# Proposition: Food should not hurt.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposition-food-should-not-hurt/66187>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 22, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposition-food-should-not-hurt/66187 "2001-05-22T14:18:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposition-food-should-not-hurt/66187/21 "2001-05-25T14:27:59Z")

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In that case, I agree with you.

I like heat, but if the only spice a cook uses is chili pepper and its derivatives, that’s one unimaginative cook.

However, the extent to which chili pepper drowns out other spices that are present in a meal depends on the diner’s own chili tolerance.

**example:** My mum has a low chili tolerance, and she always used to nag me about putting spice in the food — \*“don’t put too much hot spice in, then you can’t taste all the other lovely flavours,” \*she’d say. The point is that **I could** taste all the flavours. Because mum had a lower tolerance, the (small) amount of chili that was pleasure to me was pain to her. She really **couldn’t** taste the other spices (coriander, cumin and turmeric probably) in the dish.

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**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposition-food-should-not-hurt/66187/22 "2001-05-25T14:56:40Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \*  
> **I hate it when some food has something I hate on it which wasn’t mentioned in the menu description, like mayonaisse.**

Hear, hear! I was once presented with a menu on which nearly every item had mushrooms listed as an ingredient. I abhor mushrooms. Finally I found one thing that didn’t have them listed. You guessed it – big mound of mushrooms on it. Fercryinoutloud, if mushrooms are important enough to list in some items, list them in everything that contains them!

(But this incident did teach me to specifically ask if the salad has raw onions in it, and so on, so that I can ask to have them left out.)

As for the OP, I’m not a fan of super-spicy either, although I do like mild Thai and Indian food. Mr. S is the same way, but only because of his hiatal hernia. Some of our friends think we’re boring because of it – so be it. Burn your own damn mouth!

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**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposition-food-should-not-hurt/66187/23 "2001-05-25T18:16:08Z")

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I’ve found that I like trying different spices… often I buy them and read on the side what it says you can use them in and just sorta add at will. That’s always fun to do.

I too (as said before) dislike really spicy food… if I want to have my head explode I’ll go do something else thanks…

It’s annoyed me lately that I’ve found Grandma and Mom don’t use that many different spices. I love their cooking but its the same stuff they used years ago _shakes her head_ Ah well.

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