GREENWICH, NY — If you like your food hot, National Hot and Spicy Day is the day for you. Stock up on your favorite hot sauce bottles, restock your spice rack and try new recipes that will wow your taste buds this year.
Whether you prefer mild flavors or the intense heat of Bhut Jolokia, like to sprinkle spices on some dishes, or believe that hot sauce goes with everything, a little spice can enhance almost any dish. National Hot and Spicy Day on August 19 is an opportunity to celebrate peppers, hot sauces, spices and the condiments that add flavor to meals.
This Hot and Spicy Day, indulge in a little extra flavor and take the opportunity to add a few new spices to your list of favorite condiments. These are exciting ways to celebrate the holiday and discover some of the best spicy ingredients and tastiest dishes.
A hot story: How hot and spicy foods became popular
There are a few different spices that create this spicy sensation. Peppercorns have long been used to add a spicy flavor to dishes. Originally from Asia, traders brought black pepper to Europe as early as the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, people of all classes relied heavily on pepper to flavor their food.
Chili peppers are most commonly associated with a fiery taste. This heat is the result of the chemical capsaicin in chili peppers. According to Science Meets Food, capsaicin binds to TRVP1 receptors, which then send signals to the brain that trigger heat and pain. This is why you feel a burning sensation when you eat spicy foods.
Peppers are native to Central and South America. In the course of global trade that began after Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, explorers brought chili peppers to Europe, Africa and Asia. Peppers thrived in the tropical climates of Asia and Africa and quickly became a staple in cultural dishes.
Today, chili peppers grow almost everywhere, and according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 37 million tons of them are produced annually. The dozens of varieties can be used as snacks, ingredients in dishes, chili powder, dried peppers, hot sauces, and much more.
How much heat can you tolerate?
The Scoville scale measures the heat of each pepper variety and classifies it in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Sweet peppers with 0 SHU are the mildest peppers. Jalapeños and serranos have between 2,500 and 5,000 SHU. Habaneros and scotch bonnets are medium-hot peppers with 100,000 to 350,000 SHU.
With 600,000 to 1 million Scoville units, Bhut Jolokia is in the fiery-hot range. The hottest is Pepper X with almost 2.7 million SHU, followed by Carolina Reaper with an average of 1.6 million SHU. Both varieties were bred by scientist Ed Currie and promise a wonderfully painful eating experience.
Fill a spicy pantry
Given the variety of peppers and spicy ingredients available, it pays to have a wide variety of spicy ingredients in the pantry. Various hot sauces and spices don’t just add heat. Many impart a nuanced flavor that can balance out a dish—and scorch your taste buds.
Hot spices
In your spice cabinet, dried peppers concentrate the flavors and powders so you can easily add some heat. Paprika is made from ground red peppers. Spanish and Hungarian peppers each offer subtle flavor differences with sweet, smoky and spicy profiles. Cayenne powder made from ground cayenne peppers adds intense heat. Crushed red pepper flakes are made from a blend of peppers, giving each blend a different Scoville rating.
Staple for hot sauces and chili paste
In addition to these basic ingredients, ancho chilies, birdseye chilies, guajillo chilies and others can provide more unique flavors. Gochujaru, or Korean red pepper flakes, add a spicy-sweet flavor to Korean BBQ sauce. Urfa Biber chili flakes from Turkey, characterized by their dark color, add an earthy and salty flavor to Mediterranean dishes.
Hot sauces and spices in your pantry can also add heat. Many cultures have their own way of preparing hot sauces. Hot sauces are often mixed with paprika and vinegar, which adds a spicy acidity to foods. But it’s the chili mixture and additional ingredients that give each sauce its unique flavor.
Louisiana-style hot sauces like Frank’s Red Hot and Tabasco, as well as Mexican-style sauces like Cholula, are common options. Sriracha is a more vinegary sauce from Thailand. Both are primarily made from a blend of peppers, vinegar, and garlic. Other hot sauces may include carrots for sweetness, chipotles for smoky flavor, and a number of other spices.
Chili pastes, such as Indonesian sambal oelek and Korean gochujang, have a thicker consistency and bring out the flavor of the chilies. They make great marinades, are a flavorful addition to sauces or seasonings, and should be a staple in any spice-loving kitchen.
Ways to celebrate National Hot and Spicy Day
Although spicy food tastes good all year round, National Hot and Spicy Day is the perfect day to add even more heat. Cook your own food or head to a local restaurant. Since peppers are the centerpiece in many cuisines, the possibilities are nearly endless.
National Hot and Spicy Day is also a great opportunity to go hotter. If you normally prefer mild foods, try medium heat this year. You can also try hot sauce and add a few drops to spice up your usual dishes.
If you dare, you can take part in the #ALSHotPepperChallenge. This viral trend challenges you to eat a pepper with a high Scoville rating, such as a cayenne pepper, habanero or bhut jolokia, on camera. Just make sure you have some water or milk nearby.
Dishes worth burning for
While there are good arguments for dousing everything with hot sauce, use this year to try recipes that call for heat. Indulge in your favorite curry, chili, stuffed peppers, buffalo wings, spicy chicken, tacos, or whatever else you like spicy.
You can get creative with spicy foods too. For a summery twist, try mango salsa for a fruity note. Spice up dessert with a strawberry jalapeño pie. Sriracha aioli works well as a creamy dressing, dip or spread and adds a delicious kick to non-spicy dishes. Or if you want a spicy treat without much effort, add a few drops of hot sauce to crackers with good cheese.
Stimulate your taste buds this National Spicy Day
From spicy to painfully hot, spicy foods and spices often make up a meal. On August 19th, you can spice things up with a new recipe, a new hot sauce, or simply add some extra spice to your favorite foods.
Kristen Wood is a photographer, cookbook author, recipe developer, and creator of MOON and Spoon and Yum. She is also the author of Vegetarian Family Cookbook, Fermented Hot Sauce Cookbook, and Hot Sauce Cookbook for Beginners. Her work has appeared in various online and print publications, including NBC, Seattle Times, Elle, Martha Stewart, Forbes, Chicago Sun-Times, and more.
This article was written by Kristen Wood and copyright Food Drink Life
-Kristen Wood
Eat Drink Live
via Associated Press
