
Why do we love chilli? - pmcpinto
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/23/why-do-we-love-chilli-pharmacology-psychology-flavour-pain-feel-the-burn
======
renaudg
There is definitely a cultural factor at play here, and I'm absolutely not
surprised to read this in the Guardian.

As a French expat in London, I find the British _crazy in love_ with chilli.
I'm unfortunately not, and it's a daily struggle when grocery shopping or
eating out because it will rear its ugly spicy head everywhere you least
expected it : from soup to confectionery, nothing seems off limits!

With a few notable exceptions, I liken the use of chilli in cuisine to
gratuitous violence in movies : a lazy fix for bland meals that otherwise
wouldn't stand on their own feet. A smokescreen of burnt tastebuds to hide
behind. A pain that I'm aware (but can't understand why) many people enjoy
inflicting unto themselves.

Sorry for the (slightly tongue in cheek) harsh words : I have an axe to grind
with chilli ever since I walked into the confectionery aisle of my local
supermarket for the first time, shortly after I moved here.

Naively looking for my standard French/Belgian fare of dark chocolate with
roasted almonds, hazelnut, or rice, I found nothing of the sort. Instead, what
they had on offer was perfectly good chocolate laced with Wasabi, of all
things ! _Wasabi_ ! And yes, you guessed it, chilli.

I suppose that's the same sinking feeling British expats in France experience
the first time they hear French rock'n'roll / hip-hop on the radio.

~~~
Steko
> I liken the use of chilli in cuisine to gratuitous violence in movies : a
> lazy fix for bland meals that otherwise wouldn't stand on their own feet. A
> smokescreen of burnt tastebuds to hide behind. A pain that I'm aware (but
> can't understand why) many people enjoy inflicting unto themselves.

Tyler Cowen is my go-to explainer for spicy food:

 _Mexicans acculturate their small children to spicy food gradually, by mixing
increasing amounts of chilies into the meal. It takes a while before the kids
enjoy it and at first they don 't like it. If this has never been done to you,
you need to make the leap yourself, usually later in life. The whole point of
spicy food is that at first it is painful, causing the release of endorphins
to the brain. With time the pain goes away and you still get the endorphins,
although you may seek out an increasingly strong dose to boost the endorphin
response.

Not all Americans think this is a good deal. Older people are less likely to
make this initial investment and endure the initial pain. The same is true for
uneducated people (adjusting for ethnicity), who both are less likely to know
it will end up being a source of pleasure and who on average have higher
discount rates. What other predictions can be made? If you and your country
are too obsessed with dairy you will be led away from spicy food, one way or
the other. Milk usually counteracts the pleasing effects of chilies._

~~~
Angostura
I was expecting endorphin release to come up in the Guardian article and was
surprised when it didn't. Is there good science behind the chilli-endorphin
idea?

~~~
pizza
> But how does capsaicin give us the sensation of “tongue on fire”? Capsaicin
> is the active component of chili peppers that produces a burning sensation
> in any tissue it comes in contact with. How does this signal get conveyed?
> There are three classes of nerve fiber in our central and peripheral nervous
> system – the ‘C’ type of nerve fiber are the ones that are stimulated by
> capsaicin – specifically the molecule binds to the vanilloid receptors
> (VR-1, TRPV1) on the nerve endings of the C-fibers. These receptors are
> ligand-gated ion channels that are closed in the absence of capsaicin. When
> they are stimulated by capsaicin, they open and allow an influx of sodium
> and calcium ions, which initiate an action potential across the fibers. This
> action potential is what allows us to feel the burn. Normally, physical heat
> stimulates these receptors. However, capsaicin can also interact with these
> receptors and activate proteins that cause the same signal to be transmitted
> to the brain into thinking that it is being burned.

[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/scienceandfood/2017/01/17/...](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/scienceandfood/2017/01/17/capsaicin/)

------
hfourm
I absolutely love all things hot. I am especially fond of a growing number of
hot sauces I can find that don't come with 10% of your daily sodium allowance
in a single serving.

~~~
Stanleyc23
care to list some of those sauces?

~~~
RickS
Not sure about sodium content, but green yucateco is my household staple, and
secret aardvark from portland is one I found recently and is perhaps the best
hot sauce I've ever had. It's so good you want to eat it by the spoonful.

Both of those sauces aren't vinegar-forward (like tabasco is), FWIW

~~~
dawnerd
Secret Aardvark is soooooo good. Highly recommend it to anyone that wants a
great tasting sauce with a kick. I love that it's not just heat like some of
the other sauces are.

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2845197541
I'm a capsaicin addict. I have a bottle of Reaper Squeezins in my fridge. The
heat makes eating more of an event. It wakes me up more than coffee. Nothing
makes you live in the moment more than acute physical pain. It's a strange
pleasure. I'm not a masochist in any other realm. On a strange note, I'm a
oral tobacco user and I swear that capsaicin followed by chew enhances
nicotine absorption.

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mirimir
The article is missing a key point. I love chillies, ginger, horseradish, etc.
And sure, I'm an adrenaline junky, and sometimes too macho. But I have learned
a key thing about eating hot food: It's far more fun if you ramp up the burn
gradually. The pain transforms into something else, more like pleasure. Just
as it does with sex. And I do believe that other flavors taste better on top
of the burn.

Milk is a decent antidote for overexposure. Better is yogurt. And even better
is yogurt with mint and cucumber, one of the standard raitas. Or yogurt and
banana.

~~~
Xophmeister
I remember reading that dairy-based "antidotes" such as milk or yoghurt aren't
ideal, especially as you get spicier, and that a better option is sugary
water. Unfortunately, I don't quite remember the chemical/physical
justification for this; something along the lines of the fats in dairy
products just coating the spices in your mouth temporarily, while sugar
actually absorbs and washes it away.

~~~
Clownshoesms
Mythbusters did a show on it (didn't personally watch it) and milk came out on
top for them. Capsaicin is fat-soluble, so the lipophilic casein in milk coats
it apparently. The sugar water claim seems to be because they use it when
measuring Scoville units, but seems odd to me. Soluble in alcohol too.

~~~
ice109
lipophilic and fat soluble mean the same thing.

------
chaseha
"... the old Hungarian saying that “good paprika burns twice”"

~~~
nsxwolf
Does paprika burn? I've never had any that had any real flavor or heat to
speak of. Had a smoked one once but it tasted like smoke.

~~~
mirimir
Some does.

[https://www.pepperscale.com/is-paprika-
spicy/](https://www.pepperscale.com/is-paprika-spicy/)

------
billjings
This British spelling is driving me crazy. Here's my understanding of how
chile is _meant_ to be spelled:

Chile: the spicy fruit that we use to burn ourselves silly. Jalepeño chile,
Habañero chile, etc.

Chile #2: the sauce made in New Mexico from red or green chiles, often Hatch
chiles

Chili: a delicious stew made with three primary ingredients:

1\. Beef 2\. Chiles, either powdered or fresh 3\. A very strong opinion as to
what constitutes chili

~~~
jean-
> Habañero chile

A bit off-topic, but since you mention spelling: "habañero" is one of my
favourite hyperforeignisms in the English language. Wikipedia even uses it as
an example in the first paragraph here:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperforeignism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperforeignism)
. Such an interesting linguistic phenomenon!

------
interfixus
I'm sure it's a real enough thing for people out there. Me, though, I've never
cracked that code: What is it, why does everybody get all exited about all
this taste stuff? Sure, some things taste good, some things taste bad, there's
stuff I like to eat, and stuff I wouldn't touch with a ten foot spoon, but
honestly, it's just ... food.

Apparently, I'm at odds with most people on this. Friends have a really hard
time accepting that I _mean_ it when I say I have no preference for what we
are going to eat (well, I'll skip the meat, but otherwise), or indeed, whether
we _are_ going to eat anything - can't we just grab some bananas if we're
hungry?

Of course, this also generally leaves me less than enthusiastic about eating
at restaurants. Basically money out the window in my stymied view of the
world.

------
ArlenBales
Spicy food is my favorite, especially Thai cuisine. I eat red curry "Thai Hot"
from a local Thai place at least once a week. I'm hopelessly addicted to it,
though my friends can't see how I can stomach that level of spice.

~~~
madengr
A local Thai restaurant was my favorite too, until a real Sichuan restaurant
opened up. The numbing of the Sichuan peppercorns allows you to eat even more
chilies. So addicting.

~~~
Clownshoesms
If anyone visits Melbourne, there is a restaurant called Spicy Fish (I think)
in Chinatown. They make a spicy fish soup that feels/tastes like red hot lava
made with those peppercorns and chilli presumably. Very nice.

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Xophmeister
Is it not also true that spicy foods elicit an immune and metabolic response?
Given that won't achieve anything, insofar as the spiciness is concerned at
least, perhaps the effects of these are nonetheless felt to be favourable.

~~~
Clownshoesms
I thought endorphins were released due to the pain, hence people really
getting into it (same with some athletes I guess).

------
DigitalJack
Olive oil is spicy? I can't say I've ever noticed and I cook with it a lot.

~~~
iamacynic
swallow a spoonful of fresh extra virgin.

~~~
Clownshoesms
Yep nice peppery twang. A lot of oil sold as olive oil or EVOO, isn't.

~~~
vixen99
That's the oleocanthal at work. Pretty good for you it seems.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleocanthal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleocanthal).

~~~
Clownshoesms
Thanks for that. The more you open up nature, the more it seems like a
computer to me. An incredible amount of mystery to be found there.

------
nommm-nommm
Because they make my tummy feel nice and warm.

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Safety1stClyde
People love to try to appear to be exceptional in some way. Some people think
that by eating food which is difficult to consume without first accustoming
themselves, they will be able to distinguish themselves from the common herd.
My feeling about this is antagonistic to their unwarranted self-regard; by
attempting to earmark themselves merely by the act of consuming a food, they
instead display their mediocrity.

~~~
always_good
You just sound like someone who doesn't enjoy the heat, yet managed to come up
with a righteous backsplanation for why that must be.

Peppers simply heighten the experience of eating, like having your ass slapped
during sex.

~~~
clock_tower
But they do mask the quality of other ingredients -- note the Frenchman's
comment above.

~~~
always_good
That's a separate issue from this thread.

Adding enough sex to a movie will teeter it into pornography, but that doesn't
mean it's unenjoyable.

And I'm not convinced most heat-lovers add it to the point where they cannot
taste anything.

I live in Mexico where I suppose most people are part of the mediocre herd
that Safety1stClyde so insists he's not, yet the people I know reaching for
the hotter salsas have a tolerance to the milder ones. Suggesting that it's
"to look cool" is petty.

