I think it’s simply that American food in certain times and places can be rather aggressively bland. I’ve seen recipes for “spicy” casseroles and the like in older cookbooks that get their spice from a bit of paprika or black pepper. If that is what you are used to, even food that is not extremely hot can be perceived as “spicy” if it includes stuff like cumin.
I also think “spicy” can act as a euphemism for people who want to say they do not like “ethnic” food.
I have a reputation for liking spicy food, such that nobody trusts me if I say something isn’t spicy. But I’ve gotten my boss and coworker to try a couple of things, such as pad thai and pad see ew, or pho before I put the peppers in it, or goi cuon or bahn xaio. (They won’t get near my curry or spicy beef salad.) Everyone’s good with Mexican food though, since it doesn’t tend to be spicy.
Yes, or perhaps stubbornly bland, (but the oxymoron works all the same). As a result, I think texture, salt and fat in “typical North American” food become more important for its “aficionados,” and thereby lead to the wide-spread appeal of uniformity that processed and fast foods offer.
In other words, difference. (After all, “ethnic” is code for “not of European origin.”) By saying something is “too spicy,” they can reject the food’s difference indirectly.
Depends on the time and place, I guess. I don’t think it’s ever been bland in the South, between the barbecue, the pepper sauce, the chow chow…we’ve always had something spicy going on down here.
[traditional] Mexican food isn’t necessarily spicy per se, but I would say it is stronger tasting. The food also tends to be saltier and more tart (they also douse a lot of their food with lime).
As much as I love their cuisine, their candy are the dingleberries of Satan. A gooey, sour, INSANELY salty, spicy hell. Also, what sadist considers CUCUMBER a candy flavor? :mad: ughhhhhhh!
Most Texas food is on the “spicy” side. Our soul food often has a ton of black pepper. The Louisiana influence is strong. And, of course, Texas was settled by Spanish/Mexicans long ago. Spicy can mean full of flavor–not just “hot.”
Parts of the Great Midwest have historically preferred bland meat & potatoes–with onions slightly suspect & garlic forbidden.
However, I’ve never heard “all Mexicans love spicy food.” Because most Texans have had enough Mexican food to know that not all of it is hot. But we also know there’s hot salsa on the table. Which we like, too!
There is a big macho thing in the U.K. about eating incredibly spicey food, but it applies to curries rather then Mexican food; which is nowhere near as popular.
Bolding mine.
I’ve always heard that the capsaicin causes the release of endorphins due to the pain caused by the capsaicin. I googled around and a lot of places agree but I couldn’t find a medical cite for it.
I love spicy food and I too can sit there eating something spicy while getting all red-faced and sweaty.
My current favorite snack is zesty dill pickles dipped in a spicy salsa or horseradish sauce.
The eating of the straight peppers is pretty common among Mexicans and Mexican Americans of my acquaintance.
I think that a lot of it is the propensity for people to equate spicy with “heat”. Most Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes aren’t “hot”, but they do have a lot of spice in them. Garden-variety old-school Tex-Mex cheese enchiladas have a sort of gravy on them that’s composed in large part of chili powder, which is essentially a mix of ancho chile powder (not “hot”), oregano and garlic.
Some condiments (pico de gallo in particular) have peppers included and can be kind of “hot”.
I don’t know how much in the way of actual “hot” dishes I can think of in either Mexican or Tex-Mex. One of the funniest “hot Mexican food” moments I’ve witnessed was in Puerto Vallarta, where my wife overheard two old biddies from Minnesota complaining about the amount of “heat” in the food. It went something like this:
“This food’s bland. I expected hotter food in Mexico.”
“Ya. They don’t even have Tabasco sauce, and this IS Mexico, dontcha’ know?”
My wife: “Uh… Tabasco’s from Louisiana.”
Me too. Most of my Mexican friends eat jalapenos like candy. So do I, for that matter. To people who come from a food culture that finds oregano “exotic,” Mexican food is “hot.”
“Mexican food is spicy” is an outdated idea. Back in the 1950s, Americans didn’t know what a chile was. So you encounter Mexican food, where some dishes have chiles, even in small amounts, and what the fuck is this? It’s fucking spicy! It’s something I’ve never encountered before!
Older cookbooks tend to have comments like “If you find garlic disagreeable, simply leave it out”. And the recipe calls for one little clove of garlic. Like, even a touch of garlic was enough to render food inedible for some people.
I’m pretty sure a common gag in the Sylvester/Speedy Gonzales cartoons was Sylvester eating something really spicy and steam coming out of his ears.
I also remember a Lileks Regrettable Food entry from an old cookbook which featured a “Mexican” dish where the solitary “Mexican” ingredient was optional, as Lemur866 said.
Well, many Americans weren’t acquainted with hot peppers, but as I mentioned above, they are featured in various Southern dishes and condiments. (Pepper sauces, chow-chows, barbecue…)
You mean this?
I think it’s based on US Mexican themed restaurants, which invariably have at least one of the following:
Nope, I’m thinking it must have been a Lileks-esque bad cookbook site…I’ve looked all over the Cheer Institute and can’t find it. In the example I remember, the site had a scanned image of an actual recipe from the cookbook and commentary rather than just ugly color photographs and commentary.
Maybe it was in the book?
Me too. I don’t think people who bother to learn even a modicum about Mexican food continue to maintain that it’s all hot or spicy. But there are so many people who don’t ever learn anything about Mexican food, for all sorts of reasons.
If you ask someone who isn’t particularly familiar with Mexican food to name the top 5 Mexican foods, you’d get tacos, burritos, and salsa on everyone’s list. How is salsa sold in grocery stores? Little jars marked “mild”, “medium”, and “hot”. Has anyone ever seen Italian tomato sauce in jars marked mild medium and hot? How about good old salad dressing? If you have to sell Mexican food in varying degrees of spiciness it stands to reason that Mexican food is hot and spicy!
I happen to love trying new food but lot’s of people don’t and that’s where they come up with incorrect stereotypes.
No, I remember this too. It was some sort of “Mexican” beef dish, with the only even vaguely Mexican thing in it was a half-teaspoon (or quarter, can’t remember) of chili powder.
I can’t find it either. Must have been yanked.
