Start by using a small amount of a relatively mild chili such as an Ancho or a Jalapeno,although some of these can be fairly hot, and gradually work your way up the heat scale. The more you eat the more your tolerance for heat will be,after a while the heat becomes almost addictive.

With the internet you can find information on any subject so do some research on chili's and recipes to see if you can find anything that appeals to you.

PWM, I am with you. I do not enjoy pain with my food. Some people seem to get a kick out of having their nose run and eyes water (my sons are among them), but not me. I don't even like black pepper.

Now as for heat not related to food or the weather -- bring it on!

I'm another whimpering wimp. I like a hint of heat but not much so discussions of pepper varieties leave me in the dust.

Pink, if you already know that you don't like "highly seasoned or hot" foods then I wouldn't worry about taking it up a notice. But if you really do what to try things a little "hotter" than start small and just reduce the amount of hot peppers called for in a recipe.

Personally I like spicy food, but not so hot that all you can taste is the "burn". I don't want my mouth burning, my eyes and nose running. I want the spice to enhance the flavour of the food not destroy it.

Ann

Here's a tip from an Asian who used to eat very very hot food. It's a blessing if you can't tolerate hot/spicy food.

It is NOT good for your health. Those that do will develope irritatable stomach problem later on. Your skin won't tolerate the spice continously neither and you'd eventually break out.

At least that's what happened to me and I had to quit this addiction. Yes, it is in a way, an addiction. Once someone is used to a little spice, the tongue will want more and more, hotter and hotter. Eventually, you can tolerate even the hottest chili pepper such as Thai pepper.

Although, chili peppers and bell peppers have high vitamin C content, the spice does your body no good.

So, don't feel bad if you cannot tolerate it. I now can't and appreciate it =o)

My DH likes it so hot he starts hiccuping. DS #1 isn't far behind.

Me? I just wave an unopened can of chipotles over the bowl and thats enough.

I don't want any pain with my food thank you. Highly seasoned yes, hot no.

I have a book recommendation for anyone interested in this topic. Why Some Like it Hot, by Gary Paul Nabhan.

It's not a perfect book. My husband, who works in the field of pharmacogenomics (a subject on which the book touched) was frustrated by the lack of citations for the author's assertions. But it was fascinating to me because it opened a door to a new way of perceiving things I used to believe were unrelated, and I will use it as a launching board for further research. I thought I was buying a food book, but I bought a book about genetics through as seen through the lens of food. (Does that make sense?)

Among the book's claims is that some aspects of taste, food tolerances, and our ability to metabolize certain foods have a genetic/evolutionary basis. Certain people are "super-tasters" when it comes to hot foods, and while tolerances can be increased, this trait is just as heritable as eye color, and probably has a basis in the food stuffs that were produced in the regions in which our ancestors evolved.

Add me to the list of people who enjoys spicy food, but not so hot I want the enamel on my teeth to bubble. When you get to the point where the heat interferes with the flavor, that's too hot. My touchy stomach, depending on the day, might call it quits before my taste buds even do.

So, I like my food to bite back, just a little, but I don't want heat simply for the sake of the heat.

What's more, the food I'm eating makes a difference. I can eat Habanero Gold on a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and it can be pretty hot. On the flip side, I want just a little heat in something like chili.

Annie

I grew up with very plain cooking, some seasoning of course, but overall cooking that relied on the main ingredient for flavor. My tastes have changed over the years and now I enjoy a little hot when it's called for. I see some people use hot sauce with everything, I just can't do it. I like to taste my food, that's why I enjoy cooking and eating.

I credit the influence of friends for helping me though. Without their help I don't know that I would have ever tried many of the things I do now. My tastes seen to be changing all the time, I love it. I've really learned that you have to keep on trying. At one time I hated dill pickles. I started eating one everyday, just because it seemed like everyone in the world liked dill pickles. What was I missing? It took awhile but I now really like dill pickles. Chase sent me a jar of her wonderful dill pickles and they were really enjoyed.

When it comes to some of these food trends, think about how growing and shipping has changed. Fruits and vegetables are now available nationwide that used to be only available on a regional level. I also credit the Internet for future expanding our changing tastes.

Nancy

My mother (nearly 80) often touts to friends and relatives that I am a gourmet cook. I wince and try to brush off the characterization because I don't consider myself anywhere near. When it happened recently DH pointed out to me that from my mom's point of reference, comparing meals she's prepared all her life to what I serve regularly, the foods I cook really do seem exotic and the recipes complex.

Ironically, I would say of the two of us my mother is the more gifted cook. With few and simple ingredients she cooked wonderful stews, soups and casseroles. Her heritage is French Canadian and,try as I may, I've never been able to duplicate her Christmas meat pie (toutierre.)

I grew up in New England and wasn't introduced to hot, peppery and spicy food till my twenties. My kids love it all from sushi, to curries, to hot,hot,hot.

I posted earlier today on liking my tuna cooked through. My kids would consider that a terrible thing to do it - just as I cringe when my mom cooks her vegetables to (what I now perceive as)mush instead of serving them al-dente.

I agree with Nancy that as growing, shipping and exposure to new foods have changed, so have our tastes.

I am also intrigued by the ideas put forth in the "Some Like It Hot" book jazmynsmom referenced.

It really boils down to what do you consider spicy? My sister in law claimed her eyes watered at just the thoughts of a green chili, and when she stopped here on her way to Arizona to live, I served her a pot of chicken tomato soup to which I had added about 1/2 a 4 oz can of green chilis...I couldn't detect hot at all...just the chili flavor but she couldn't eat that soup. After a couple of years her tolerance and tastes have markedly changed!
I grew up with a grandfather of Pennsylvania German heritage who ate those round red hot peppers with everythign...just popped them like others pop a grape!
I love things hotter than some people like them, but not as hot as other people.
So what's hot? annie's Habanero Gold will make me choke if I get a piece of pepper in my mouth...but I love it!
The hot salsa in most Mexican chain places is just right to me...but that hot Chinese mustard I eat in tiny bits with great caution.
I love my hot pepper jelly ( 5 habaneros in 8 jars of jelly!) and I love the too hot corn chowder I made Sunday.
I don't think we can talk about "hot" unless we are sitting at the same table and tasting the same things.
But I do like hot things....particularly sweet-hot stuff.
Remembering a while ago drivingw ith my daughter after food shopping with my grandson in the car seat in the back....and we were nibbling on a snack mix we had just bought. Steve was wanting something to eat and we handed him another bag of a different mix....and he suddenly started asking for a drink....we had nothing to drink....and he starts really complaining, saying his mouth was burning up....hot hot!!
Water Water! But yet hes till ate! LOL!
Today he is a huge chili head!!
Hot stuff is really addictive!
Linda C

Personally I like to feel the heat twice, but DW is completely opposite. Even a sprinkling of crushed pepper will have her commenting about it - only when I completely cut it out of Chase's Scampi (yum by the way) did she begin to enjoy it. I am fine with accommodating when I can simply add heat at the end to my own plate, but sometimes it gets in the way: Forget about putting chorizo in the paella, andouille in the shrimp and grits, adobe in the mayo, etc.

I would say that if you find it getting in the way of your food choices when dining out or at friends', then try to work up a bit of a tolerance if not an appreciation. Otherwise, who cares.

I seem to remember hearing somewhere in a discussion of black pepper and the "dash of cayenne" or "dash of tabasco" that these spices enhance the flavor of other spices. I think that's what "kick it up a notch" means. But to me, that's not the same thing as burning hot food. I don't like to mix taste and a burning sensation! If I feel it in my mouth after I'm done eating it, that I don't like. I feel the same way about garlic. Once I'm done eating something, I like to be done with it! The exeption to that is good quality ice cream. I wish that mouth feel and taste sensation could go on and on, lol! That's why I'm usually forbidden to have it in the house or go near it.

I have never liked food with heat at all, mild taco bell is hot enough for me. But while I do enjoy well seasoned and complex foods, I have also come to appreciate and enjoy the simple pure taste of food prepared unadorned. I like chicken roasted with only black pepper for instance. I taste the pure chicken and not the seasonings. I like it many other ways too, of course, but simple is good.
Toasted bread with butter only, no jam or honey. Pasta with butter, that sort of thing.

I like spicy, but not so much that it masks the yummy flavor of food. For a really good yummy taste, make annie's cheddar cookies with hot pepper jelly buttons on top.

I find it difficult to believe that hot peppers are bad for your health, but I have no facts to back up my disbelief. I have heard on the radio show, The People's Pharmacy, that capsacian (sp?) actually relieves the symptoms of arthritis.

I'm with the people that like spicy and hot food, but so far I've been chicken when it comes to habaneros. I've yet to try those. But I wouldn't worry about not liking hot food. What you like is what you like, and that's okay. (Except when I'm trying to feed my dil, who doesn't like anything unless it's junk food. Arrgh!)

Sally

Quoting FOAS: Personally I like to feel the heat twice, but DW is completely opposite.

Oh Jessy, where are you??

My worst hot food experience was the first time I had sushi. I thought the green stuff next to the rolls was something like guacamole (a traditional Japanese dish, right?). I scooped it all up and ate it at once. AAAAAHH! Does anyone remember those rubber dolls where you squeezed the belly and the eyes popped out? That was me, but with steam coming out of my ears, too. Owie.

Sally,--The hot peppers are only detrimental to your health,like most things, when eaten to excess.

Habaneros have a great flavor but need to be used in very small quantities until you become acclimated to them and even then use caution. You can make a great hot sauce using habaneros,garlic,onions,carrots and vinegar.

I like exotic spices and recipes that use them but don't like "highly seasoned or hot" dishes. I use to like Indian food but can't take it anymore. I have noticed all the Food Channel Cooks use lots of hot peppers and hot spices in their recipes. And it seems to be a trend at the restaurants today. I guess I am not with it on a lot of things in regards to food anymore.
Clare