(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)
I’ve had a longstanding intimate relationship with spicy peppers of all varieties that began (rather unwillingly) when I was nineteen, while staying with my aunt for a period of time. She’s from Thailand and I was introduced to some of the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, since that was all she cooked for every meal. It was so flavourful, but with every mouthful, I felt like I was dying from the raging fire scorching my insides, while at the same time, my brain kept saying it’s so good, it’s so good, but it’s so spicy, it’s sooooooooo spicy hot! Prior to this, I wouldn’t add even black pepper to my food. I ran away from all things spicy.
BLACK PEPPERCORNS
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
The experience of only eating really hot food changed my perception of what spicy meant. As a result, there was no way I could eat a meal without adding some pepper to it first. It had to have some “hotness” in the mix. Cayenne chili peppers were next up and black pepper got left behind in pepper grinder dust. It wasn’t hot enough. I WANTED MORE. Later on, I moved to a place where I met people of many different cultures who introduced me to additional types of chilies. I was also able to purchase pretty much any pepper imaginable, fresh or dried. Call it Chili Pepper Heaven, Hell, or the Middle Ground between those extremes, depending on perception and choice.....
RUN! IT'S A GHOST PEPPER, IT WILL BURN YOU ALIVE WITH IT'S FIRE!
(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)
At one point, I went into this ancient and truly scary looking herbal store with row upon row of glass jars containing herbs, lining every wall and available space. I felt like I was in some other time somewhere else, rather otherworldly. But………that’s more stories for later 😉.
I chatted with the master herbalist there and developed a friendship over time. When he became aware of my interest in chilies and all things spicy, he introduced me to many kinds of chilies and other peppers. It was way beyond my imagination. The whole experience was like having chili sprinkles showered on top of the chili pepper cake with spicy icing!
At this point, I went overboard experimenting with chilies. I burned myself more times than I can count, by getting the oils on my hands and then…..OOPS, transferred to my eyes accidentally (I’ll leave the rest to your imagination). The burn was savage. Uncontrollable tears rained down for what seemed like forever. In actuality, it was around 15 – 20 minutes. It dissipated after that. The first time burning my eyes was hell. Imagine pepper spray. After that, I was more careful to not have the oils come into contact with my eyes. There’s always that rare time I forget though, even now. Why is that? I’m not paying attention to what I’m doing in the moment.
Something that occurs with eating spicy food regularly for a long enough period of time, is an ever increasing tolerance for the burn and an enjoyment of the experience. Now keep in mind, I wouldn’t even touch black pepper at the beginning. My friend had explained that eating really hot chilies, the right amount, creates this euphoric feeling in the brain. I remember thinking at the time, yeah, really, that’s interesting, but had no clue what he was talking about. I hadn’t experienced that, so I wasn’t convinced, while at the same time, I stayed open to the possibility.
One day, I was eating my lunch at work, a curry I’d made. It was one of “those” days at work. Halfway through eating, I started feeling really good, relaxed, and I realized, this is what my friend was talking about. It made the rest of my day much more pleasant, just the experience alone, since the euphoria doesn’t last for hours. I had used bird chilies in the right amount when I made the curry. Yet again, my perception of spicy changed.
BIRD CHILIES
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
This drawing was created by an old friend to add some extra spice to my chili pepper post. 😄
EDWARD'S DRAWING
There are so many chilies and peppers I have learned to appreciate, with all of their individual qualities, flavours, and varying degrees of hotness.
Red Thai Chilies are reasonably hot, but far from being the hottest peppers. They are one of my staple chilies I use frequently, both fresh and dried. There is also a green variety, identical, except for colour, and much milder in heat. These chilies have a fruity flavour that is quite pleasant.
RED THAI CHILIES
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Scotch Bonnet Chilies are quite noticeably hotter than Red Thai chilies. This is another one of my staple favourites. They can be green, yellow, orange, red, or a combo of those colours. Red ones are the spiciest. They have a fruity flavour, are slightly sweet, and oh so deliciously hot.
SCOTCH BONNET CHILIES
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Ghost Peppers are insanely hot, although they are not the most extreme. Yes, there are more intense peppers! These are fruity, sweet and slightly smoky. All flavours are nuked as soon as the heat hits, which is very quickly. I have not eaten one of these fresh, only a piece of a dried one.
GHOST PEPPERS
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Chipotle Peppers are smoked red Jalapenos. The flavour is deep, rich and smoky, with a mild heat. I use them frequently when I want to add a smoky rich flavour.
CHIPOTLE PEPPERS
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Szechwan Peppercorns have an effect like chilies, are kind of like black peppercorns without the heat, and a mild citrus flavour. They also have a slight salty quality.
SZECHWAN PEPPERCORNS
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Pink Peppercorns are actually a fruit, tiny berries, not a pepper at all. Their taste is complex, fruity and slightly floral with a mild spiciness lighter than black peppercorns.
PINK PEPPERCORNS
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
Grains of Paradise are quite unique in flavour and are a spice. There are a harmony of tastes blended together, including cardamom, ginger, light citrus and a peppery flavour similar to black peppercorns.
GRAINS OF PARADISE
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
These are only a sampling of the many varieties of chilies and peppers that exist. There is a whole spectrum of hotness and flavour to experience, providing one opens to that, while at the same time incorporating a balanced approach. Definitely avoid the eye burn! Tolerance to heat will develop with regular exposure. I’m at a point now, where I can only tell it’s really spicy if I sweat under my eyes. It’s over the top when I start spontaneously and uncontrollably drooling. That tells me I’ve taken it to my maximum tolerance, although it’s not easy for me to get to the drooling stage now. After all of this experimentation with chili peppers, I’ve settled on a preferred heat range, depending on what I’m creating, or want to accomplish. It’s a matter of finding out where you are on the spectrum and where that middle point is; harmony of balance.
TAKING A DIFFERENT DIRECTION
I decided to expand beyond food creations. I started using an extra hot ground cayenne pepper, about 160,000 Scoville heat units, topically, for muscle pain. I mixed a small amount with some water to make a paste, massaged it into the muscles for a few minutes, let it dry, and then wiped it off. Next, I applied moist heat to the area, for as long as I could tolerate it (maximum for me is around 10-15 minutes). The burn starts within a couple minutes and gets more intense, the longer the heat is applied. The heat is necessary to activate the pain relieving aspect. Primarily, capsaicin is the medicinal component in chilies. The burning sensation hits a peak, stays there around 8-10 minutes, and then decreases rapidly. Bye, bye muscle pain and not only that, release of muscular tension along with it.
It’s one of my favourites now for muscular pain, especially when time is limited. Call it the “chili pepper torture treatment”. 🤣 Not something anyone has wanted to try, for obvious reasons. There are however, many ways to extract the medicinal components from chilies and use them in preparations where the burn is not experienced. My choice has been to stick with the hot burn though. I’ve become accustomed to it.😜
(Photo with DSLR & Macro Lens by Nine)
All of this diving into experimenting with chilies and peppers began because of being in a situation where I had to accept the circumstances presented to me and work with them, like it or not. Openness to seeing chilies from a different perspective than my “normal” was absolutely necessary. I went from one extreme of wanting nothing spicy, to the other extreme of wanting it hotter and hotter. This experience taught me how to choose what pepper to use, when, and how much. I learned how to balance between extremes and that neither end of spectrum was the place to be. Chilies also showed me the importance of being present in the moment, to be aware of what I am doing, engaged in an intimate dance, such as keeping my hands away from my eyes and washing them thoroughly after chopping fresh chilies. Pain is an excellent teacher!
So, there’s quite a range to get creative with when it comes to chilies. A special favourite is dark chocolate with chili peppers.😋 I was inspired by 
NOTHING COMPARES TO CHILI INFUSED CHOCOLATE
(Hand drawing done in ink and pencil crayon by Nine)