[PheonixPharts]

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I enjoy plenty of non-spicy foods, and don't need every meal to be spicy, nor to I think that the only flavorful meals are spicy meals.

My point is exclusively with chili peppers, as the spice increases so does the flavor. I didn't grow up eating spicy food, and my experience has been that as my spice tolerance has grown overtime I have found access to increasingly wonderful flavors that are simply not present at lower spice levels.

[bb88]

That's interesting, I am curious if it's the capsaicin itself you're tasting directly.

I know I've had hot sauces that were just heat without any kind of real flavor. It's not that I couldn't taste it. I could, I just didn't want any more of it.

[dunham]

It could be quite possible that for a given pepper, the variables that increase the capsaicin also increase the flavor compounds. It is possible to separate out the flavor, I remember reading about Grant Achatz experimenting with it, but you need a rotary evaporator to pull it off.

[kevinmchugh]

Dave Arnold has also done it with a rotovap, specifically with habanero. Because he wanted all the bright flavors of habanero, without the heat.

[theultdev]

I don't think so, ghost peppers have a very rich flavor to me.

Habaneros have a sweet flavor that accompany their spice.

Serranos have a very distinct flavor as well.

Each pepper has a flavor that comes with the spice, and yeah the more spicy the pepper they more rich the flavor generally.

[marklubi]

Capsaicin itself is boring. Frankly, I think it tastes rather metallic.

Hot sauces that add it to boost their "spiciness" ratings taste awful as a result. The flavor of it stands out, and not in a good way

[thatcat]

Capsaicin is a terpene and probably enhances other terpenes. The metal taste of pure capsaicin is probably from extraction process