“Absolutely,” Hayes says. “Anecdotally we absolutely know it’s true. It’s not, ‘If you didn’t start eating it at five, you’ll never learn to love it.’”
LOL! I also know this is TRUE! There is a misconception that folks in South America love spicy food. Not true. South of Central America they actually HATE spicy food and have almost no toleration for even mild spiciness. My wife is from Venezuela (originally Colombia) and when I first met her she had absolutely NO toleration for even the least bit of spiciness. Once I made sure to get MILD salsa and she almost choked on it.
However, over the years I've sort of made her try some spicy food that wasn't too hot. Mainly jalapeno in the scrambled eggs. I can't stand eating flat scrambled eggs without something in them to spice it up and usually I go with jalapeno although if I am out of it, I use hot sauce. Anyway, over the years my wife has developed a tolerance for spicy food and now she really likes it. I believe I have opened a whole new gastronomic world for her since spicy is almost always preferable to flat tasting food. So I know first hand that one can develop both a tolerance and a love of spicy food.
Little story...
I grew up in the UK, regular meat-and-potatoes type stuff. Spicy food was the last thing on my menu. When I moved to the USA I found it difficult eating out with groups. I quickly learned that I had to be more flexible otherwise I was always going to be the one objecting to dining suggestions. Many colleagues liked Thai food. So I ordered mild fried rice. The first time was ok, a bit hot but tolerable and tasty.
Of course, before long, I soon was enjoying it and decided to advance to medium spicy. Then I got really adventurous and tried other dishes. Yes, I found my forehead getting moist and my mouth ablaze. Then I realized I was LOVING this stuff.
At this point I experimented with jalapeños, etc. - now *everything* was on the menu. My palate had completely changed. I now laugh when I get visitors from the UK. It’s like looking at myself in the past. Even with a burger, off comes the onion and pickles, even the lettuce and tomato. Of course the mayo gets scrapped off too.
The interesting past is that they don’t know what they’re missing. Keeping your palate narrow is denying yourself things you never knew you could like. Now food is never boring, endless choices.
The latest thing has been sushi, I NEVER thought it would appeal....but it’s great! Especially with some pickled ginger and wasabi!!!
I did see a documentary about this phenomenon. The spice is a like a defense mechanism for food. If you eat enough your brain will rewire to not just like it, but to crave it. It was after that I decided to try everything, multiple times....it works!
Hot and spicy is one thing. Hades to the max, no thanks. I want to taste the food.
It is very true.
When I lived in Switzerland and we went to, say, a Thai restaurant, what would leave me wanting it a bit hotter would have my swiss friends gasping and clutching. However, they could drink cognac like it was water, where each sip had me nearly gagging.
You call using jalapeno not "too hot". LOL! I am someone who can tell if a jalapeno has been lying next to something, I pick up on heat that easily. I once tried "mild" chicken wings. What a disaster. It took me a long time, I think into my mid to late 30's, to even be able to tolerate a little pepper on my scrambled eggs.
Put me in an Indian restaurant with bowls full of the spicey chutney and I’m in heaven. When I stay in Europe my friends look at me as if I were from Neptune. Their idea of a spicy condiment is mayonaise. Luckily, I found most stores sell tobasco. Not my favorite so I always bring in a bottle or two with me. There are certain hot spices that I can’t do though. The Thai and Koreans use the extra oily peppers that don’t wear off. I can drink tobasco by the bottle and eat wasabi by the spoon full. But those little Thai peppers are killers. And I love spicy food.
My mouth likes spicy food ............ It is a little farther down in my body that doesn’t like them. If I eat spicy food or even black or red pepper, I will end up in the ER in 48 hours. Colitis is not fun and it is not worth eating spicy food because my mouth likes it!
If you seek a super-hot (and inexpensive) salsa, check out Jardine’s ghost pepper. I find it too hot for dipping; instead, a teaspoon full adds just the right amount of fire to a big bowl of chili or beef stew. Available for less than $3 at WalMart, other stores.
Ghttp://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/Jardine-s-Ghost-Pepper-Salsa-16-oz/27040349
I am convinced that, while one can develop some tolerance, there is a genetic factor. I see great variations within my own family — among my 8 siblings and in my own children.
One of my sisters just does not feel the heat. And she has always been this way, as was my late father.
Hot peppers make my mouth feel like it’s on fire, and the fire just does not stop. It is quite unpleasant. I have been able to notch up my tolerance somewhat to hot spices a little but not much.
But I love horseradish. It is an entirely different kind of burn. And, while I can feel it in my sinuses, it is gone very quickly and does not seem to climb under my buccal mucosa as hot peppers do.
Not only can you you kind of have too. Well I guess if you only want to eat bland food you don’t. But if you have the hunter instinct and want your food to fight back, train up.
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It's when it comes out. ;-)