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Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

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Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#31

Post by sdflhasjd »

JohnFen wrote: post #30
pvaldes wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

North of Europe used horseradish as the closer substitute. Some notes: 1) The results depend on how we define spice. Many European countries use cheese to add interesting flavors to the food. Other parts of the world are more lactose intolerant and probably use spices where the west would simply use some type of cheese. A lot of berries dried or fresh could also play that role. Black currants could be easily included…

> The results depend on how we define spice. I thought this was well-defined. Herbs & spices come from plants. An herb is the leaf of the plant, and a spice is any non-leaf part of the plant. Am I mistaken?

That's how we define spices, but what is "spice"?

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#32

Post by vrc »

pvaldes wrote: post #26
tareqak wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had this distinction between “spicy” and “spiced” pointed out to me by a former colleague. In my experience, “spicy” is used when there is heat/capsaicin involved and “spice” is used when there is only flavor. I think it is a cause for confusion for many people. What is it like in other languages?

> What is it like in other languages? Spiced / Spicy (pungent) Spanish: Especiado / Picante French: Épicé / Piquant Swedish: Kryddad / Pikant

Piquant works in English too. Just rarely used and so that wont help in most circumstances.

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#33

Post by BenjiWiebe »

JohnFen wrote: post #12
manishsharan wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another theory could be that a lot of Indians are vegetarian and spices make vegetarian foods more palatable. You could eat most meats with only a dash of salt; however vegetarian dishes need to pair spices with the vegetables to make them appealing.

I don't think this holds generally, but it might be true for meat-eaters who eat vegetarian and miss the meaty flavors. At least... > however vegetarian dishes need to pair spices with the vegetables to make them appealing. I know a lot of vegetarians who would very much disagree with this assertion.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I prefer my meat spiced and like vegetable with minimal seasoning. I simply enjoy the flavor of vegetables more then meat.

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#34

Post by BenjiWiebe »

pvaldes wrote: post #27
yumraj wrote: post #8

The article seems to ignore the fact that people eat what grows locally. So, India grows a lot of spices, hence the food has those as ingredients. Norway doesn’t, so food is bland. That’s my theory anyway..

North of Europe used horseradish as the closer substitute. Some notes: 1) The results depend on how we define spice. Many European countries use cheese to add interesting flavors to the food. Other parts of the world are more lactose intolerant and probably use spices where the west would simply use some type of cheese. A lot of berries dried or fresh could also play that role. Black currants could be easily included…

Hard cheese, especially aged hard cheese, has extremely low lactose and is unlikely to be an issue, especially if used as an ingredient.

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#35

Post by Glawen »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #34
pvaldes wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

North of Europe used horseradish as the closer substitute. Some notes: 1) The results depend on how we define spice. Many European countries use cheese to add interesting flavors to the food. Other parts of the world are more lactose intolerant and probably use spices where the west would simply use some type of cheese. A lot of berries dried or fresh could also play that role. Black currants could be easily included…

Hard cheese, especially aged hard cheese, has extremely low lactose and is unlikely to be an issue, especially if used as an ingredient.

Yeah, but if people are lactose intolerant, why would they produce milk and develop cheesemaking techniques?

Cheese is a way to store excess milk

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#36

Post by carlmr »

tareqak wrote: post #17
gfaure wrote: post #7

This article seems to conflate "spice ingredients" with spicy ingredients. I would have a hard time considering how food from cuisines that use (e.g.) aniseed, caraway, cardamom or poppy seed could be considered "spicy food".

I had this distinction between “spicy” and “spiced” pointed out to me by a former colleague. In my experience, “spicy” is used when there is heat/capsaicin involved and “spice” is used when there is only flavor. I think it is a cause for confusion for many people. What is it like in other languages?

That's why, when I need to be clear about it, I say spicy hot (because hot in itself is also rather ambiguous) and uses a lot of spices when describing something that is rather more flavorful.

English is just not very good at describing flavor. Looking at British food, there might never have been the necessity.

In German there's scharf (spicy) and pikant (slightly spicy). As well as würzig (spiced).

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#37

Post by dalkvist »

pvaldes wrote: post #26
tareqak wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had this distinction between “spicy” and “spiced” pointed out to me by a former colleague. In my experience, “spicy” is used when there is heat/capsaicin involved and “spice” is used when there is only flavor. I think it is a cause for confusion for many people. What is it like in other languages?

> What is it like in other languages? Spiced / Spicy (pungent) Spanish: Especiado / Picante French: Épicé / Piquant Swedish: Kryddad / Pikant

Where did you get pikant for Swedish, im native and never heard that one

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#38

Post by desi_ninja »

alephnerd wrote: post #29

This analysis is crap. My family origin is Pahari farmers. In winters, my ancestral town's temperatures fall below freezing, yet Chili Powder from our region is a staple in most North Indian cooking (Kashmiri Mirch grown in JK and Himachal). That Punjab and Mughlai trendline can be attributed to that reason - Kashmiri Mirch is a staple in both styles of cooking now, but if you look at "pind style" cooking, it's way l…

Ignoring kolhapur region of Maharashtra is another travesty. Not to forget, bhoot jholakia (ghost pepper) from Assam

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#39

Post by JohnFen »

sdflhasjd wrote: post #31
JohnFen wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The results depend on how we define spice. I thought this was well-defined. Herbs & spices come from plants. An herb is the leaf of the plant, and a spice is any non-leaf part of the plant. Am I mistaken?

That's how we define spice s , but what is "spice"?

Well, until I read this comment thread, I wasn't aware that there was an ambiguity with that, either. "Spice" is synonymous with "spices".

I thought the ambiguity was the difference between "spicy" and "spiced", where people often use "spicy" to mean "hot", and "spiced" to mean "contains spices", but not necessarily hot.

Now that I'm aware that others find ambiguity, I have nothing I can say about it because this is new information to me. I suppose it's up to them to define it!

Re: Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

#40

Post by stephenr »

karmakaze wrote: post #24

The explanation that I was working with was that in hotter climates food spoils faster so spiciness can slow or mask the process. The article says: > The researchers suggest other explanations for why people in hot countries tend to eat spicier food. One possibility is that it’s because spices help preserve food in hot climates. Another is that people in hot countries have developed a taste for spicy food because it…

This may be part of it. Even now in Thailand "fresh" (I use that term very loosely) meat bought from a supermarket can have wildly different times before it has an odour, and that's without considering the wet markets where everything is out in the open air relying on a block of ice to keep it "fresh".
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