Sunday 2 April 2017

Some Like It Hot

Some like it hot, some like it cold. Some like it in the pot, nine days old.

When I order a Vindaloo however, I'm certainly expecting the former. In fact, I'm expecting a fair bit of gastric distress in the hours to come. So imagine my surprise when I ordered one a couple of days ago only to find that to my palette it was no more intense than a Madras. A mild madras at that!

Something wasn't right here. Initially I though that the restaurant had screwed up my order, but with what's happened between now and then; I'm not so sure.

With Friday's events in mind I bought a bag of Doritos Heat Burst yesterday. It wasn't a planned purchase, but I needed to break a note for some change, and I saw a opportunity. These chips were supposed to be hot and spicy, so if I ate some and found that was the case, I'd know my curry from the night before was a dud.

So I chowed down on them, and nothing. Barely a tingle.

I could sense that the chips were hot, but I had none of the expected side-effects (a running nose, elevated temperature, etc) associated with eating overly spicy food. Just like the curry.

This wasn't a massive surprise however. It's the job of marketing to oversell their product; something that happens particularly often with spicy foods. It appeals to men wanting to be macho.. Well, as macho as you can be whilst eating a corn chip.

So, putting this barely scientific test aside I reached for my "hot or wot", chilli and ginger sweets. These I KNEW from past experience were both very hot and very spicy. In fact, I'd compare the initial experience of sucking on one of them to the sensation of biting into a raw green chilli (the little ones). These babies pack quite a punch.. But you guessed it, much like the curry and the chips I was aware of the heat but felt no ill effects; and it did not slow or deter my consumption of the candy.

It appears I have developed a superpower! I am Spicy food guy!

Probably not enough to get me into the Justice League or The Avengers, but it might come in handy at some point.. Maybe. It also does make me wonder, just how far along the Scoville scale I can push myself?

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