp and there's nuthin' he can do
> about it!

I was just throwing that out there as a possible reason.

> Let the macho people compensate for their
> insecurities, at the expense of their palatial values (and, I'm told,
> their stomach as well - too much is bad for you).

Well I like spicy foods. I'm not sure if my tastes buds have been 
damaged; food still tastes great. I don't go crazy with the spices, 
though. I don't eat heroic amounts :S

Sam

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Mueen Nawaz wrote:
> 	It's quite worse. It means he's a wimp and there's nuthin' he can do
> about it!

(snerk!)

> 	Me - I have a low tolerance. I avoid anything that has a "hot" label.

My mother-in-law is Szechwan, the area in china where they use the viscous 
spices. There were days early on when, without exageration, I'd have my eyes 
watering upstairs and on the other side of the house from the kitchen while 
my wife was cooking what she thought was pretty mild food. I've built a 
tolerance, but my wife has lost a lot of her tolerance too.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Ouch ouch ouch!"
   "What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
   "No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."

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On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:03:46 -0500, Mike Hough wrote:

> A hispanic friend told me a long time ago that the secret to eating
> spicy food was salt. He was telling me that his family would put salt on
> a hot pepper and just eat it. Don't know for sure but I does seem like
> eating something salty takes the edge off.

I don't know about salt to deal with the heat - I'll have to try that one 
myself. :-)

> Supposedly the addiction to spicy food is due to the endorphins that are
> released in response to the burning sensation. 

Yes, I've heard that as well, and as a fan of spicy foods, I would 
probably agree most days. :-)

> I must admit that I feel
> pretty good after eating a spicy meal. Speaking of ginger, if you have
> ever eaten the root raw you would definitely call it "hot".

I have had it raw (love it that way, too - we've got a huge one in the 
freezer that we use for cooking).  I wouldn't call it "hot", though, but 
"potent".

Jim

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On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:58:37 -0800, stbenge wrote:

>> Let the macho people compensate for their insecurities, at the expense
>> of their palatial values (and, I'm told, their stomach as well - too
>> much is bad for you).
> 
> Well I like spicy foods. I'm not sure if my tastes buds have been
> damaged; food still tastes great. I don't go crazy with the spices,
> though. I don't eat heroic amounts :S

If I remember correctly, taste buds are "reborn" regularly (the cells die 
off and are replaced by new ones) fairly regularly.  It's probably more 
to do with the brain's wiring than "dulling the taste buds".

A certain amount of spicy food is good for you; there are documented 
benefits to eating it, including increased immune system strength and 
capsaicin is documented (I don't know how formal the studies are, though) 
to have preventative effects on cancer.

But like anything, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.  Go 
overboard, and you can give yourself ulcers, acid reflux problems, and a 
litany of other gastro-intestinal problems.

I love spicy food.  My wife is allergic to capsaicin and any significant 
amount (she can handle trace amounts - say 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne, for 
example, in a large pot of soup, or adding a few slices of red jalapeno 
(I forget the name, but basically they're "overripe") to a bowl of Tom 
Yum soup is about her limit.

Or one "hot" wing, if that.

Jim

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Mike Hough wrote:
> A hispanic friend told me a long time ago that the secret to eating spicy 
> food was salt. He was telling me that his family would put salt on a hot 
> pepper and just eat it. Don't know for sure but I does seem like eating 
> something salty takes the edge off.

Sometimes when I use ginger in cooking I'll take a few slices of what is 
left over for myself :)

I'm one of those who is practically immune to hot, now. I get strange 
looks when I order Thai food as hot as they can make it. Those little 
Thai peppers they use are quite tasty. One waitress noticed the pepper 
in my soup, and recommended I avoid it. She came back later and the 
pepper was gone.

Did you eat that?

Yes ...

Her eyes got really wide.


most others.

-- 
~Mike

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> most others.

We are just in the habit of putting Tabasco on everything here, when we 
first started off it would just be a few drops in each bowl, but now it's 
definitely a few big shakes each into a bowl of pasta or whatever.

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stbenge wrote:
> Well I like spicy foods. I'm not sure if my tastes buds have been
> damaged; food still tastes great. I don't go crazy with the spices,
> though. I don't eat heroic amounts :S

	I'm guessing you have spicy food once in a while, as opposed to my
friends who only cook spicy food.

-- 
Americans are getting stronger. Twenty years ago, it took two people to
carry ten dollars' worth of groceries. Today, a five-year-old can do it.


                    /\  /\               /\  /
                   /  \/  \ u e e n     /  \/  a w a z
                       >>>>>>mue### [at] nawazorg<<<<<<
                                   anl

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On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:40:21 +0100, scott wrote:

>> Hmmm, it was hot, but not too hot. Habanero to me is what Jalapeño is
>> to most others.
> 
> We are just in the habit of putting Tabasco on everything here, when we
> first started off it would just be a few drops in each bowl, but now
> it's definitely a few big shakes each into a bowl of pasta or whatever.

I don't really care for Tabasco for most things - the vinegar tends to 
cut too much.  There's a good widely-available Korean hot sauce that's 
outstanding, though.

Jim

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On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:03:46 -0500, "Mike Hough" <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:

>A hispanic friend told me a long time ago that the secret to eating spicy 
>food was salt. He was telling me that his family would put salt on a hot 
>pepper and just eat it. Don't know for sure but I does seem like eating 
>something salty takes the edge off.
>

A gourmand once told me that capsaicin is soluble in fat and to take away the
"heat" of spicy food drink milk. It works with yoghurt or lassi (sweet or
salty).

>Supposedly the addiction to spicy food is due to the endorphins that are 
>released in response to the burning sensation. I must admit that I feel 
>pretty good after eating a spicy meal. Speaking of ginger, if you have ever 
>eaten the root raw you would definitely call it "hot".
>

Endorphins hmm! 
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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"Mike Hough" <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> A hispanic friend told me a long time ago that the secret to eating spicy
> food was salt. He was telling me that his family would put salt on a hot
> pepper and just eat it. Don't know for sure but I does seem like eating
> something salty takes the edge off.

It makes some sense: I hear that one of the reasons why you shouldn't try to
counter the burning effect by drinking water is that it actually only sort of
washes the hot stuff out of your meal and spreads it everywhere in your mouth.

So on the other hand, if you eat bread, that will dry up your mouth somewhat, so
the hot stuff can't be "washed out" that easily. So I'd expect that salt helps
in the same way, by binding water.

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