Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers? • Hacker News Board

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#161

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

luca_ing wrote: post #159

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…

> I'm not sure why people go for the heat. > I wish the flavor component had some kind of a quantifiable unit instead of the scoville units that has fueled this craze of feeling the burn. > Don't fall for this tongue numbing "hottest wings/sauce in the world". Enjoy the flavor :) I agree, but you need a certain tolerance to heat before you can stomach enough chili to notice the flavour. To westerners with low heat to…

> I agree, but you need a certain tolerance to heat before you can stomach enough chili to notice the flavour.

Not really, because the flavor (other than heat, which is itself considered one of the basic flavors) comes almost entirely from the body of the pepper, the heat mostly from the seeds and ribs; preparation choices can very much control the relative presence of each in a dish.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#162

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 1:10 PM UTC

lfender6445 wrote: post #117

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 gai…

Physically, the sensation from peppers is pain; it's only not paying if you've lost the ability to sense the heat of chilis entirely.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#163

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 1:17 PM UTC

duaneb wrote: post #73

elboru wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly that's why it's common in Mexican recipes to leave seeds, it's a totally different experience to eat Guacamole with and without pepper seeds.

To my understanding, capsaicin is in the flesh around the seeds, but the seeds themselves are not spicy and tend to add sweetness. Is that correct?

AFAIK, the seeds tens to be coated in the oils from the surrounding flesh and bring heat for that reason, but less than the ribs themselves. I don't think there is heat in the seeds, but that's something of an academic distinction in most cases.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#164

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 1:27 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #115

eternauta3k wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Mexican food can be spicy but it varies a lot from between individual cooks and individual dishes from the same cook, as well as regionally. I've been to places where virtually everything on the menu was, at most, on slightly spicy--but they had one dish with, e.g., an intense salsa negra that was incredibly spicy. Mexican food is incredibly diverse, and definitely included plenty of spicy, bury it's not uniformly or even mostly spicy.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#165

Post by M_Grey » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:07 PM UTC

tunap wrote: post #106

M_Grey wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, it definitely helps to speed things along to recovery. I also find spicy food ironically helps in very hot, dry weather.

It also makes the deserts' relative cold months more tolerable. Probably not a good idea in northerly parts where sweating on a sub-0 day/night might be a hazard.

I didn't even consider that, thanks for a new perspective. Good point about sweating in freezing weather though, you're right, you definitely want to stay as dry as possible in (for example) the boreal forests of Canada.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#166

Post by jordigh » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:11 PM UTC

luca_ing wrote: post #160

jordigh wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't eat habaneros or ghost peppers for the flavour. I eat them for the burn. I guess the flavour is ok, but it's not the main attraction. Just like people don't really consume beer for the flavour, or non-alcoholic beer would be a lot more popular than it is, since it just tastes like beer without the bitterness of alcohol. https://xkcd.com/1534/

> Just like people don't really consume beer for the flavour, Oh but I assure you they do. In fact everybody I know drinks beer exclusively for the flavour. Why else would they? Even my 93-year-old grandmother drinks it, but she can only drink half a bottle, after that it will start to affect her. She complains bitterly how she'd like to drink more, but can't anymore. > or non-alcoholic beer would be a lot more popul…

Wow, I really struck a nerve here, eh? Alright, beer is great, we must all do our part! ;-)

I've drunk plenty of beer and it all tastes bad. I'm not inexperienced. I much prefer the flavour of fruit juice. I really do think there's a huge social pressure to get to like beer. Maybe after a while our brains get to enjoy the bad flavour and associate it with pleasant past experiences. I have learned to put up with the flavour of beer and sometimes I am able to ignore the bad flavour of beer if there are other parts of the flavour that are enjoyable.

I don't think anybody likes beer the first time they try it.

I feel the same way about coffee too. It's a bitter drink and it smells bad. It cannot possibly be true that these substances would be popular if it were not for the side effects. What is a popular bitter beverage or food that has no other side effects?

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#167

Post by huherto » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:22 PM UTC

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…

That is right. Usually the food is not too spicy. Most of the time you have a variety of peppers and sauces that you can add to your liking. Specially if it is going to be consumed by children. Some people prefer mild sauces, other people prefer hot flavor. Some dishes are known to be very hot and you know your have to eat them at your own risk. e.g. Diablo Shrimp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77FNW-nZyJ0

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#168

Post by mindcrime » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:27 PM UTC

dllthomas wrote: post #154

mindcrime wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I use everything from jalapeno pepper to Carolina Reapers and everything in between at various times. I never make anything that's just plain loaded down with nothing but reapers, but I use a mix of peppers to make things that are really hot but also have a nice flavor. The heat just makes things interesting, but heat for its own sake isn't very interesting to me. You could buy pure, refined Capsaicin, but what…

> like "Dave's Insanity" which is hot but nasty I haven't tried it in a decade, but I remember liking the flavor... although maybe that was their salsa?

To be fair, they do have different products in their lineup and I don't remember exactly which one I tried before. It was a long time ago, but I definitely remembering thinking that the flavor was horrible. But it was definitely hot. :-)

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#169

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:28 PM UTC

zip1234 wrote: post #30

huherto wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

:) You will notice that Mexican food is frequently accompanied by a variety of sauces and/or peppers. So you can try them and make the decision on which you want and how much you want and maximize the enjoyment. It is gotta be hot but not too much that you stop enjoying the food. That is how children learn.

And also plenty of salt and limes to dim the heat when necessary.

Neither salt nor lime dims heat; both salt and acid enhance it.

Re: Can you hurt yourself eating chilli peppers?

#170

Post by chrischattin » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 2:58 PM UTC

sib wrote: post #119

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

I can second this. One of the best pizzas you'll ever eat. They only make them in August - which is apparently when the habaneros are the hottest.