[dschiptsov]

Ask like this: Is it a mere coincidence that so many of poorest tropical and subtropical (hot and humid climate) populations traditionally use highly spiced food? Does it strictly a tradition of making a "poor" food taste hot, or there is a connection with bacteria population?

[Aloisius]

> Ask like this: Is it a mere coincidence that so many of poorest tropical and subtropical (hot and humid climate) populations traditionally use highly spiced food? Does it strictly a tradition of making a "poor" food taste hot, or there is a connection with bacteria population?

Tradition? Capsicums are a new world crop. They didn't make much of a dent in cuisines outside of the Americas until the 18th century.

[dschiptsov]

India? Sri Lanka? Thailand?

[Havoc]

Spicy food was historically used to mask food that had gone off (e.g. meat in hot climates). I doubt that has been a relevant consideration for many decades though, so I'd attribute it to culture/tradition.

[dragonwriter]

> Spicy food was historically used to mask food that had gone off (e.g. meat in hot climates).

Spicing food has a preservative effect, which is probably a more important factor in the spread of the practice than masking food that has already gone off.