Hot, Hot, Hot!
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A few days ago I ventured into Mr Burnorium’s Hot Sauce Emporium in St. Nicholas market, Bristol. This was most bizarre as my last memory as a teenager involves tears and sweat as the result of some very ill advised - and since regretted - hot sauce sauce eating.
None-the-less something caused me to buy a product named Satan’s Nuts…
… And by ‘eck, they weren’t half hot! Tasty too, there’s a nice - almost fruity - taste going on beneath the heat that makes them a compelling snack. From what I can tell (by astutely reading the packaging) they’re coated with flavouring derived from the Naga Chilli, also known as the Bhut Jolokia and at one time recognised as the hottest chill in the world - a title which now belongs to the Ghost Pepper.
Then, after sweating my way through the entire pack in a rather short period of time, I became curious as to why we enjoy the effects of, what is essentially, a defence system employed by these fruits that aims to put potential predators (if I can apply that word in this context) off.
A bit of googling, then, revealed the following article - Why do we eat Chilli? - which, surprisingly, answered my questions in an interesting, if not surprising, manner…
“Perhaps we seek out the painful experience of snacking on chillies while consciously maintaining awareness that there is no real danger to ourselves. After all, people seem to enjoy – and actively seek out – many other sensations that are otherwise undesirable but are ostensibly safe: the sensation of falling provided by rollercoasters or skydiving, the feelings of fear and anxiety while watching horror movies, the physical pain experienced upon jumping into icy water, or even the feelings of sadness that come while watching a tear-jerker. Perhaps it is this cognitive mismatch itself that provides the thrill: like strapping into a rollercoaster or popping Hostel into your DVD player over and over again, the burn of capsaicin only seems to be threatening.”
… maybe that’s it, but as a risk averse individual, I find it difficult to believe. Surely, there’s something else going on?
