Spicier foods are popular in hotter environments.
Besides lowering core body temperature by promoting surface blood vessel flushing and sweating, they also mask the taste of foods that are on the raggedy edge of spoiling in the heat, and they act as a vermifuge for parasites.
Besides, they release endorphins...
I note that in a few days, Publix will be having a BOGO sale on chili. Gotta get me some and then spice up with hot sauce.
Absolutely correct. Tropical climates give people very few options to preserve food.
They also feel full sooner than eaters of bland foods, as the capsicum turns on the dopamine!
I think that one doesn't pass the test. I eat spicy food from a wide range of countries, including Ethiopia, and I've never seen a spice that can cover up spoiled meat. I was a science reporter for decades, and my understanding is that human beings, not being scavengers, can't tolerate the smell or taste of rotting meat—I was told that even a couple of molecules produce the beginnings of the vomit reflex. We're not made to digest it, unlike vultures, and it's dangerous to us.
But spices are a great preservative, so the idea isn't far off, in a way. A lot of zingy substances we like to eat or smell seem to be built into the plant to kill bacteria, bugs, or leaf-eating caterpillars: mint, lavender, cloves, garlic (both antibiotic and antiviral), capsaicin, caffeine, nicotine. . . Honey and olive oil are also germ-killers and preservatives.
God gave us a world full of great-tasting weapons. Isn't it great?