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Originally Posted by HenrikOlsen
Is is just me, or does there seem to be a correlation with spiciness and the general climate the dish originated in?
If so, one reason why hotter countries tend toward spicier food is that it's harder to preserve food there, so the spices where originally used to hide how close to rotten the ingredients where.
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Partially to hide the rotteness, partially to prevent it (like salt and smoking, some spices also preserve) and partially, as Gillian said, because that's where they grow.
This trend certainly seems true across Asia and the Americas. I don't know how spicy food is in Sub-Saharan Africa, though it certainly is hot, nor do I know that Aboriginal food was like in Australia.