So what is your preference spicy hot or taste

[customtrim]

Growing up my dad always had hot sauce or peppers around so we acquired a taste for the heat
Being older now i haved come to the point that taste is more important than the amount of heat. I still grow trinidads,habanero thai dragons and such my favorite are tobasco and cayenne. I know some will say they are wimpy but i cam make a killer salsa using those two with a red bell pepper that will take your breath away on the first bite but by the third or fourth it will be a nice mild heat with lots of flavor. My favorite tasting pepper is the big red bell straight out of the garden. So how do you prefer yours weak heat and nothing wrong with that mild or a good burn from start to finish. Anybody can make something hot thats the easy part giving it the right amount of heat with a great taste to me is more important.

[Spinaker]

I love heat. But not just heat. It has to be balanced. Anyone can make something hot. Its takes skill to make a sauce that is well balanced and really pulls the unique flavors out of each type of pepper. I love habaneros. I love the smokey heat that you get from them, especially when they are scorched. I think of them and hotter peppers like the Ghost or Scorpion varieties, similar to whiskey. Use in Moderation! When your drinking whiskey, usually, your not slamming the bottle. Your not pouring a 4 finger glass. Your pouring a 1 or 2 fingers and thats it. Hot peppers are the same way.
Sure you can eat a Ghost pepper and scream about how hot it is and how over powering it is. But the fact is they are not meant to be consumed like that. When used in moderation, they bring a wonderful heat that is bursting with a complex smokey flavor. I really love them in my Brisket chill. When I make chip chili (salsa) I like to scorch a few jalapeños, add onion, whole stewed tomatoes a touch of lime, then blend and thats it. I let the freshness of the ingredients speak. The scorched jalapeños make for some amazing heat flavor.

[Yelnoc]

1 to 2 fingers 4 times

[Spinaker]

Hahaha. Yeah or that. Yelnoc

[Craigar]

I like a lot of flavor with a kick on the backend.

[RonB]

I don't eat things because they are hot. I eat them because they taste good. I don't mind the heat - if the flavor is there.

[TheCountofQ]

A good meal is one that you just keep wanting to eat more and more of. Not a bite, drink, bite, drink, bite, drink, etc....

That being said, I really do like a savory meal with some heat, however sweating over the plate is not my thing, nor is having to put on rubber gloves just to go to the restroom.

The balance of flavor to heat is the key. Kinda commercial, but the jalapeno Cheetos really strike a good balance, IMHO. Nice pepper flavor, without the overpowering heat.

[Steve B]

I like the heat. But only with certain things. Take a steak for instance, a touch of hot is good but I want the steak flavor to shine. Eggs a little hot sauce great.
Now let's talk about wings. I like em hot to the point that people around me, well their eyes are tearing.
But as I've gotten abit older I have toned it down somewhat. When I was in my 20-30s I could eat stuff that would burn a hole in the floor. BTW I grow Carolina Reapers. The hottest pepper on the planet. Great fruity taste for the 10-15 seconds before your taste buds melt.

[customtrim]

Steve B i nevet grew the reapers i figured no one would really no the difference between a scorpion and the reapers or a butch t

[Steve R.]

Sometimes I do like some gratuitous spiciness. Flavor is the goal, but it's great if you can achieve a balance of both.

[ssandy_561]

I grow Cherry Bomb Peppers. They are the best of both worlds. They are sweet with heat. Don't let there name fool you. They are only as spicy as a mild jalapeño pepper. I love putting them in macaroni salad to kick it up a bit.

[Strat50]

I'm not really into heat for heats sake. If heat accentuates the eating quality of the food, then so be it. If it doesn't, then I don't use it. I grow many different varieties of peppers for different use; and heat is way down the list of desired qualities, usually. Balance is what is most important to me, regardless of heat, or the type of cuisine, or what I "should" do, as described by over-hyped TV chefs and so forth. You see, I use "Q" methods as grist for the mill, so to speak, in many traditional cuisines, including traditional BBQ. In other words, it's just another arrow in the quiver. No more, but no less either.

[Craigar]

Strat50 it is great to see you're back! It seems like it has been a coon's age since I have seen you hanging around.

[Strat50]

It's nice to be back. We had a few issues around here that kept me too busy to log on. Having my computer croak certainly didn't help...lol The same goes for frozen pipes(-34 and my crawlspace heater ALSO croaked!..lol ). So, it took awhile to recover.

[JCBBQ]

I love heat. On lots of things but in moderation. I know EXACTLY the point there is too much bc I start hiccoughing and can't stop

[Dr ROK]

Love the heat, but it has to have flavor or why eat it? I just make some 1 minute jalapeño "Tabasco" sauce this past weekend. It was a recipe I found when searching for pressure cooker recipes. Here's the link if anybody is interested. I've been using it on everything that can benefit from a nice tangy bite.

https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-hot-sauce/

[customtrim]

Dr ROK interesting article never used a pressure cooker to make sauce . Interesting that they used cider vinegar instead of white, curious on how that would taste and affect the heat taste. I do know pure Tabasco is way to hot for most people

[Dr ROK]

customtrim, it really turned out good. The cider vinegar seemed to give it another layer of flavor in my opinion.Didn't seem to impact heat to me.

[fuzzydaddy]

Usually I go for taste but one or twice a year, if I'm lucky, my brother gives me some of his homemade salsa. I think it is made from 3 ingredients - serrano peppers and tomatoes that he grows, and salt.

[FireMan]

My wife & some of my friends say that I'm overboard with the heat. It sounds like I'm in the camp of many here, like good heat, but with taste so it's not over powering. I don't like burn your face off hot. I'm not trying to prove something, just enjoy something with heat. Spinaker talked about moderation, and I found a spice called berberre. It is burn your lips off, but used sparingly gives a great kick of a taste.

[Spinaker]

I can't wait. This is gonna be fun!

[6th Borough BBQ]

I love heat, but the wife doesn't. So I normally go without.

[Zman23]

The two are not mutually exclusive but heat is perceived differently by individuals. What is perfect to me would blow my kids' heads off but may be too mild for others. I love heat but not just for the sake of having heat. I grow several varieties and have a decent selection of sauces. I avoid the ones with extracts.