Enjoying spicy food

[mtbc]

I like fairly spicy food; last time I made a can of baked beans I mixed a large dollop of English mustard into it and last time I scrambled eggs I added plenty of black pepper. I have heard that as one ages one may tend to prefer one's food to be spicier. I am now reminded of Perfect Sense (2011) in which people like very strongly seasoned food after losing their sense of smell.

I expect that many people living in India like their food rather spicier than I. Furthermore, I suspect that even many primary school children in India are happy to eat very spicy food. This raises a few questions including: am I correct about that? Also, further: why is it so? Is there a genetic component in their ancestry that helps hot peppers to still be okay for them to taste? Is it just that they grew up with it? Indeed, as we read in Pediatrics 2001 Jun;107(6):E88, Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to a flavor enhanced the infants' enjoyment of that flavor in solid foods during weaning. These very early flavor experiences may provide the foundation for cultural and ethnic differences in cuisine. To be able to enjoy very spicy food later in life must one have started early?

Comments

[mindstalk]

http://www.chowhound.com/post/babies-spicy-food-native-cuisine-520311 has various people saying kids are eased into it. Some take to it early, some by 8-10. Also, spices in general are introduced earlier than chili-hot is.

_French Kids Eat Everything_, Karen Le Billon is the memoir of a Canadian mother living a year in a Breton village, and her observations about how French kids are raised. I think it can be fairly summed up as "yes it is our fault that our kids are overly picky eaters", though cultural support plays a role too.

[mtbc]

It looks like the Dundee library system might be able to get me a copy of that.

Chatting last week to an Indian colleague he says that the children there have the pretty spicy stuff by age two or so. I can't remember for sure which city he's from, though when he works from there there's plenty of traffic noise in the background!