Do you like hot and spicy food? For one red-hot day a year, the world’s chili heads can take their passion to the extreme. Today, January 16th is International Hot and Spicy Food Day.
Hot Vs Spicy
Hot may refer to the actual temperature of the food too, but in this case lets take it mean the pungency. The heat is caused from the raw (or cooked) food stimulating the somatosensory fibers in the mouth and sending a signal to the brain yelling,”Hot, hot,hot!” It’s a sensation rather than a taste.
Spicy refers to dishes that have a lot of spice or a combination of spices in them. Pumpkin pie is a spicy dessert.
Here are some lesser known facts:
- People have been using hot spices in their recipes for over 6000 years.
- The hottest chili pepper in the world is the Naga Jolokia. On an average, one of these peppers is over 170 times spicier than a jalapeno pepper.
- There are health benefits to eatting hot and spicy foods. Hot and spicy foods can actually be very good for you because of their medicinal and antimicrobial properties. Garlic, chilies, onions, allspice, and oregano all kill bacteria and make food safer to consume. Hot and spicy foods are often considered to be a combat for the common cold.
- Capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that makes them hot, isn’t found in any other plant and is potent enough that people can identify it even when the concentration is as little as one part per million.
- The best way to ease the burn of flaming hot peppers or overly-spicy mustard of horseradish is with cold milk or yogurt. Avoid water as it won’t mix with the oil and will only result in moving the heat to other parts of your mouth.
To celebrate this holiday, try a few hot peppers or hot sauces with your food today! Today’s the day for trying that Spicy Tuna Roll, Sichuan Chicken, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, or just have the good old Thai Tom yum soup.