Re: [CH] Another useless survey

Dave Sacerdote (davesas@tiac.net)
Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:12:29 -0400 

>1. Not everyone likes red Tabasco sauce, but most people on the list have
>probably tried it. If Tabasco rates a 5, how would you rate the hottest you
>can tolerate? (Higher is hotter.)

Oh, probably around a nine or so.

>2. What is the hottest pepper you routinely eat? What is your favorite
>chile?

Hottest I usually eat are habbies and red savinas.  My favorites are red
savinas, I like the smoky flavor a little better than the fruitiness 
of the habaneros.

>3. How many times a week do you normally eat something you'd consider hot?

Three or four times, or more.

>4. How long ago did you first start eating hot stuff? How old were you?
>(Yeah, yeah, I know that I can then calculate how old you are...as if I
>care...)

I grew up eating freshly grated horseradish.  Different kind of heat, I
know, but I guess it counts.

A friend from Barbados got me hooked on his yellow hot sauce (mustard,
habbies, some other stuff...never really got the recipe outta him) about
10 years ago.

But I really started getting into HOT food only about a year ago.  I useta
be a "pepper wuss" despite a VERY high horseradish tolerance.

>5. What is the first hot food you remember eating?

Hot Italian sausages.

>6. How long ago, in hours, did you eat something hot?

It's 0900;  at 0700 I made an egg sandwich laced with strips of fried
red savina from my garden.

>7. Approximately what percent of your hot food comes from:
   - Fresh peppers - 40%, more in season
   - Dried peppers - 30%
   - Sauces and salsas - 20% (hard to find a good hot sauce.  I want 
                         flavor as much as I want heat.)
   - Restaurant meals - 10% or less
 
>8. Do you grow your own peppers?

Yep.

>9. Do you cook with chiles?

Yep.

>10. Do you dry chiles for later consumption?

Absolutely.

>11. Do you make your own powders?

Just started.

>12. What is the most unusual thing you've ever done with chiles (that you
>want to talk about)?

I've done stupid things, but not too many unusual things. <g>

>13. Have you "converted" people to the ways of chile? How many?

I'm just a recent convert m'self. <g>  My nine-year-old daughter is
starting to get interested, though.

>14. Do people consider you crazy (for more that just chiles)? Is it a good
>thing or a bad thing?

Yeah, I guess.  It's neither good nor bad, it just *is*.

>15. How would you describe your cultural heritage? Is it a culture which
>typically eats chiles?

Big Italian family.  Lots of hot peppers, from those long curly "portugese"
Italian hot peppers, to the little red cherry peppers.

>16. Indicate which fits best:
   - I didn't get to the top of the food chain for nothing

>17. Have you ever eaten something which you would consider too hot?
>    Describe the case.

Well, I tasted pure capsaicin resin once, because someone handed me a
bottle and without thinking, I dabbed some on my finger and into my mouth.
It was only stupid for ten seconds or so, because after that my mouth was
numb and I didn't feel the burn any more at all.

But just taking a big bite out of one of my savinas, seeds and all, are
still too hot for me, straight.

>18. Have you ever entered a hot substance eating contest? How did you do?

To me, "hot" is a basic flavor, like "sweet", or "sour", or "salty."  I
don't look for heat for the sake of heat alone, so I don't enter contests
like that.

>19. Have you ever had an unusual strong reaction to eating peppers? What
>    was it? If so, have you had gastrointestinal problems, such as an ulcer?

I was at a Chinese buffet, and had a big ol' fried shrimp what I used to pick
up a wicked massive scoop of hot mustard.  Popped the whole thing at once and
thought I was gonna blow the top of my head off!  Eyes, nose, and ears 
watering, my throat slammed shut...that stuff just kicked my ass and stole
my k0dez. <g>

>20. Do you grow your own chiles? Lots or a little?

What's this, question 8 again? <g>  I grow as much as I can in my small
garden.  This year, I grew habbies, savinas, hungarian yellows, and cherry
peppers.

>21. Is your profession related to chiles? If yes, what is it?

No.

>22. How long have you been on the Chile Heads list?

Couple months.  Mostly I lurk.

>23. Are you a knuckle-dragger? (If you've been on the list a short time,
>    you may not understand this...)

Duh...

>24. How do you spell the name of our favorite fruit?

Chile.

>25. Do you use chiles for anything other than eating? What? (rael, control
>    yourself...)

I use 'em to control jock itch.

>26. Where do you live?

Connecticut, Land of Steady Habits - where it's hard as hell to find hot
peppers at a decent price because the grocery stores think jalapenos are
the hottest things on earth. :-(

>27. Is it hotter in the Summer or the city?

Yes.
===
Dave Sacerdote
davesas@tiac.net
"I am so mighty, I do not have to kill you all."  -- Flaming Carrot
Resist or Serve.