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*Spicy or hot foods* (so you leave the word spicy out ?)
At one time, I thought English food was rather bland, no spices at all ...
And I do not mean anything tongue burning ...
Apparently some think if it does not bite you twice, it is not *hot* or *spicy* enough ??
Talking about spices, I was taught, that if you figure out what spices were used in the dish, you used too many.
But that is only my experience !!!
Dude, I said exactly what I meant to say: spicy OR hot. Can we all please try not to get into any more etymological arguments or being defensive about out cultures' cuisines?
We just had our 20th annual hot sauce festival here in Austin, and it seems that chile peppers and hot sauces are more popular than ever in the US as a whole, even in areas like New England. So, I was just simply curious about how you guys were doing it on your side of the pond.
Seriously, if I knew that half of you were going to get you panties in a twist, I would have just kept my mouth shut.
To the other half of you that saw the question for what it was, and were kind enough to give an informative answer, THANK YOU.
Spanish and Italian food would not be the same without Capsicum. Chiles or guindillas, pimientos and dried pimientos, ñoras and paprika (sweet or hot pimentón) are used in every region of Spain.
Capsicum is part of the Spanish stir-fry used in all the Spanish world.
As to the degree of "hotness", depends on the region. In some Spanish regions, people eat very hot chiles (guindillas) with beer. Hot sauces are used in some popular "tapas" such as Patatas Bravas, Patatas Bravas are very hot in Madrid but not in Barcelona.
It goes by region.
Capsicum arrived four centuries ago, but now it's part of Spanish cooking, along other New World products. Some Capsicum species are particular of Spain, such as "Pimientos del Padrón" (de vez en cuando sale uno cabrón), Pimientos del Piquillo, etc. There are also some very fiery guindillas or chiles favoured by some.
Spiciness is the presence of spices, hot or not, but it's often used to describe "hot" foods.
I was in multiple parts of Spain and I never experienced "hot" food.
Neither did I in Morocco, except for the "sauce picant" I had put on a sandwich. Their cuisines may be "spicy", but they are definitely not hot.
In MN you see a real mix. The older generation and some of the younger folk do NOT eat "hot", and sometimes not even "spicy" food. Mustard is hot for them. On the other hand, the young are usually OK with spice and many with some heat.
Colombus described "ajies", also known as "chiles" during his second travel. In Spain there's a green variety, quite hot, used to prepare "tapas" and "pinchos", and in certain Spanish regions people eat them raw when drinking beer.
In Spain they are called "guindillas", they are sort of popular and widely used also to prepare dishes.
There's also pepper varieties, such as the Pimiento del Padron..."que de vez en cuando sale uno cabrón"...(a hot one appears randomly).
Hot paprika, or pimentón picante, is also quite popular, also a product from America. Hot chorizo are made with hot paprika, and all chorizos include paprika since the 16th century.
It goes by areas, you also have Patatas Bravas (Hot potatoes)...in Madrid they like them hotter than in Barcelona, according to Madrileños that's because people in Barcelona are more girlish....
Tabasco sauce is widely used for tomato juice, patatas bravas....there's a joke....
A man asks the waiter if he has Tabasco, and the waiter tells him "en la masquina" (tobacco machine called "la maquina").
in italy the regional food from Calabria (the region that faces Sicily) it's famous for using a lot of chilly peppers.
for example one of their typical food it's the 'Nduja, that it's made with 2 parts of pork and 1 part of chilly pepper all minced together. it's usually eaten with bread. http://ecodellariviera.files.wordpre...2/03/nduja.jpg
sincerely i've never been enough brave to taste it, i've not so much resistance about spicy food.
in general chilly peppers are used quite often in all south italy regional foods (usually a little quantity, just to give some flavor).
hot - yes
spicy - no, I don't even like non-spicy sauces, like ketchup, mayonese, mostard, etc...
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