To have something "spicy" does not always mean hot, because there are many spices with intense flavours that are not really hot. Strong, yes, but not hot. A good recipe will balance flavours properly by treating food items and flavourings in the right way, such as roasting spice seeds, or pre-frying ginger (try it) to get specific effects. It is always a mistake to use the complete spice drawer in a dish, when two main spices with just a hint of one or two others will have the best result.

This is my husband. He adds so much chili to food he can't taste the food any more. If he tastes it before adding the chili he can't taste anything.

Spice done well can transform food into a near religious experience. I had this epiphany when I was in my early 20's eating the spiciest Thai green curry I'd ever had. The difference in this meal was the fact that the flavor was so ridiculously good that EVERY SINGLE BITE required a conscious acknowledgement of "this is going to hurt...but it's so good...f**k it...one more." It was a unicorn meal that I'll never forget.

I use a TINY pinch of red pepper flakes in many of my soups and stews, the heat accents the other flavours. But I hate overly hot dishes that simply burn my mouth and stomach. There's no flavour, just misery. What's the point of putting any other ingredients in if you can't taste them? The people I know who eat these hot foods also seem to have no tastebuds left to appreciate delicate flavours either, they consider everything 'bland' or 'tasteless' because they simply cant taste the more ephemeral flavours.

After you have something spicy enough times, you get desensitized to it. So don't ever say "it's not even that spicy" to someone who only feels the burn if you eat spicy food a lot.

A lot of people conflate the ability to eat hot food with personal character. They're idiots.

Well rhis directly contradicts the above "im not eating why should i care" opinion. Just because you're sensitive doesn't mean i dont like it

My boss enjoys the burn... He gets red and sweats, but he likes it. It's not too my taste, but that doesn't mean it's wrong.

Is this someone speaking from experience? I am a Chef and a Culinary Arts Instructor, I can taste the difference.

Thank you. I hate people who think all Mexican food needs is some sort of pepper. Then there is nothing else to taste. Or any other food that has spicy dishes. I want to bang my head on the wall.

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I like to taste flavor, not pain.

for a period of my life, I LOVED really hot curries (not phal hot, but I'd love a good vindaloo. got into them during a chest infection when I couldn't really taste anything at all) and for several years after that, I would enjoy a really hot curry, as long as it was done well. some places you'd order one, and it would be JUST hot. the good ones had a real depth of flavour, and yes, they were hot, but there was complexity and layers to it. (my husband is part Indian, and I liked hotter curries than he did. his Mum used to make me the most amazing prawn vindaloo) the past few years though, my tolerance has reduced quite a bit, and I'm more likely to find something too hot. and I'm not stubbornly holding on to the heat I used to enjoy out of some kind of showing off. I order curries of the heat I WANT to eat that day. sometimes it's a hotter one, but currently I'm preferring less hot ones, like a Madras or Dupiaza and so on. I could go hotter, but I pick what I think I'm going to enjoy

I have never cared to try high levels of spicy, but on lower levels, I enjoy it and can distinguish and enjoy the differences between different peppers and spices. I love to cut up the little Tabasco peppers (that most people just use the vinegar in the bottle.) to add it to vegetables, soup, marinades.

Yeah. People that like really spicy food say, “I don’t like bland food.” Bland means lack of flavor. Spicy is not a flavor.

I hate spicy food, but love flavorful food!

toxic masculinity. who can eat the hottest, somehow macho.

Agree that some people mix up seasoned with spicy. I also don't like the frase "I don't like spicy food" Different spices hit different parts of your tongue and mouth. Not all spicy hot is the same. Like spicy Mexican food hits different than Spicy Thai food. I say experiment and see what you like. Order the mild version with the hot stuff on the side. Then you are free to scale it up is desired.

Ugh, I know a couple people like this. "Oh this food is too hot". There is no chili in it, it's not hot, you just don't like any spices beyond salt. Add a little pepper and they'd tell you it was too hot >_<

I make my food spicy, but I do it with flavor. All heat and no flave is just sad.

This is patently untrue. There is a level of spice tolerance that actually reveals more flavor. Like, once you can get past the heat, jalapeños are actually sweet. Not super sweet, but just a hint of sweetness.

A lot of people massively conflate spicy/not spicy food with seasoned/not seasoned food and think people who *love* spicy food cannot taste most of what they cook anymore so their food has no actual flavor other than burning. Sometimes, I use my hot sauce (will make my eyes water and lungs rebel if I eat a drop or two plain), sometimes I like good old salt and pepper, sometimes plain and sometimes I use garlic, onion, curry powder, paprika, Ginger, Rosemary, thyme, etc and sometimes I mix them.

To me, if it is ridiculously hot, it alters the taste of other food. OP is correct; my SIL likes food spicy as hell and adds cayenne/hot sauce to everything. I doubt she can taste anything else.

What people don't seem to understand, is that your body adapts to the heat. Yes, if your idea of "hot" is a banana pepper and you try a Ghost pepper all you're going to be able to register is the heat....but if you're actually accustomed to hot peppers, you'll be able to pick up on the floral and fruity tastes of those high heat peppers. You just have to work your way up to it.

As a Cajun I love spice but I also love tasting everything in the dish. It's all about balance giving it enough heat but not too much that you can't taste the entire dish. That's where many people fail imo especially when it comes to jambalaya or etouffee they make it so spicy and yet it's also bland AF.

See I'm OK with spice if it's cooked into the food, added after the fact and that's all I taste. For me if it's seasoned, there's a fine line between an ok dish and an over cooked one.

There’s a world of difference between spice and heat…

I have a sensitive palate so spice can ruin a meal for me Blue cheese kills me.

I have a hot sauce shelf in my fridge. They are supposed to accent and enhance food. Different sauces compliment different foods. If you want to ruin it with just Scoville units, get a bottle of Da Bomb and be done with it.

I like to design dishes around layers of spice. For example, black pepper creates a "belly warmth," while jalapenos have a "bright warmth," then I add cayenne for "heat." They all kick in at different times in a single bite of the dish.

The countries that developed 'hot' foods, did so due to lack of refrigeration, and had to cover the taste of meat that was ripe.

I think once you start eating hot stuff you crave the hot tho ! Not me but people I know love it ! I don’t like how it burns coming out as much as it burns going in

Historically, spices were used to cover up for food that was less than desirable. Would anyone eat pumpkin without pumpkin spice?