[CH] history of thick tongues
David C. Yoshiba (av8d-ysb@asahi-net.or.jp)
Sun, 6 Jun 1999 14:47:45 +0900
Greetings again.
After reading the past few postings about the tribe of the thick tongues, I
came to realize that some may appreciate the recent history of chiles as
presented by the mass media in Japan.
Several months ago, a program that has a cooking section and is often
watched by women hoping for answers to their problems presented a bit about
capsicin and the vitamin C. All the health wonders of capsicin and the
vitamins in chiles were touted practically as wonder items for the coming
millinium. Since then, there has been a bit of a miniboom in hot sauces and
all here. I was a little surprised about the exchange concerning Tabasco
Habanero sauce a few days ago. If you've been a good girl or boy, you can
sometimes even find that here. I have found for the first time pickled
habaneros here.
Later, having figured out that Japanese tend to not like heat of chiles (the
buzz from wasabi being really something else), some programs started
presenting how to use Chinese hot sauces etc. and to reduce the burn. Yes,
how to use chiles for their health benefits, but without the thrill of the
flame. There is supposedly a capsicin sauce out here now that claims to lack
heat. (I don't know how that is supposed to work. That sounds like taking
the part that burns out of gasoline--what are you left with??)
It is in this environment that a program announced that people who eat too
many chiles end up with thick-skinned tongues.
I will admit that my tolerance to heat just gets stronger and stronger. I
won't admit to having a leathery tongue.
David Yoshiba
http://www.geocities.com:80/NapaValley/6855/index.html