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What Am I Doing To Myself?

Tim in Tucson

Tim in Tucson

I used to love going to a local authentic Vietnamese cafe and giving myself an
endorphin rush for lunch. I would usually order broken rice with charbroiled beef
and egg rolls, lighting myself up with either the Sriracha sauce or the red chili paste with seeds.

It had been a long time since I had lunch at that cafe. So today I went there to treat myself, and give myself an endorphin rush. It didn't happen. I first used the red chili pasted like ketchup. It tasted a little sweet, and had a little
heat, but no searing burn like I used to experience. So I then used the Sriracha
sauce like ketchup, with the same disappointing results. I then asked the waiter if there was anything hotter, and he grinned and pointed to the hot chili oil. So
I put quite a few drops onto my remaining lunch, and even though it was much
better, it didn't light me up like I was used to. Toward the end I had some sweat
on my head, but not the tongue-numbing heat I had enjoyed in the past.

So, I'm thinking that maybe I'm getting used to capsaicin, and that in order to
get that endorphin rush I'm going to have to start taking my own powder or sauce
in if I want to truly enjoy my meal. I have been using Melinda's Naga Jolokia
sauce quite a bit lately, and I've tasted some of the Superhot powders I ordered
for my Mother's homemade arthritis cream (when I say taste, I mean just a very,
very small pinch on my tongue), and the Habanero powder I made.

So capsaicin veterans, what am I to do? Naga Chomper, are you here? Am I about
to graduate to the level of craving fresh Habaneros? Or am I fooling myself, and
putting myself into the danger of trying to eat a fresh Ghost Pepper with
horrific results?

What Am I Doing To Myself???
 
i remember when sriracha was hot. and when nibbling on a thai chili would light me up. man things have changed, haven't they? compared to the supers, that stuff is child's play.
 
birdfather said:
i remember when sriracha was hot. and when nibbling on a thai chili would light me up. man things have changed, haven't they? compared to the supers, that stuff is child's play.
Click to expand...

I found that out today for myself! I just had to taste some superhot powder about a half hour ago,
because I didn't get my capsaicin rush at lunch!

Oww!....Aaahhh!
 
Tim in Tucson said:
So capsaicin veterans, what am I to do? Naga Chomper, are you here? Am I about
to graduate to the level of craving fresh Habaneros? Or am I fooling myself, and
putting myself into the danger of trying to eat a fresh Ghost Pepper with
horrific results?

What Am I Doing To Myself???
Click to expand...

Heat.


Don't leave home without it :D

And get back to me when you are putting habs on desert ;)



I have a "to go" heat kit that I take whenever I know I am eating out. I try to be discreet about it. Most people think Tabasco is spicy enough. That's just red salty vinegar at this point. I get strange looks buying habs by the pound. Don't worry, you'll get used to it ;)

I can't grow any peppers right now, so tons of habs supplemented with powders and sauces are working. But I DO miss the fresh ones. Nothing better.

Cheers!
 
I did the opposite as most suggest; I weened myself from craving more heat. It took a long period (this past year) to do it. I decided to do this for a few reasons, (1) my wife was complaining nearly every day that her insides were in turmoil (she could handle the eating, but didn't like the after-effects), (2) Traditionally spicy food wasn't doing it for me anymore (I would eat at Indian friend/coworkers homes, and not detect heat in their food, even after being warned that it was "spicy"). (3) I could not share (and I like to share) any of my homemade food with anyone else because no one else could handle (or taste beyond) the heat!

I gradually scaled back to the point where visitors can handle our food, although they may sweat and sniff a little still. My wife doesn't complain about her insides anymore. I can eat out and still get a nice burn, even if I forget my BYOC (Bring Your Own Chile) supplies, which I still carry around with me, but I am more conservative in its' use!
 
I grab a few powders every other time I go out to a spicy (lol) restaurant. I bring smoked and non smoked just to test things out. Its a slippery slope. pp
 
There's only one restaurant in town that still gives me a near death experience. I use a pill fob on my keychain for powder so I always have some on me when needed. Usually it's got jolokia or scorpion powder for "emergency" use.
 
Indiana_Jesse said:
I did the opposite as most suggest; I weened myself from craving more heat. It took a long period (this past year) to do it. I decided to do this for a few reasons, (1) my wife was complaining nearly every day that her insides were in turmoil (she could handle the eating, but didn't like the after-effects), (2) Traditionally spicy food wasn't doing it for me anymore (I would eat at Indian friend/coworkers homes, and not detect heat in their food, even after being warned that it was "spicy"). (3) I could not share (and I like to share) any of my homemade food with anyone else because no one else could handle (or taste beyond) the heat!

I gradually scaled back to the point where visitors can handle our food, although they may sweat and sniff a little still. My wife doesn't complain about her insides anymore. I can eat out and still get a nice burn, even if I forget my BYOC (Bring Your Own Chile) supplies, which I still carry around with me, but I am more conservative in its' use!
Click to expand...

I have those same problems. However, I love a lot of the flavors in the superhots and can't give them up. My solution is to add more heat to my Indian neighbor's food (boy do they make good food!). They are afraid of any hot food I make :( (well, everyone is except my mother's boyfriend and two cousins). I cook my food separate from everyone elses.
 
You know there is something wrong with you when the oriental and Indian places ask you for a heat level from 1 to 6 and you spend most of dinner thinking they really need to heat up that 6 to something more formidable 'cause this 6 is not that hot.
 
compmodder26 said:
Yep, gotta supply the heat yourself. My wife carries a small shaker of superhot powder in her purse, so I have easy access to the heat I need when we go out.
Click to expand...
Naga Chomper said:
Heat.


Don't leave home without it :D

And get back to me when you are putting habs on desert ;)



I have a "to go" heat kit that I take whenever I know I am eating out. I try to be discreet about it. Most people think Tabasco is spicy enough. That's just red salty vinegar at this point. I get strange looks buying habs by the pound. Don't worry, you'll get used to it ;)

I can't grow any peppers right now, so tons of habs supplemented with powders and sauces are working. But I DO miss the fresh ones. Nothing better.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
howardsnm1 said:
my take along has 6 different powders in it
Click to expand...
JoynersHotPeppers said:
So does my wife, spoiled we are us powder folks!
Click to expand...
compmodder26 said:
Yep, gotta supply the heat yourself. My wife carries a small shaker of superhot powder in her purse, so I have easy access to the heat I need when we go out.
Click to expand...

I'll be the 6th to agree :P

Its easy to carry superhot powder along. I have a small baggie in the glove compartment of my car and carry one in my briefcase. That pretty much covers me for most meals when I'm on the go.

Plus, if a Thai chef sees you bringing in your own stuff to heat up his food, he will probably take it as a challenge to burn you next time. ;)
 
I never use anything I put on my food in anything cooked for anyone else but me.

And I never really cook with the supers anyway. The times I've tried, we practically needed gas masks to breath in the house for a few hours after. I'd much prefer any food that was going to be shared with others to be able to be enjoyed by them, so no heat goes in. I add what I want to my own taste on my own portion after preparation. Be it at home or a restaurant, powder, or sauce, or just a dried or fresh pepper lets me crank up things to the heat level I feel like enjoying at the moment. And believe it or not, sometimes, it's none.

That way nobody else is miserable because of my personal likings, and I can have spice level at whatever I choose to dial it up to. And that's usually Nigel Tufnel level of eleven.

We went out for sushi last night, and I had Pure Evil handy. After all, spicy tuna needs to be spicy. Sriracha in spite of it's great flavor isn't a way to make anything really spicy :D

patrick said:
Tell the chef you think he's a pussy, see if he cranks it up a notch for you.
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A good 15 years ago, I aggravated a chef pretty badly by doing something almost as you describe. The next plate of hot wings that came out took out my buds, (they claimed being full) but I just ate the wings and grinned at the chef while I was doing it. The look he gave back to me was somewhere between astonishment, and flat out disgust.

In another instance, there's a sports bar up near my sister's place in Tacoma that serves a burger called the "Jersey Devil", with a ton of warnings and no refund disclosures. The first time we went there, I ate it with no complaints, because I didn't know what it would be like. The next time we went back, I asked for it to be hot. The reaction from the staff was hilarious.
 
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