I disagree
Joe:
There is only hot and pain. It had long been a source of great perplexion to me, Why do people deliberately cause themselves pain for no apparently benefit?
I have several nice scotch bonnets that I’m making a jerk sauce out of. I am a pepper snob and if it’s hot just to be hot, no thanks. If it’s flavorful and hot, it’s good.
As for spicy food causing dementia, I don’t know. But I can’t recall any of my Mexican friends or Korean friends having such issues.
July 25th, 2019 at 5:48 pm
Yes. A source of frustration is when I order extra spicy in Indian or Thai restaurants and all they do is turn the heat up, rather than add more of the hot I want, which comes with the flavor.
July 25th, 2019 at 5:58 pm
“The study’s authors say that more research is necessary on the connection between chili pepper and dementia, and admit that other variables, such as education levels, may also play a role in cognitive decline.”
BS study as most of them are.
July 25th, 2019 at 6:53 pm
Of course, the fact that you’re a hot pepper afficionado in combination with the fact that you “can’t recall” something may just affirm the study, no? 🙂
July 25th, 2019 at 8:14 pm
I suppose the most relevant question at this point might be, how well (not to say, at all) do your Mexican and Korean friends recall you? 🙂
July 26th, 2019 at 8:11 pm
I think the hottest food I’ve ever had, which was prepared seriously as a regular dish, and not as a dare or a joke, was Thai at a restaurant in Seattle.
So is there any discernible spike in dementia among those cultures which routinely eat extremely hot foods? I very much doubt it. On the other hand maybe there’s a connection between masochism, or a desire for pain, and dementia. That’s getting into psychological traits rather than the direct chemical effects of a food.
But I’m more in agreement with Joe on this. At some point in the mind of the “foodie” you’re just feeding the ego. Generally we attach too much self image to the foods we eat. If diet is a matter of pride, and it very often is, then something has gone wrong.
The main thing though, from the media, is that we be pestered and poked and triggered and excited on a regular basis with blitheringly stupid news pieces that, in aggregate, make us afraid of our food. Against that we then tend to rebel, and so we are manipulated into having horrible diets rich in dairy, animal fats, refined sugar and oxidized fats. I started noticing this food fear promotion trend in the 1960s and it hasn’t changed a whit since. Like the current music and the current sports and movie stars, etc., there is always a current food scare.
Peppers are usually rich in vitamin C and some minerals and antioxidants. If you like em sweet or hot you could do a lot worse. I say scarf em down all you want.
July 26th, 2019 at 8:15 pm
Also; a nice snack is your favorite peppers (sweet or hot, whatever you like) fresh and crisp, with hummus.
July 27th, 2019 at 1:21 am
Had about 40 jalapenos after final harvest last year. Put them and a sweet onion in a slow cooker on low for about 24 hours. Mashed everything and strained the seeds out. Mixed the mash with a small can of tomato paste, a couple spoonfuls of Liquid Smoke, and some spices. Froze it in small icecube trays and used the cubes thru the winter for a quick flavor boost to most anything.
Used the left over seeds from the mash to make a spicy, jalapeno vinegar. Just soaked them in a bottle of white wine vinegar for several weeks and then strained it out.
July 29th, 2019 at 11:43 am
The last study I read about hot peppers made the point that everyone’s “just right” level of heat tends to be just below their pain threshold — which can vary enormously from person to person. It’s hard to choose the right heat level for anyone but yourself.
July 29th, 2019 at 1:29 pm
Yes.
(I tried Dave’s Insanity Sauce once. It was very hot – but tasted awful.
I like hot, but I don’t like useless punishment, and I demand flavor.)
(E.g. This stuff is amazing, and far cheaper if you can find a local Indian market.
Or This.)