Up next in 10
Some Flamin' Hot Facts About Spicy Foods
5K views
Mar 31, 2025
Weird History Food is gonna burn your tongue with some Facts About Spicy Foods. Whether sitting down to enjoy an authentically made dish, or grabbing a quick snack, those who love the thrill of a tingly palate accompanied by a runny nose tend to include spicy foods as part of their daily intake.
View Video Transcript
0:00
It's not so bad
0:02
It's more tingly than hot. Yeah. Enjoy your meal, guys. Whether it's the jalapenos in your favorite Tex-Mex dishes
0:12
or a piquant traditional curry at their favorite Indian restaurants, foodies have increasingly come to love spicy meals
0:19
If your eyes aren't watering, are you really eating? But many of the commonly held beliefs about spicy foods
0:25
are either partially or entirely inaccurate. it. So today we're going to take a look at some surprising facts about spicy foods
0:37
Okay, time to turn up the heat. So first things first, there are five basic types of tastes, sweet, salty, sour, bitter
0:49
and umami. Spicy isn't one of them because spicy technically isn't a taste. So what is spicy? Well
0:56
According to the National Library of Medicine, the so-called flavor we refer to as spice is actually just a pain signal sent by the nerves that transmit touch and temperature sensations
1:07
Yep, spice is basically just the sensation of your mouth being injured
1:11
And in foods seasoned with chili, that injury comes from a substance called capsaicin, which causes the dual sensations of pain and heat
1:18
When adventurous eaters experience a numb tongue after eating particularly spicy food
1:23
it's the body's way of warning them of possible harm. But despite the biological reaction to capsaicin
1:29
the only real threat Chili's provide is an excessively fiery mouth and throat
1:33
heart-burd, upset stomach, or an intense experience in the bathroom. If you are a fan of spicy foods
1:43
or one of those YouTube shows where famous people struggle to eat hot wings
1:46
My life's on fire right now! Then you've heard of the Scoville Scale. The scale, which measures how hot a food is, was developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912
1:56
And while you might assume he was a chef or some kind of food doctor, in actuality, he was a pharmacist at Park Davis Pharmaceutical Company in Michigan
2:03
His job was to find the perfect amount of heat for their pain-killing cream, Heat Liniment
2:08
To relieve the pain of muscular rheumatism, lumbago, or backache, get Heat Liniment
2:13
But since capsaicin was the main active ingredient, it was important for the company to know how much of the chemical various peppers held
2:19
That way, lab personnel could precisely measure the amount necessary for the perfect pain-relieving
2:24
product. Forced to rely on taste to determine the heat scale of each variety of pepper
2:29
researchers needed a scientifically accurate measurement, or at least something close to one
2:34
Scoville decided the best method was to dry the peppers, dissolve a predetermined amount in sugar
2:39
water, then let a panel of five judges take the heat. The amount of sugar needed to conceal the
2:44
heat produced by each pepper determined its rating on the scale. Of course, technology has improved a tiny bit since 1912, and testing methods for the
2:53
Scoville scale have evolved For example in the 1980s experts began using high liquid chromatography which sounds more scientific than five guys eating chilies But while the method is highly accurate it also expensive and can take into consideration other factors
3:09
such as pepper ripeness or where they were grown. Additionally, each type of pepper is a whole species group, causing further variety in heat and flavor
3:17
To make up for these variables, Scoville scale rankings are considered a range instead of a specifically identifiable number
3:24
So when the Carolina Reaper's rating of between 1 and 2 million Scoville heat units
3:28
can't guarantee you a specific number, it does guarantee you that you will see dead kings if you eat one
3:38
Tex-Mex sounds like the name of a G.I. Joe character, but it's actually a fusion of Mexican and American cuisine
3:44
dating at least as far back as the mid-19th century. Tex-Mex is thought to have evolved from food in San Antonio, Texas
3:51
where families would gather in the city square to share home-cooked meals
3:55
Some women would also set up booths along San Antonio streets to sell their family's favorite dishes
4:00
Over time, these women came to be known as Chili Queens. Locals and tourists alike could get a plate of carne con chili with a side tortilla for 10 cents
4:09
and other stands sold items like tamales, coffee, and beans. The railroad's 1877 arrival in San Antonio brought more tourism and more opportunities
4:18
for people from across the country to experience the distinctive local cuisine
4:23
Many of those people came on the Texas and Mexican rail line, called the Tex-Mex for short
4:28
and the root name eventually became a blanket term for the food riders could buy along the way
4:33
Over time, people even referred to Tejanos living in the area as Tex-Mex
4:37
further establishing the identification for the food they served. Today, patrons visiting a Tex-Mex restaurant expect an array of different dishes
4:45
including things like nachos and burritos and half-price margaritas. But it all started with those single plates of carne con chili served by San Antonio locals centuries ago
5:00
Speaking of chili, while cultures worldwide now embrace it to spice up their dishes
5:04
the fruit originated in the lowlands of Brazil. And it is a fruit, for the record, so make sure to add it to your next edible arrangement
5:12
From there, it's spread mostly thanks to birds. Not because they're big into heat challenges, but because they have no mouth receptors to register heat
5:19
That means they'll scarf down chili peppers like there's no tomorrow, later excreting them in their droppings
5:25
Migration patterns of various bird species spread the seeds throughout the area
5:29
allowing for different varieties to thrive depending on the regional climate. When Christopher Columbus visited South America in the late 1400s
5:36
he enjoyed chilies so much that he brought specimens back with him to Spain
5:40
where we assume he was thrown in prison after scalding the lips of Queen Isabella
5:44
From there, the fruit traveled the trade routes to be dispersed throughout the world
5:52
Despite its distinctively Asian influence Sriracha from Hui Fong Foods is manufactured in the distinctively non locale of irwindale california which is otherwise known for its rock quarries recipes for the mass
6:05
produced condiment originated in the small thai city of si racha which is where the sauce got its
6:11
name from and while families throughout the region prepared their own versions for generations
6:15
it was vietnamese american immigrant david tran who introduced his version of the sauce to the u.s
6:20
in the 1980s. Trans-Irwendell-based factory uses peppers grown in Mexico to produce around 3,000
6:27
bottles of sauce per hour and 200 tons of sauce per week. So, enough for a single table of
6:33
stepfathers at a barbecue. The factory creates so much sriracha it's irritating, literally
6:38
It is irritating my family and my household. In 2014, area residents deemed the facility a public
6:45
nuisance. According to their claims, the air was contaminated with so much chili that locals were
6:50
developing nosebleeds and breathing problems. Still, it's not just the aromas wafting from
6:55
the factory that has caused stores to keep sriracha off their shelves. Over the years
6:59
Hui Feng Foods has experienced two sriracha shortages caused by excessively warm and dry
7:04
growing seasons in Mexico. And in April 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported that the year
7:10
might see another decline in sriracha availability. So that's probably good news for the rock warriors
7:15
of Irwindale. In the Western world, curry is synonymous with Indian cuisine, but the flavorful spice
7:25
actually comes to us from the same people that gave the world Paddington Bear and colonialism
7:30
the British. As settlers made their way from the UK to India to settle under the British Empire
7:36
they grew to love local dishes like Rogan Josh, Dopiazza, and Korma. Brits combined the numerous
7:41
flavor profiles to create one single spice, curry powder. The mix usually contains things like
7:46
coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and some other things that don't start with the letter C
7:51
like fennel, maize, turmeric, ginger, and garlic. These spices have been a part of local cuisine in
7:56
the area for somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 years, which makes them roughly as old
8:01
as the concept of writing. These Indian-based and British-altered recipes eventually made their way
8:06
back to the UK, and cookbooks adopted the spice. When you hear the word Chipotle, you might think
8:14
of that place that serves giant leaky burritos. Or you might even think of the pepper. Yet despite
8:19
having their own name as a pepper variety, chipotle peppers are a man-made invention
8:24
They're created from a process of smoking and drying jalapeno peppers. We feel so deceived
8:30
The jalapeno can either be smoked whole or sliced in half and deseeded, although whole peppers carry
8:35
a spicier punch. Afterwards, the jalapenos go into a smoker filled with wood chips and set at low heat
8:41
for 48 hours. The drier the peppers become, the more flavor they retain. From there, they can be
8:46
rehydrated and chopped or ground into a powder to flavor foods, or to blow into your opponent's
8:52
eyes during a wrestling match. Over the past decade former Frito employee Richard Montanas has inspired crowds with his motivational story of how he went from being the company janitor to the vice president after
9:08
creating the flaming hot Cheeto. According to Montanas, he outmaneuvered corporate opposition
9:13
and ambitiously presented his life-changing idea of Cheetos that make your mouth hurt to Frito-Lay's
9:18
CEO Roger Enrico. Thanks to his tenacity and determination, he persuaded the company to
9:24
produce the flavor variety, allowing him to climb the corporate ladder as the world enjoyed his
9:28
Flaming Hot creation. His story was even made into a movie, the 2023 film Flamin' Hot
9:39
But according to investigations by multiple credible news outlets and interviews provided
9:45
by other Frito-Lay employees, it's not true. Frito-Lay executives, along with others who worked for the company
9:51
at the time Flaming Hot Cheetos were being created, say the mixture was actually first made by the spice company McCormick
9:57
who pitched it to Frito-Lay in 1989. The team that developed the product was then managed by a woman named Lynn Greenfeld
10:05
While some executives did recall Montana's pitching a similar product, they said he did it in 1992
10:11
long after Flamin' Hot had been developed and its name trademarked. Hailing from Japan, wasabi peas are dried peas coated in layers of real or imitation
10:23
wasabi, hence the name. They're basically just legumes with few added ingredients, so some nutritionists and spicy
10:30
food lovers consider them a healthy alternative to junk foods. However, the sinus-clearing snack does have a few drawbacks
10:38
For example, one ounce usually contains around 130 calories, making it easy to accidentally
10:44
ingest enough to be considered a meal for those who can handle the heat another drawback is that
10:48
the dried green peas don't carry much nutritional value on their own and some people who can stomach
10:53
more than a handful of the spicy snack warn that wasabi peas can temporarily harm the taste buds
10:59
leaving foods tasting bland and unappetizing for days afterward that is every food except wasabi
11:05
pees. Initially sold in the UK before the fiery snack made its 1971 US debut, Andy Capp's Hot
11:16
Fries were inspired by a popular British cartoon character. Popular? Really? Well, I guess he did
11:21
get some hot fries named after him. The Spicy Chips mascot made his debut in the comic section
11:27
of British Papers way back in 1957. Andy Capp, a perpetual barfly who regularly got into fist
11:34
fights with his nagging wife seems like an odd choice for a brand ambassador. Even the strip's
11:39
creator, Reg Smythe, later admitted regret over his character's mistreatment of his wife, Flory
11:45
But someone evidently decided that Andy Capp's love for beer and chips, which is the British
11:49
term for french fries, made him the ideal candidate for these fry-shaped alternatives
11:53
to snack chips. And the rest is accidental purchase from a vending machine history
#Condiments & Dressings
#Food