# Who Else Likes To Self-Torture With Spicy Food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842 "2011-10-16T20:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/41 "2011-10-17T16:09:29Z")
Eh, pikin’ wanker Brits. These kind of challenges are common everywhere in the US and people don’t end up hospitalized, I think it was just a form of white, institutionalized, English, bland palatism in combination with a type of mass hysteria. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/42 "2011-10-17T16:18:04Z")
… or Scottish, as the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/43 "2011-10-17T16:26:29Z")
That story is just too funny. Wait until they try Willie’s Habanero Hagas. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/44 "2011-10-17T16:26:58Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There’s a difference between spicy-delicious and spicy-look-how-big-my-balls-are. Unfortunately a large proportion of people who enjoy spicy foods seem to fall into the latter category, and enjoy ruining flavorful dishes by participating in some bizarre ritual of capsaicin one-upsmanship. I get this - and try to avoid spice-machismo. But, per pulykamell’s post in reply to this quote, my level of “very spicy without trying to appear macho” is just really, really, freakin’ spicy compared to most folks I know. I use El Yucateco Green (habanero) for my main hot sauce - I pour it all over everything. My friends and family think I’m crazy; I just love how it adds a bit of flavorful fire… So, for the OP, oh, heck yes. I love that overly spicy feeling - I have gotten totally used to it and now look for it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/45 "2011-10-17T17:00:21Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > … or Scottish, as the case may be. Somebody must have spiked the curry with a jalapeno. Buncha pussies. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/46 "2011-10-17T17:08:13Z")
Thing is, the only time I’ve had a curry so hot that my ears were actually ringing was in the UK (in Wolverhampton–it was a lamb vindaloo, IIRC). Remember, it’s in the UK you can get dishes like tinadaloo and phall because vindaloo isn’t spicy enough for some folks out there. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/47 "2011-10-17T17:26:02Z")
My mom will eat Fritos lime and chile chips until tears are spurting out and her nose is running. I ask her to stop and she replies, “But I LIKE them!” Perhaps it’s the same thing that makes some of us chew our fingernails, pull apart our split ends, dig our noses, and do all sorts of other things we know we shouldn’t do. As a friend once said while eating chocolate espresso beans which he had deemed disgusting, “My pain is my pleasure.” ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/48 "2011-10-17T17:39:09Z")
I don’t consider it torture, but yes, I do seem to be kind of addicted to hot things. Jalapenas, serranos. Love that heat. After awhile without it, I start craving it. I’ve wondered if it stimulates endorphins or something. (OTOH I can get addicted to the damndest things.) What I hate though, and what I might consider torture, is when it’s been hours and hours since I cut the little buggers up (jalapenos or serranos or even milder peppers), and I wore plastic gloves, and I’ve washed my hands five times since then, but at night when I go to take out my lenses THERE IS STILL BURNY STUFF ON MY HANDS. Do not like in the eyes, at all. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/49 "2011-10-17T17:46:37Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I don’t consider it torture, but yes, I do seem to be kind of addicted to hot things. Jalapenas, serranos. Love that heat. After awhile without it, I start craving it. > > I’ve wondered if it stimulates endorphins or something. (OTOH I can get addicted to the damndest things.) > > What I hate though, and what I might consider torture, is when it’s been hours and hours since I cut the little buggers up (jalapenos or serranos or even milder peppers), and I wore plastic gloves, and I’ve washed my hands five times since then, but at night when I go to take out my lenses THERE IS STILL BURNY STUFF ON MY HANDS. Do not like in the eyes, at all. I’ve ruined two pairs of contacts that way. First time was stupidity–forgot to wash hands. The second time I was cutting up Thai peppers and made sure to wash with soap and water repeatedly before trying to take my contacts off. Didn’t matter. My eyes spasmed shut and I had the damnest time trying to get those things out. Then, instead of throwing them away, I put them in solution and put them back on my eyes the next morning. :smack: Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/50 "2011-10-17T18:03:32Z")
What? You didn’t mean this: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT5Bgri5atk) You know what? I’m going to save you the bother of clicking that link. It’s a guy putting wasabi powder directly onto his eye. Yes, you read that right. No. I don’t know why he does it. Yes, it has the exact results you’re predicting in your head. No, don’t try it at home. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/51 "2011-10-17T18:09:12Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Am I addicted to chiles? I suppose so, kind of, but I really enjoy their flavor, as well, I am not strictly addicted to the heat experience. I am kind of addicted to seeing how I can flavor them and make them really tasty in combination with other ingredients, and hope maybe someday to invent a condiment that everybody will want to have a constant supply of in their house… kind of my little “chef’s fantasy”. For instance, just today, I discovered that eating a very, very, hot, fresh red cayenne with a couple of black (anise) spice gumdrops significantly changes the heat experience… it is really quite inexplicable and something I was not prepared for. Something very strange and interesting is happening there chemically. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/52 "2011-10-17T18:27:04Z")
I used to think that eating spicy food made me manly. Then I successfully [ate the Habanero Hamburger](http://www.habanero-hamburger.com/index.shtml) without stopping for any drinks in the middle, and kept it down. Since then, I order food mildly spicy at most, because that’s what I actually enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/53 "2011-10-17T18:59:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or, perhaps, just perhaps, the sensitivity of those who are used to very spicy foods is much higher than those who are not used to them I think you mean the sensitivity of those who eat them often is lower, not higher, right? And yeah, I think even in this thread there’s a mix of people who genuinely enjoy the heat and have gradually dulled their sensitivity to it (not that there’s anything wrong with that–it happens with a lot of foods and drinks), and people who think it makes them more interesting or awesome or whatever if they eat hot foods. The first is totally fine; the second is pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/54 "2011-10-17T19:41:11Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > And yeah, I think even in this thread there’s a mix of people who genuinely enjoy the heat and have gradually dulled their sensitivity to it (not that there’s anything wrong with that–it happens with a lot of foods and drinks), . I’ve been meaning for a year or two to start a general questions thread about this very thing. Do you just develop a tolerance/like for the hotter stuff or do you actually lose the ability to taste the not so hot stuff? Personally, I think its the former. I LIKE it hotter usually (and over the years my definition/tolerance for heat has gone up). And on occasion I like it hotter than hell just for the hell of it. But I can still have a mild heat and still like it /detect it (and for some foods thats all I actually want). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/55 "2011-10-17T19:48:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I think you mean the sensitivity of those who eat them often is lower, not higher, right? > > And yeah, I think even in this thread there’s a mix of people who genuinely enjoy the heat and have gradually dulled their sensitivity to it (not that there’s anything wrong with that–it happens with a lot of foods and drinks), and people who think it makes them more interesting or awesome or whatever if they eat hot foods. The first is totally fine; the second is pretentious. Oh yea, those “chile hipsters” are such a pretentious crowd :rolleyes: . Jesus Jalapeno Christ, can’t anyone do anything without having some pretext of being “cool” or “hip”? I’ll tell you what though, you know who is guilty of this and I can’t stand? Aaron Sanchez and his sidekick on that new Food Network show “Heatseekers”. Man, their shtick is juvenile and repetitive… sometimes I feel embarassed for them. But I guess that’s the nature of that kind of show, filling half an hour with dialogue about the world’s hottest foods. I guess the machismo also really shows as they are both latinos. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/56 "2011-10-17T19:51:32Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I’ve been meaning for a year or two to start a general questions thread about this very thing. Do you just develop a tolerance/like for the hotter stuff or do you actually lose the ability to taste the not so hot stuff? > > Personally, I think its the former. I LIKE it hotter usually (and over the years my definition/tolerance for heat has gone up). And on occasion I like it hotter than hell just for the hell of it. But I can still have a mild heat and still like it /detect it (and for some foods thats all I actually want). Rocky’s Spicy Chicken Shack opened near my house recently. Their chicken ranges from “timid” to “insane” or something like that, with five grades in-between. Their “mildium” was almost too much for me to handle, but it was delicious. I say that to establish myself as someone who likes spicy foods purely as a dilettante. For me, I think it’s actually a combination of the two. I’m not as sensitive to spice now as I was as a kid: everything I’ve seen says that you lose some ability to taste as you age. At the same time, I’m able to notice other flavors, where before the spice dominated. The comparison to hops is quite good, IMO. I’m no spice-fiend, but I do freakin’ love me a super-hoppy IPA. When I first learned to drink, I stuck to hard cider and wheat ales, because the bitterness was so in-your-face; but now I can tell differences in hops, can recognize the floral aroma of some or the astringent pininess of others, and I take a lot of pleasure in that. I had to become accustomed to the bitterness before those subtleties became apparent to me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/57 "2011-10-17T19:58:22Z")
That also works with things like single malts. You have to work through the peat to be able to appreciate the subtleties of the spirit. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/58 "2011-10-17T20:06:24Z")
I’m one who thinks that jalopenos are very spicy, or at least, that’s as spicy as I’m normally willing to eat. I only eat things that spicy rarely, and in small quantities. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/59 "2011-10-17T20:11:04Z")
I’m gonna vote with the people who think Jalapenos aren’t all that spicy. I can eat them whole without even feeling much heat. I also don’t like the flavor and mouthfeel of them. Ideally, there’d be a pepper that tasted more like the Habanero but was slightly more spicy than the Jalapeno, since I also don’t want Habanero-sized heat (although I can take it.) But Habaneros are friggin _tasty_, it’s like what green peppers _should_ taste like if they weren’t bred for looks and size instead of flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842/60 "2011-10-17T20:29:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That also works with things like single malts. You have to work through the peat to be able to appreciate the subtleties of the spirit. Totally–and right now I’ve not come close to that point. Scotch tastes to me like peat, and it’s not a very pleasant flavor. If I had the money for it I’d love to drink enough scotch to start noticing the other flavors, but I’m not there yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-likes-to-self-torture-with-spicy-food/599842.md?page=4)