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.
> 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.
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.