Jody Denton, a self-proclaimed “Chilihead,” conducted an experiment on his two young daughters, Ana and Olivia. Growing up, he cooked their meals just a little bit spicier than they wanted.
They would complain. He would apologize. But already at the next meal he would bring the heat.
Years later, his daughter Olivia – now 19 – came home from college for the summer. As she sat at the dining table with her father, she asked him, “Is it possible that you always made my food a little bit spicier than I wanted?”
Denton came in. “That’s so cool,” she said, shocked. In her circle of friends at school, she was the only one who could handle spicy food.
Denton fell in love with spicy food at an early age and is now the senior research chef for PepsiCo Global Foods, developing spicy snacks for Frito-Lay.
From Sriracha Sauce to Reaper Roulette Pizza to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the characteristic spiciness of hot food can be found in countless dishes and cuisines. Sometimes it’s tangy sweet and tangy. Other times, it’s a nuclear sensation that can set your whole mouth on fire.
Denton and other chefs from local restaurants say that foodies in Dallas-Fort Worth have become more adventurous over the years, stepping out of their comfort zones to try spicier dishes.
We decided to uncover the science behind the spice, find out how Dallas-area restaurants incorporate this signature spiciness into their dishes, and answer the burning question: Is it possible to build a tolerance to spicy food?
What makes food spicy?
When we drink something hot like soup or milk, nerve endings in our mouth get activated and send a message to our brain: “This is hot! Do not burn yourself!”
A similar process takes place with spicy food. For example, when we bite into a spicy pepper, chemicals called capsaicinoids activate the same nerve endings in our mouth, creating a feeling of heat even though we’re not eating anything hot. In other words, the capsaicinoids trick our brain into believing that something is burning in our mouth when it isn’t.
Capsaicin is the most pungent of the capsaicinoids in a pepper, said Alissa Nolden, an assistant professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Department of Food Science. In grad school, Nolden conducted an experiment that examined whether drinks like water, milk, Kool-Aid, and Coke were better or worse at relieving the burn of spicy food. She found milk worked best.
Not all spicy foods are created equal, she explained. Jalapeño and cayenne pepper contain capsaicin, but the spiciness in wasabi or black pepper comes from different chemicals that activate different nerve endings.
Nolden said scientists aren’t sure why some people can’t get enough of spicy food while others can’t get far enough away.
Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, executive chef at José in Dallas, found it took time to adjust to spicy food. “I can’t eat a meal without having some spice or something to bite on the side,” she said. “But growing up, it just wasn’t my jam.”
In her childhood, Quiñones-Pittman tied a red ribbon around a serrano pepper and placed it next to her father’s plate at Thanksgiving dinner for fun, since he couldn’t eat a meal without going to the refrigerator to get a pepper to chew on .
When she returned to Dallas after college, Quiñones-Pittman gained a new appreciation for spicy food, won over by the flavors of roasted tomatoes and garlic in her family’s salsa.
At José, the restaurant’s aguachile, a seafood dish usually made with lime-pickled shrimp or ahi tuna, is always served spicy. Their appetizer, Camarones a la Diabla, has a nutty spiciness and includes a guajillo puree and chili de árbol, a small but potent Mexican chilli.
If diners like their dishes even spicier, the restaurant usually has one of three spicy salsas tucked away in the back. José’s “spicy” serrano, gold habanero, and black habanero salsas are made for the staff, but Quiñones-Pittman said they’ll bring one if available if guests ask for that extra kick.
Spicy, not hot
Priya Shah, catering director at Indian restaurant Sawaii in Little Elm, Texas, grew up in Mumbai, India. She frequented roadside stalls selling snacks such as pav bhaji, a hearty vegetable curry served on a bun; and pani puri, crispy, palm-sized puris stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, and flavored water.
“That’s how I grew up,” she said. “Go to school, come back from school, [having] this spicy, spicy food.”
The spice in Indian cuisine is often misunderstood, she said. There’s a difference between the spices like cumin, cinnamon, and black pepper in garam masala that add flavor to a dish and the green and dry red chilies that bring the spiciness.
“Spice is not spicy food,” Shah explained. “It’s a spicy blend of spices that’s incorporated into the food.”
Different regions of India experience different levels of heat. When a guest orders malai kofta, fried vegetable balls in a creamy sauce, Shah said the dish can only be enjoyed with a mild to medium seasoning.
On the other hand, Sawaii’s kolhapuri mutton – a goat dish from the state of Maharashtra – is a spicy favorite. “That will make her fair [say]’Oh my god it’s very hot, I’m sweating,'” Shah said. “But they enjoy it.”
Nikky Phinyawatana, owner of Dallas-based Asian Mint, said the best spicy Thai dishes to try at her restaurants are basil dishes like pad kee mow or drunk noodles; and Pad Krapow, a fried chicken and shrimp basil. “It’s a softer, fresher chili flavor that you can even enjoy with the garlic spice,” she said.
The spiciness in Thai dishes usually comes from fresh Thai chillies or dried red chillies, Phinyawatana said. Fresh or dried white pepper and black or green peppercorns can also provide a kick.
Phinyawatana is also passionate about creating her own hot sauces. She worked with a friend to create a spicy, crispy chili called Drama Queen Crispy Thai Basil, which won Best New Ready-to-Consume Product at Zest Fest, a nationwide spicy food festival taking place in Dallas this fall.
Can I build up my spice tolerance?
Have Dallas restaurants seen customers increase their spice tolerance over the years? “One thousand percent,” Quiñones-Pittman said. She said people may be traveling more and interacting with different cultures and cuisines, which will help them appreciate spicy food.
“I know it did for me,” she said. “Every time I go to Mexico, there’s a salsa or a chili powder or something on the table. It definitely helped me appreciate it more.”
Phinyawatana said that as diversity increases, so does increased exposure.
“Having operated the restaurant here for the past 18 years, I’ve actually seen our customers be able to up their level of spice in the first few days after we opened,” she said [and] the first few years.”
Shah said it’s exciting to see guests step out of their comfort zones.
“[Customers] ask me, and I’ll literally warn them, ‘Are you sure you want it very, very spicy?'” she said. “And you [say], ‘Oh, I want it Indian spicy. I don’t want American spice.’”
Nutritionist Nolden said the food we eat when we’re younger can help shape our preferences when we’re older. (Just ask Denton’s daughter.) But for people who didn’t grow up eating spicy food, all hope isn’t lost. Repeated exposure to capsaicin, the chemical that makes some peppers hot, can increase our tolerance.
“Once you’re an adult and you choose what you eat and start incorporating spicy foods into your diet, you can definitely learn [tolerate] spicy food,” said Nolden.