Why is piquant/spicy food so popular?

Abstract

The desire for piquant/spicy food has grown phenomenally over the last 500 years or so. In this review, I summarize the literature on this most intriguing of oral sensations, and summarize various explanations for why it may have become so liked by so many peoples around the world in recent years. A number of alternative hypotheses for the rise in popularity of this plant/fruit have been put forward and are briefly discussed. These include the masochistic/thrill-seeking hypothesis, the antimicrobial hypothesis, the thermoregulation/salivation-induction hypotheses, and medicinal/health/diet-based accounts.

The third dimension of flavor: A chemesthetic approach to healthier eating (a review)

“…Chemesthetic sensations are a protective mechanism, part of the somatosensory system rather than localized to one sense organ, and are an integral part of the mammalian pain and warning system (Dalton & Byrnes, ; Rozin & Schiller, ). Unlike the chemoreception of tastants and odorants, which act on gustatory receptors on the tongue and olfactory receptors on the olfactory epithelium, respectively, chemesthetic stimuli act on the pain, temperature, and touch receptors in the oral region to elicit sensations such as burning, warmth, heat, cooling, and fizziness (Carstens et al, ; Spence, ; Yang & Zheng, ). Thus, chemesthesis is unique from gustation and olfaction in that it encompasses a wide array of sensations to convey information about the food or beverage being consumed, including texture, temperature, and consistency of the food, in addition to the irritating sensation (Auvray & Spence, ; Delwiche, ).…”

“…The spiciness of chili peppers has been an important part of flavor in other, ancient food cultures, such as Asian cuisines and Latin American cuisines, for thousands of years (Lembeck, ; Spence, ). In contrast, traditional American (United States) cuisine is typically rather low in spiciness (chemical heat) and high in meats, dairy, and simple carbohydrates (What we eat in America food categories, ).…”

“…Spiciness (trigeminal heat) as a weight management strategy (Berridge & Fentress, ; Carstens et al, ; Delwiche, ; Dessirier, O'Mahony, & Carstens, ; Dessirier, Simons, Sudo, Sudo, & Carstens, ; Golzarand, Toolabi, & Aghasi, ; Green, ; Janssens, Hursel, Martens, & Westerterp‐Plantenga, ; Janssens, Hursel, & Westerterp‐Plantenga, ; Kostyra, Baryłko‐Pikielna, & Dąbrowska, ; Lawless & Stevens, ; Ludy & Mattes, ; Prakash & Srinivasan, ; Rozin, ; Spence, , ; Spence & Wang, ; Tremblay, Arguin, & Panahi, ; Urbina et al, ; Whiting, Derbyshire, & Tiwari, , ; Yoshioka et al, )…”

“…Unfortunately, long‐term exposure to spicy foods, as frequent spicy consumers exemplify, leads to chronic desensitization, which increases the chemical heat tolerance and decreases the perceived burning sensation from the same stimulus, so a higher level of chemical heat is required to reach the same effect (Carstens et al, ; Dessirier et al, ; Green, ; Spence, ). Thus, the sensitization aspect of spiciness does not reduce the eating rate of frequent chili users (chili likers) as effectively as it does for infrequent users (chili dislikers).…”

“…It is commonly thought that the initial human response humans to chemical irritants is innately aversive, but that liking of chemical irritants, such as chili pepper, can be acquired and learned by association to concurrent flavors or satiety, or via pharmacological feedback, such as increased release of endorphins and possibly the release of endogenous opioids (Byrnes & Hayes, ; Carstens et al, ; Dalton & Byrnes, ; Kawakami et al, ; Lawless, Rozin, & Shenker, ; Rozin, ; Rozin & Kennel, ; Rozin & Schiller, ; Spence, ). It is also argued that humans enjoy the thrilling sensation of constrained risks, which applies to the enjoyment of spicy foods and other trigeminally irritating ingredients (Carstens et al, ; Rozin, ).…”