Going in and coming out.
BTW / Pro Tip: Night before, put the TP in the freezer.
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There was a little while when I was able to purchase chile flavored pistachios and not have to worry about the family eating them. They all got upset if I left snacks for them to eat but I was training for a marathon and needed the calories so it was a good compromise. Unfortunately it just eventually ended up that they got used to eating hot things as snacks.
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I’m confused why this is even a question. We already have a plethora of hot sauces. Clearly humans enjoy spicy tastes. Why wouldn’t you want spicy snacks?
I hate almonds, but make Sriracha flavored almonds and I’ll happily buy a bag. I just hope sichuan pepper catches on here. I had a visiting relative leave their Sichuan peanut stash at my home after discovering they were allergic. I’ve never looked back.
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One of my favorite meals in Chongqing Hot Dry Chicken, which at least as the local Chinese restaurants prepare it, is roughly equal parts fried chicken and chopped Szechuan peppercorns. It’s delicious, but those peppercorns have a tough exterior and don’t get fully digested, sooooo…
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I have a pretty severe peanut allergy (anaphylaxis, hospitalised once every couple of years) and although I love the taste of Sichuan peppers, there’s an association with peanuts that means I’m really wary of them. The numbing sensation from Sichuan pepper is exactly the first symptom I get if I’ve had something with peanuts, and although intellectually I know it’s different and won’t end up with epinephrine and an ambulance, I just can’t do it. Shame - the flavour’s fantastic.
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I don’t recognize that name, but it sounds like my favorite Sichuan dish!
There was this one spot we went to back in grad school where we would order that, carefully pick out all of the chicken bits and eat them, and take the peppers home as leftovers. We would saute them with some shrimp or tofu chunks and the resulting delicious dish would still be too spicy for the uninitiated.
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That would be a deal breaker, for sure.
It’s interesting how allergic reactions are often similar to the “spicy” feeling. I’ve seen quite a few internet posts where people discover a food allergy after a gentle explanation that pineapple (or whatever) isn’t actually spicy.
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Just wait for the bidet to come up on the BoingBoing store - much more efficient and cooling.
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cold water bidet, FTW!
I grow bushels of peppers every year and eat at least one whole, fresh chili (of one hot variety or other) every day.
also keep Sichuan peppercorns for hot pot and other dishes. love that buzz!
toast them in a dry skillet with coarse seasalt until the salt turns a little pinkish and starts to smoke lightly. grind in your molcajete for a bright, spicy, salty pinch of flavor on lots of things!
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Brother, you ain’t kidding.
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Over time it seems like so many of my dishes have migrated to the hot side. Not just hot pepper, but strong spice as well. Ginger and vietnamese cinnamon fall into the hot spice category. The current house ice cream is cinnamon chocolate chip. I have to tie one hand behind my backwhen I cook for folks that require Umami over spice.
I’d like to see the wording of that survey. I really hope that life in the US isn’t so miserable that 42% of Americans find snack flavors “exciting”.
There are two main reasons that I avoid them. First, some of us don’t enjoy the long-term effects. I’ve got relatives who started putting regular hot sauce on their foods when I was a kid. To get the same sensation, they’ve been eating increasingly hotter peppers, sauces, etc. for years. Now, some claim to not be able to taste any food unless it burns. 
Finding out that a tingling sensation in my mouth while eating was an allergic reaction is the second reason why I avoid very spicy foods now. I share your pain, and don’t want my meals to include antihistamines for dessert. 
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A little spice adds flavor. More adds a bit of an endorphin release. And you become acclimated to whatever your current level of spice is, so a sort of addiction? You need progressively more heat to get the same good feeling.
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Funny how some folks think eating super spicy foods is macho. I’m thinking it’s more masochistic than macho. Like a hairshirt you can eat.
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According to Planet Money, the trend to make spicy versions of all junk food is white marketing people at these snack food companies hamfistedly trying to appeal to the large and growing Latinix market, basically.
In America the answer is always the same
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That’s a loose definition of “comfort”
I grew up in NM too. Funny thing is the food there not only gets you addicted to spicy, it makes you picky about it. Not only are NM green and red chile (screw you spell check, it’s chile, not chili) the preferred source, but people there talk about it like the French do wine. If you said heirloom Big Jim grown in Mesilla Valley and picked and roasted in September, people will understand what you mean. Or Chimayo dried powder. Those are types and areas known for flavor profiles.
Then comes how the burn is described. Where in the mouth, how quickly it forms, and how long it lingers. That comes from the type of capsaicinoids.
How it’s prepared adds another layer. Was it dried, fresh, roasted, powered, flake, whole, etc.
Then how it’s used: Burger, breakfast burrito, red or green sauce, in candy, etc.
To top it off, all of this is with one species of pepper! New Mexico chile pepper. Screw that pale imitation, the Anaheim. Jalapenos are looked down on as poorly flavored. And so on.
Why so much chile and in so many foods? Originally it was a great way to extend meat. But you can literally get high from it too. Need I say more?
So if you haven’t tried one yet, do whatever it takes and try a green chile burger.
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If in Alamogordo, get the Tiger Burger with green chili at the Hi-D-Ho drive-in.
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