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Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

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Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#111

Post by nostrebored »

platz wrote: post #89
na85 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience it's the provincials, the types who like to think they're cultural and worldly but aren't, that typically go bananas for the hottest peppers. When I was in university I noticed it tended to be the guys with inferiority complexes that were the ones to bring up how hot they like their food, and would try to work it into conversation. Spice/heat is a meme.

I can assure you I eat spicy food when no one is around.

And then post about it on the internet

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#113

Post by stock_toaster »

jghn wrote: post #100
blhack wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's kindof funny that people somehow associate Mexican and Indian food with being spicy. I almost think it scares them off of trying some of those dishes. In my experience, Mexican food is rich , but not spicy. Same thing with (some) Indian food. Maybe I'm trying the wrong food, though? I've only traveled in western India (Maharashtra). I would love some recommendations for dishes to try! BBQ (from the US) i…

Where are you finding BBQ which registers as "the hottest food"? I can't think of a single regional BBQ style which would qualify as needle moving at all for me.

My guess is hot wings.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#114

Post by spotman »

blhack wrote: post #86
johnbrodie wrote: post #2

As someone who enjoys a good hot sauce or pepper, I was interested in this article. Have I done damage to myself by eating 5 million+ scoville sauces? Unfortunately, this article is almost completely devoid of real information, and doesn't answer the question at all.

What sauces exist that at 5M+? If you're talking about pure capsaicin extract that you have added to your own food (essentially making your food into a sauce), then you aren't eating anything that is 5M SHUs, since that is not how the scale works.

Some of the Blairs brand of hot sauces claim up to 16 million on the scoville scale. I have tried the 4am sauce which claims 4M on the scoville scale, and it was not a laughing matter immediately, more crying, then laughing days later. (I love this stuff though, and would do it again!)

Having said that the stuff in the millions is pretty darn hard to find, they don't stock it or even sell it regularly.

Info: http://www.ushotstuff.com/hotSauceHeatScale.htm

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#115

Post by blhack »

eternauta3k wrote: post #103
blhack wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's kindof funny that people somehow associate Mexican and Indian food with being spicy. I almost think it scares them off of trying some of those dishes. In my experience, Mexican food is rich , but not spicy. Same thing with (some) Indian food. Maybe I'm trying the wrong food, though? I've only traveled in western India (Maharashtra). I would love some recommendations for dishes to try! BBQ (from the US) i…

Are you talking about Mexican restaurants in the US or in Mexico?

Both. Mexican restaurants in northern Mexican states like Baja and Sonora, as well as southern stuff around Mexico City.

And then obviously tons of Mexican restaurants around the US (I live in Phoenix).

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#116

Post by askvictor »

agentgt wrote: post #98

I used to be able to handle really hot peppers up in till college and then one day during college completely over did it . I'm not sure if that "day" was the cause of my increased sensitivity or if I just age related but now I can barely enjoy red pepper flakes. Oh it goes down just fine but later... later I'm writhing in pain rolling around in the bed at night ... and then later on the toilet ... well I think you kn…

Not sure if this is related, but I developed a condition called 'Lichen Planus' in my mouth a couple of years ago, and now it hurts considerably when I eat even the slightest amount of chilli. Sour foods also hurt, but they're easier to wash away. Quite a shame as I used to enjoy a bit of heat.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#117

Post by lfender6445 »

calvinbhai wrote: post #80

I'm not sure why people go for the heat. I'm from India and there are many hot/spicy options available. But most chili peppers are used for their flavor or color (e.g. Kashmiri Red Chilli powder is very red, less spicy) and varying the levels of heat/spiciness by adding more of less of it, instead of using the spiciest variety (like the ghost peppers that have caught the fancy of the west). I wish the flavor componen…

some people go for the heat because of the endorphin rush associated with spicy peppers, see Capsaicin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin - which also has analgesic properties.

I've read somewhere that the body releases endorphins because you trick it into thinking its in pain (and for some it is painful) but if you enjoy eating spicy foods this might explain why you'd want to push the envelope.

No pain no gain :)

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#118

Post by lgas »

stock_toaster wrote: post #113
jghn wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are you finding BBQ which registers as "the hottest food"? I can't think of a single regional BBQ style which would qualify as needle moving at all for me.

My guess is hot wings.

But... hot wings aren't BBQ?

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#119

Post by sib »

Noseshine wrote: post #17

Anecdote allowed? This reminds me of the Habanero Burger at "The Swinging Door" pub (I'm not sure it had the same name when I went there occasionally over 10 years ago, the first time actually almost 20 years ago in 1997) in San Mateo, CA [0]. (EDIT: It was the Prince of Wales pub previously! Lots of Habanero Burger stories: [1]) They had a "Wall of Flame" with stickers from all people who "survived" eating one. You…

If you ever happen to be traveling through Boise, ID, stop at the Flying Pie Pizzeria and try a triple habanero pizza. 12" pizza with 18 southern Mexican habaneros on it. http://www.flyingpie.com/habanero-season.htm

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#120

Post by yummyfajitas »

blhack wrote: post #83
huherto wrote: post #11

Mexican here. I find it amusing that people focus on how spicy their peppers are. They are missing the point. There are many pepper varieties and each has a different flavor. That is the interesting part and how it mixes with different foods in a variety of recipes. Focus on the flavor, not the burn.

I think it's kindof funny that people somehow associate Mexican and Indian food with being spicy. I almost think it scares them off of trying some of those dishes. In my experience, Mexican food is rich , but not spicy. Same thing with (some) Indian food. Maybe I'm trying the wrong food, though? I've only traveled in western India (Maharashtra). I would love some recommendations for dishes to try! BBQ (from the US) i…

Marathi food is the least spicy food I've had in India. (Exception: Kholapur.) You'll get significantly more spice anywhere else. Within Maharashtra, try misal pav or kholapur egg curry.

But yeah, even the spicy regions are (mostly) less spicy than "American Bengali restaurant signalling authenticity with too much spice" that I expected before I got here.

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