International Hot and Spicy Food Day

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By Chef Diane

My grandfather put tobaccos sauce on everything.  There was a big bottle of the stuff on the table at every meal, even breakfast.  My father recently told me that my grandfather started eating it and putting it on the food, to keep the other people in his family out of his food.   I can understand that, the men in my family are very territorial when it comes to protecting their food!

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I on the other hand, cannot eat spicy food.  Not only does it burn my mouth, but it also closes up my throat, and keeps me from breathing.  It takes a long time to recover after eating something with spices on it.  I can tolerate a little black pepper on scrambled eggs, but, that’s about it.

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My son on the other hand must have inherited my grandfather's palate.  He loves hot and spicy food, and searches the world over for the hottest spice to add to his meals.  He found a jar of some spice, it was a red sauce.  He could only put one drop on his plate, and then lightly dip the food in it before it burned a hole in the plate.  I’m always scared to eat something he cooks, he likes to sneak in some spices then too.

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People have been adding spices to their food for over 6000 years.  Hot 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 according to punchbowl.com.

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Today is International Hot and Spicy Food Day, so if you can tolerate some hot spices, then today is your day!  Me, I think I will just scramble some eggs and sprinkle a little black pepper on top and have a big tall glass of ice water nearby to put out the fire.