OH SOOOOOOOOO SPICY HOT!

in #spicyhot3 years ago (edited)

Thai  Scotch Bonnet.jpg
(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)

I’ve had a longstanding intimate relationship with spicy peppers of all varieties that began (rather unwillingly) when I was nineteen, while staying with my aunt for a period of time. She’s from Thailand and I was introduced to some of the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, since that was all she cooked for every meal. It was so flavourful, but with every mouthful, I felt like I was dying from the raging fire scorching my insides, while at the same time, my brain kept saying it’s so good, it’s so good, but it’s so spicy, it’s sooooooooo spicy hot! Prior to this, I wouldn’t add even black pepper to my food. I ran away from all things spicy.

BLACK PEPPERCORNS
Photo 1_Black Peppercorns.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

The experience of only eating really hot food changed my perception of what spicy meant. As a result, there was no way I could eat a meal without adding some pepper to it first. It had to have some “hotness” in the mix. Cayenne chili peppers were next up and black pepper got left behind in pepper grinder dust. It wasn’t hot enough. I WANTED MORE. Later on, I moved to a place where I met people of many different cultures who introduced me to additional types of chilies. I was also able to purchase pretty much any pepper imaginable, fresh or dried. Call it Chili Pepper Heaven, Hell, or the Middle Ground between those extremes, depending on perception and choice.....

RUN! IT'S A GHOST PEPPER, IT WILL BURN YOU ALIVE WITH IT'S FIRE!
Ghost Pepper.jpg
(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)

At one point, I went into this ancient and truly scary looking herbal store with row upon row of glass jars containing herbs, lining every wall and available space. I felt like I was in some other time somewhere else, rather otherworldly. But………that’s more stories for later 😉.

I chatted with the master herbalist there and developed a friendship over time. When he became aware of my interest in chilies and all things spicy, he introduced me to many kinds of chilies and other peppers. It was way beyond my imagination. The whole experience was like having chili sprinkles showered on top of the chili pepper cake with spicy icing!

At this point, I went overboard experimenting with chilies. I burned myself more times than I can count, by getting the oils on my hands and then…..OOPS, transferred to my eyes accidentally (I’ll leave the rest to your imagination). The burn was savage. Uncontrollable tears rained down for what seemed like forever. In actuality, it was around 15 – 20 minutes. It dissipated after that. The first time burning my eyes was hell. Imagine pepper spray. After that, I was more careful to not have the oils come into contact with my eyes. There’s always that rare time I forget though, even now. Why is that? I’m not paying attention to what I’m doing in the moment.

Something that occurs with eating spicy food regularly for a long enough period of time, is an ever increasing tolerance for the burn and an enjoyment of the experience. Now keep in mind, I wouldn’t even touch black pepper at the beginning. My friend had explained that eating really hot chilies, the right amount, creates this euphoric feeling in the brain. I remember thinking at the time, yeah, really, that’s interesting, but had no clue what he was talking about. I hadn’t experienced that, so I wasn’t convinced, while at the same time, I stayed open to the possibility.

One day, I was eating my lunch at work, a curry I’d made. It was one of “those” days at work. Halfway through eating, I started feeling really good, relaxed, and I realized, this is what my friend was talking about. It made the rest of my day much more pleasant, just the experience alone, since the euphoria doesn’t last for hours. I had used bird chilies in the right amount when I made the curry. Yet again, my perception of spicy changed.

BIRD CHILIES
Photo 2_Bird Chilies.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

This drawing was created by an old friend to add some extra spice to my chili pepper post. 😄

EDWARD'S DRAWING
Drawing_Edward's.jpg

There are so many chilies and peppers I have learned to appreciate, with all of their individual qualities, flavours, and varying degrees of hotness.

Red Thai Chilies are reasonably hot, but far from being the hottest peppers. They are one of my staple chilies I use frequently, both fresh and dried. There is also a green variety, identical, except for colour, and much milder in heat. These chilies have a fruity flavour that is quite pleasant.

RED THAI CHILIES
Photo 3_Red Thai Chilies.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Scotch Bonnet Chilies are quite noticeably hotter than Red Thai chilies. This is another one of my staple favourites. They can be green, yellow, orange, red, or a combo of those colours. Red ones are the spiciest. They have a fruity flavour, are slightly sweet, and oh so deliciously hot.

SCOTCH BONNET CHILIES
Photo 4_Scotch Bonnet Peppers.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Ghost Peppers are insanely hot, although they are not the most extreme. Yes, there are more intense peppers! These are fruity, sweet and slightly smoky. All flavours are nuked as soon as the heat hits, which is very quickly. I have not eaten one of these fresh, only a piece of a dried one.

GHOST PEPPERS
Photo 5_Ghost Peppers.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Chipotle Peppers are smoked red Jalapenos. The flavour is deep, rich and smoky, with a mild heat. I use them frequently when I want to add a smoky rich flavour.

CHIPOTLE PEPPERS
Photo 6_Chipotle Peppers.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Szechwan Peppercorns have an effect like chilies, are kind of like black peppercorns without the heat, and a mild citrus flavour. They also have a slight salty quality.

SZECHWAN PEPPERCORNS
Photo 7_Szchewan Peppercorns.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Pink Peppercorns are actually a fruit, tiny berries, not a pepper at all. Their taste is complex, fruity and slightly floral with a mild spiciness lighter than black peppercorns.

PINK PEPPERCORNS
Photo 8_Pink Peppercorns.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

Grains of Paradise are quite unique in flavour and are a spice. There are a harmony of tastes blended together, including cardamom, ginger, light citrus and a peppery flavour similar to black peppercorns.

GRAINS OF PARADISE
Photo 9_Grains of Paradise.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

These are only a sampling of the many varieties of chilies and peppers that exist. There is a whole spectrum of hotness and flavour to experience, providing one opens to that, while at the same time incorporating a balanced approach. Definitely avoid the eye burn! Tolerance to heat will develop with regular exposure. I’m at a point now, where I can only tell it’s really spicy if I sweat under my eyes. It’s over the top when I start spontaneously and uncontrollably drooling. That tells me I’ve taken it to my maximum tolerance, although it’s not easy for me to get to the drooling stage now. After all of this experimentation with chili peppers, I’ve settled on a preferred heat range, depending on what I’m creating, or want to accomplish. It’s a matter of finding out where you are on the spectrum and where that middle point is; harmony of balance.

TAKING A DIFFERENT DIRECTION
I decided to expand beyond food creations. I started using an extra hot ground cayenne pepper, about 160,000 Scoville heat units, topically, for muscle pain. I mixed a small amount with some water to make a paste, massaged it into the muscles for a few minutes, let it dry, and then wiped it off. Next, I applied moist heat to the area, for as long as I could tolerate it (maximum for me is around 10-15 minutes). The burn starts within a couple minutes and gets more intense, the longer the heat is applied. The heat is necessary to activate the pain relieving aspect. Primarily, capsaicin is the medicinal component in chilies. The burning sensation hits a peak, stays there around 8-10 minutes, and then decreases rapidly. Bye, bye muscle pain and not only that, release of muscular tension along with it.

It’s one of my favourites now for muscular pain, especially when time is limited. Call it the “chili pepper torture treatment”. 🤣 Not something anyone has wanted to try, for obvious reasons. There are however, many ways to extract the medicinal components from chilies and use them in preparations where the burn is not experienced. My choice has been to stick with the hot burn though. I’ve become accustomed to it.😜

Photo 10_Red  Green Thai Chilies.jpg
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)

All of this diving into experimenting with chilies and peppers began because of being in a situation where I had to accept the circumstances presented to me and work with them, like it or not. Openness to seeing chilies from a different perspective than my “normal” was absolutely necessary. I went from one extreme of wanting nothing spicy, to the other extreme of wanting it hotter and hotter. This experience taught me how to choose what pepper to use, when, and how much. I learned how to balance between extremes and that neither end of spectrum was the place to be. Chilies also showed me the importance of being present in the moment, to be aware of what I am doing, engaged in an intimate dance, such as keeping my hands away from my eyes and washing them thoroughly after chopping fresh chilies. Pain is an excellent teacher!

So, there’s quite a range to get creative with when it comes to chilies. A special favourite is dark chocolate with chili peppers.😋 I was inspired by @juliakponsford and @ailindigo to do this drawing.

NOTHING COMPARES TO CHILI INFUSED CHOCOLATE
Hawt Tub.jpg
(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)

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Beautiful post!

Thanks Wu!

Daaamnnn this is too much spicy together, hahahahahahah I'm not much of a spicy lover, but a little bit doesn't hurt.

Totally loved the drawings and all the love you gave to this post, you´ll be big around here!! I can asure you that. Kicking some ass so far.

Hahaha, I know spicy is not your thing so much, but there are a few there that are delicious and not super spicy, so maybe those ones? 😜

Thank you so much! I'm putting my best effort into each post, so hoping to keep it rolling!

Yeahh i can try them!! But i can´t promess i will eat them all hahahahah

I think the pink peppercorns are most like you 😉 😆, since they are sweet.

Awwwwwwwwwwww probably, everything sweet is good for me hahahhahaha

I thought so 😜

DAMN 🔥

There are so many types of chilies and peppers like WOW!

I love black pepper so much that I used to add it to everything I cooked lol

and also the Scotch Bonnet Chilies! I didn't know that was its name, they look exactly the same as the ones I used for everything (especially rice) when I was in Venezuela, so I guess it's the same! There were two types tho, one was very spicy bc of the seeds inside and the other one I think didn't have seeds inside and were sweeter and less spicy (bc of the sweetness the taste of rice turned out amazing, well everything turned out amazing thanks to them, the difference was always noticeable) I was always having fun like a little kid while choosing the right amount of each color and making sure I was taking the right one from both types 😂

The sad thing is that I have never seen them again as it seems they don't exist here in Argentina, they are one of the things I miss from Venezuela for sure.

Really nice and HAWT post 💙🔥 Right now I'm feeling like eating curry and trying some red thai chilies 😝

Cheeeeers! 🍻

DAMN 🔥 indeed!!! Chili pepper co-hort! That's so sad you can't get those chilies in Argentina. I'd be begging someone to send me dry ones. I'd love to try the ones without seeds. I've never heard of those. Your HAWTNESS inspired the "HAWT"😆 Thanks for lovely comments. I'd make you curry but it won't last the shipping trip, sigh. Cheeeeers! 🍻

Love the drawings
HAWT TUB!

and the photos too. I used to eat chillis, grown chillis and put black pepper on everything. Once I start cooking regularly again, I WILL BURN MYSELF AND MY RINGHOLE!

And I wonder what your ring hole has to say! 😂

My ring hole says it's been tried and true without going down in flames. 🤣

Thanks! I'm wondering what chilies you grew and what your favourites are. It'll be a burny, fun, creative time once you get the opportunity to go at cooking! 😆

Bird's eye chillies and habanero chillies.

That's awesome! I want to raid your next garden!😄

My mouth is watering just looking at all this! I love your drawings just amazing as always 😀

One of my early friends on Steem/Hive was the famous @papa-pepper def. check out his stuff on HOT PEPPERS!

I'm hoping to inspire you to make your own spicy corn chips! Thanks! I'll be posting more drawings. I have a special model already lined up for the next post 😉 @soundwavesphoton

I took a quick look at @papa-pepper and I'm already excited seeing "Carp" burgers and sheep. I'll definitely check out his stuff on HOT PEPPERS, totally my thing, thanks!

I loved it 🙃

Thank you! 😃

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Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

Hive Tour Update - Advanced posting

We like it spicy! we like it SPICY! Chilli is a one-way trip!

That's a great anthem,"We like it SPICY!" 😆