Improve Your Tolerance to Spice With These Handy Tips

There is always someone in the group that doesn’t have the taste buds to handle the heat. All too often, eating out in restaurants or going to some friends for dinner can be a nightmare if you don’t enjoy a little bit of spice in your dishes. It’s a common belief that the ability to appreciate a hot meal is either something you are born with, or without, although this may not be true as there are methods and practises you can try to increase your heat-bearing abilities and relish a bite to eat that is full of warming flavours.

Chilli peppers are one of the most popular and regularly consumed spice, and it is often used in meals all over the world. Chillies can cause a heat in the mouth, some experience a burn, other people’s eyes water or their nose runs and for some, they can break out in a sweat during dinner – powerful stuff, right?! Different chillies will have a different effect on everyone, as some varieties are much stronger than others, for this reason, the amount used will also create varying levels of heat within a dish.

Here are some top tips to increase your tolerance to spicy foods, which will, in turn, open your taste buds and diet to a plethora of delicious dishes with lively and exciting flavours!

Introduce the spice and heat to your dish slowly. You don’t want to go from regularly using the slightest pinch of paprika to then adding two large fresh chilli’s as its likely you won’t enjoy the meal, and it will put you off attempting to increase your tolerance again. Instead, gradually grow the amount you add, either with each dish or with one meal a week, depending on your dedication to the spice!

You may choose to add the spice to a side dish or sauce, rather than your whole main meal. This would mean you could pick and choose how much of it you eat, or how much of it you would like to add to your meal. You may want to try adding chilli flakes to your chips, or a couple of drops of tabasco to your mayonnaise to subtly increase the heat.

All chillies and spices will have a slight variation in heat. For example, the banana pepper is a much weaker chilli in comparison to the Italian long hot pepper. You may choose to increase your tolerance by gradually upgrading the chilli’s you use and the heat that they will bring to a dish.

Heat doesn’t always need to be added by using a chilli, there is a range of oriental vegetables that can bring some spice to your dish. Try thinly sliced onion, garlic or radishes and add them to your ingredients list; this can be a way to turn up the heat. Thin slices also have the benefit of not being too overpowering in a dish and you can limit the amount you add, gradually increasing it as you get used to the flavour.

Adding spice to something sweet can be a great way to introduce the heat to your diet. The flavours balance each other out and calm the fieriness of the spice, making them much more tolerable to your pallet. Try adding chilli to your chocolate, or fruit to your curry.

Trying to heat up your diet can feel more manageable when you know you have something to cool your mouth down to hand if it gets a little too intense. One of the fastest and most effective foods to do this with are; natural plain yoghurt, bread or an acidic fruit, such as lemons or limes.