Eh, there are like five or so different kinds of ‘hot’, acting upon different tastebuds. Aside from peppercorn, i.e. black pepper, you’ve probably heard of Sichuan pepper, mustard, and horseradish (i.e. what is typically sold as wasabi). If you ever want to really clear your sinuses, get yourself some Russian mustard and chow down half a tablespoon of it, preferably on bread. I know for certain that it’s available in the US via some shady importing companies.
I have it in my ‘try sometime’ list to mix all the different kinds of hotness, and perhaps add mint since it’s felt by separate tastebuds that apparently still work through the numbness.
Also, the 16th century was a really long time ago, so the various countries had plenty of time to adapt. For myself, I’ve nearly choked on a slice of hot pepper in a Georgian salad — couldn’t spit it out in the celebratory setting, and chewing wasn’t an option, so had to swallow it whole.
Eh, there are like five or so different kinds of ‘hot’, acting upon different tastebuds. Aside from peppercorn, i.e. black pepper, you’ve probably heard of Sichuan pepper, mustard, and horseradish (i.e. what is typically sold as wasabi). If you ever want to really clear your sinuses, get yourself some Russian mustard and chow down half a tablespoon of it, preferably on bread. I know for certain that it’s available in the US via some shady importing companies.
I have it in my ‘try sometime’ list to mix all the different kinds of hotness, and perhaps add mint since it’s felt by separate tastebuds that apparently still work through the numbness.
Also, the 16th century was a really long time ago, so the various countries had plenty of time to adapt. For myself, I’ve nearly choked on a slice of hot pepper in a Georgian salad — couldn’t spit it out in the celebratory setting, and chewing wasn’t an option, so had to swallow it whole.