I don't get it.

Food so spicy that your throat, stomach, intestines and ass feel like they will blister when it passes.

I can understand adding chilli spices to add flavor to a dish...and that along with that comes some heat, but when it's so hot all you notice is the pain...running nose and eyes etc.

What's the attraction?

i think it's a relative thing. you may think something is painfully spicy, but i might try the same dish and think it's got the perfect amount of heat, or maybe even that it's not spicy enough.

there is a point where i think food can be too spicy to enjoy, but again...maybe someone else would find my version of "too spicy" to be "just right".

It's simply to cause your ass to burn.

hokie said:

i thought that was the purpose of reading imago threads.

it gives you a rush

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphin

Capsaicin (the active chemical in red chili peppers) also has been shown to stimulate endorphin release.[10] Topical capsaicin has been used as a treatment for certain types of chronic pain.

Nothinbutjoy said:

me either... a little is nice... but not if it overpowers all the other flavours

Anxiety said:

It's all in what you're used to. Because if you grow up eating spicy food, something labelled "hot" on the menu isn't going to phase you. A lot of Indian restaurants around the area here have two menus -an authentic menu for South Asian people, and a bland and mild version for everybody else.

As for those who didn't grow up eating the hto stuff, I think I read somewhere that it's a small adrenaline rush at first, but then after hot food actually triggers pleasure chemicals in the brain. The pain of the hot food becomes enjoyable, even if you need 11 mango lassis to get it all down.

Nothinbutjoy said:

... I love Jamaican pepper... there's something with it I gotta have

BTW, your insides and ass only burn after eating spicy food if you're not used to it. I can't imagine anyone in the world choosing peppers or curry as their national dish if the effect was permanent.

meow85 said:

i've been eating jalapenos all my life and those little bastards always give me the ring of fire. i finally quit eating them a few years ago because i couldn't keep loving a food that refused to love me back.

Flowers2 said:

It's the scotch bonnet pepper. I used to put that "pepper sauce" on all my food growing up.

SCNDLS said:

and what's funny is I refuse to eat that growing up.. and then this one day I tried some... haven't put it down since lol

momentsofbliss said:

That's what I'm talking about...along with the horrible burn...when all you "taste" is hot.

Anxiety said:

But were you eating spicy food on a daily, or near-daily basis?

I can finally conclude that eating too much wasabi will also give the famous ring of fire

I think it almost certainly dulls your tastes buds if you eat a large amount of chili over the course of your life. All the old Thai folks add increasingly more and more chili (spice), fish sauce (saltiness), vinegar (sourness), and sugar (sweetness) to their food as they get older. It gets harder for them to cook for others too, for this reason.

meow85 said:

To clear your sinuses!

the spicier the better.