Did you know that people have been using hot spices in their meals and recipes for more than 6,000 years?
So booking a day to celebrate these spices doesn't seem that bad. After all, our diet would be pretty boring without them, right?
International Hot and Spicy Foods Day is celebrated every year on 16th January.
There are so many different types of spices that are used to create hot and spicy foods today. This includes everything from hot chilli powder to paprika and cumin. Today is all about celebrating these spices.
History of spicy food
Hot and spicy food has been adored for so long because it tastes incredible, but also because it offers a number of different health benefits as well. The use of hot spices has been traced back to recipes that are as old as 6,000 years.
Health benefits of spices
Spices can help to kill bacteria. The likes of turmeric and cumin have been shown to have powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This means that they can be effective in terms of fighting any of the harmful bacteria in your body. Spices can also assist in fighting inflammation too.
In Ayurvedic medicine, the inflammatory properties of garlic and ginger have been utilized for many centuries as a treatment for a number of different conditions, such as headaches, autoimmune disorders, and arthritis.
Spicy foods can also help to speed your metabolism up. There has been data drawn from a number of different studies that show that certain species, like pepper chilies, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin are able to slow down your appetite and increase your metabolic resting rate.
Know about different cuisines that are hot and spicy
When we think about hot and spicy food, we tend to think about Asian cuisine.
Chillies and variety of spices are used in Indian, Chinese, and Thai cuisines.
Indian cuisine is known for using peppers, green chillies and red chillies , while in spices- cloves, cardamoms, cumin.
While Chinese cuisine is famous for using all kinds of chillies like pickled chilies, fresh chillies, dry chillies; they are all incorporated.
Different chillies
There are different chilies that are available around the world, including Carolina Reapers, Ghost Peppers, Habanero, Red Cayenne Pepper, Serrano, Guajillo, Poblano, Peppadew, and much more.
They all bring a different level of heat and a different type of flavor to dishes.
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