For many years, the only cachaças available in the U.S. market were so-called industrial cachaças, and even today, they make up the bulk of Brazil’s cachaça exports. These are products run on vast column stills in tremendous quantity. Their flavors are often rough and unrefined, and they sometimes kick off aromas of petroleum or grease. Brazilian stores sell them for cheap, cheap, cheap, often for just a few dollars a bottle; they’re certainly not worth much more than that.

Chocotorta: Argentina

In the United States we celebrate birthday parties with cake, but in Argentina, it’s always the chocotorta, or “chocolate cake.” Its popularity is, in part, due to its simplicity: A tub of dulce de leche, a tub of queso crema (something like a hybrid of sour cream and cream cheese), store-bought wafer-like chocolate cookies, and brewed coffee. (Kahlua is optional if you’re after something a bit boozy.)

The chocolate wafer cookies are quickly dipped in coffee to soften and placed in a baking dish. The queso crema and dulce de leche are mixed together to form a creamy filling, and spread on top of the cookies. Then, a second layer of soaked cookies is added on top, more dulce de leche filling, more cookies, more dulce de leche, and so on. Stick the ice-box chocolate cake in the fridge to chill for a few hours, cut, and serve. It’s one of those simple desserts that ends up craveable, offering the perfect ratio of cookie to dulce de leche cream filling and a subtle hint of coffee flavor.

Cachaça—Is it rum, or is it not rum? Last week’s encyclopedic guide to rum sparked some discussion in the comments about whether or not cachaça counts as rum. I made a decision, in part out of expediency, to treat it as a separate spirit category. After all, last week’s piece was already turning into a monster. Adding a section just for cachaça might have killed me.

Before we tackle the question, I’ll explore what cachaça is, how it’s made and aged, and what it generally tastes like.

Cachaça Casks
Now, most aged liquors—rum, scotch, bourbon, cognac, and tequila, for example—are aged in oak barrels. (In some cases—bourbon and scotch, for example—there are strict laws defining what exact type of oak barrel may be used.) Some aged cachaças also spend time in oak, but not all. Other woods used include such Brazilian varieties as umburana, ipê, cedar, balsam, jatobá, freijó, and jequitibá.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR FLUFFY COUSCOUS
The only thing to remember about making perfect couscous is to cook it entirely off the heat. Bring the water to a simmer with butter and then add the couscous once the water is boiling. Let the couscous steam off the heat for about five minutes, and you’ll have perfect couscous every time.

SUGGESTIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
The seafood rub I use has cayenne pepper in it. You can adjust how spicy you like your shrimp by reducing (or increasing) the amount of cayenne. For a super spicy twist, serve this with hot sauce!

If spice isn’t your thing, skip the seafood rub. For a classic seafood flavor, you could use lemon and Old Bay on the shrimp instead.

CAN YOU SEASON THE SHRIMP AHEAD OF TIME?
You can season the shrimp up to 30 minutes in advance. More than that and the seasoning will start to pull a lot of water out of the shrimp.

CAN YOU FREEZE THE SHRIMP SKEWERS?
I don’t really recommend freezing these skewers before or after cooking them. They are best made fresh, cooked right away, and eaten right away. If you do have leftovers, they keep okay for a few days in the fridge, but I wouldn’t freeze them

Ideas for evaluating the overlooked parts of vegetables

Benefiting from all parts of autumn-winter vegetables is essential to prevent food waste and is smart for our health and palate.

We are happy to have recently found vegetables whole, from root to leaf. Now, tiny Bugs Bunny carrots are sold with their long green leaves, and celery with stems.

Buy vegetables on the stems, leaves, but separate them when storing because the leaves cause moisture loss. Cleaning root vegetables with a brush instead of using a knife prevents waste.

– Pumpkin: Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and wash in a colander. Mix olive oil, ground pepper and salt and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Use the fibrous fruit part of the pumpkin, which is usually discarded and contains the seeds, for a soft and delicious pumpkin cake after removing the seeds.

– Broccoli: Cook the broccoli with its leaves. Use the handles too. After shaving the outer surface until you remove the excess, grate it. Grated broccoli stems are ideal for a different recipe.

– Carrot: The leaves of the carrot can be slightly bitter. After blanching, that is, boil for 2-3 minutes and shocked in cold water, strain and sauté in olive oil.

– Spinach: Sure, spinach root with olive oil!

– Collard: The hard middle veins of black cabbage are usually discarded. However, you can pickle these unused parts quickly.

Where did the hot pepper come from? Why do we love it so much? What are the benefits?
Those who eat the crispy fresh. They pour the powder over all kinds of dishes, from rice to salad. It is indisputable that hot peppers have an important place in almost all cuisines of the world. Some dishes cannot be considered without pain. We know that it is also beneficial for our health. There are those who make their diet and even drink their pills.

Still, the first question that comes to mind is: why do we eat something that burns our tongue and hurts physically? What do we have, what are we talking about?

Let’s first look at its physical effects. The moment pain touches our tongue, a signal is sent to our brains that our mouth is on fire. Adrenaline is starting to be secreted, our heart beats faster. Our lips swell, our cheeks turn red. At the same time, we start to sweat as the body goes into cooling mode. Then, endorphins are spreading in our body to deal with the pain. We may be in pain, but we are excited and happy.

It is believed that eating bitter strengthens willpower in Japan. There is also the satisfaction of accomplishing the difficult. In dozens of hot pepper festivals that take place every year around the world, participants compete to eat the best. The winner is given adjectives such as the bravest, the strongest.
Let’s come to the psychological dimension of hot pepper. When experts were examining why we are suffering, they looked at events that we were instinctively programmed to stay away from. And they realized that only we humans enjoy activities that create negative feelings. Like taking a high-speed train in an amusement park and falling out of control or watching a horror movie… They call this situation “harmless masochism”. It’s harmless because we know the result will not actually be negative or bad. While our bodies are signaling danger, our minds calm things down. “Enjoy this temporary situation, there is no danger in the end,” he says. In a sense, we flirt with our limits. When it comes to eating with bitterness, over time we start eating out of pain, not despite the pain.

Jalapeño, poblano, habañero, pointed, Samandağ, ghost…

There are several theses on how it spread around the world. Thanks to the most popular Portuguese, it went from Central America to Europe, then to Asia and Africa. Pepper, which grows easily in hot climates, reached Eastern Europe in the 16th century. North America met him only in the 18th century through African slaves.

Of course, these are just a few of the thousands of varieties of hot peppers in the world. The bitterness level of each is different. According to the Scoville scale used to measure the bitterness, sweet pepper 0, peperoncini 100-500, jalapeño 2500-5000, habañero 80,000-150,000 units. Peppers such as bhut jolokia (also called ghost pepper), one of the world’s most hot peppers, and the 2.5-centimeter red pepper “scorpion butch chilli” grown in Australia are so hot that growers have to wear special masks and clothes to protect them.

Let’s talk about the use of hot pepper in the kitchen. It is certain that there are different aromas under this burning. The higher the bitterness, the harder it is to taste the pepper. When considering which pepper to use and how, we need to take into account at what point it is burning. Is the pain felt towards the end, or is it not eaten at a level that destroys all other flavors? Does it burn the tip of the tongue or the throat? All of this affects the flavor of the pain.

Barbacoa Recipe
Tacos filled with juicy, soft and tender beef coated in a savory red chile sauce that has just a tiny hint of spice and a huge hit of flavor.
Ingredients
2 lbs beef cheek, brisket, short ribs, shank, chuck roast, or mix
salt and freshly ground pepper
Marinade
3 dried guajillo peppers
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried oregano Mexican preferred
2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup beef stock low sodium preferred
1/4 cup vinegar
Consomé
1 medium onion diced
3 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1 cup beef stock low sodium preferred
To serve
12-16 4″ corn or flour tortillas or more as needed
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro roughly chopped
1 medium onion diced
1 lime cut into wedges
2-4 jalapeños sliced
Special Equipment
blender

Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil and then remove from heat. Soak your dried guajillo peppers for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cube the beef and season all sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
What to serve with barbacoa
Keep things pure and have a taco party with some other taco fillings like carnitas, al pastor, adovada, carne asada, or birria
Since you’ll have tortillas on hand, nothing beats homemade fresh fried tortilla chips
Finish off with some mexican rice
And of course, pairing anything guacamole is always the answer.
Oven-braised barbacoa
This is the same as stovetop with the bonus advantage that you don’t need to worry about it ever burning. Saute the onions over med-high in an oven proof pot such as a dutch oven, then add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and place in a 300ºF 4-6 hours, until the beef is tender and shreddable.

The “capsaicin” that makes the pepper bitter is a mysterious substance that has been the subject of research and theses. Most, contrary to popular belief, are not attached to the beans in the pepper, but to the white membrane. It is quite healthy as well as being bitter. It contains plenty of vitamins A and C. It acts as a natural air conditioner by sweating in hot weather and a vitamin storage in cold. Recent studies show that capsaicin is especially good for prostate cancer and diabetes. The cream is used to treat many diseases such as rheumatism, back pain and varicose veins. Apart from this, it is also known that hot pepper facilitates digestion and is good for colds. Metabolism works 25% faster after a meal containing hot peppers. For no reason, the dish made with hot pepper in Peru is not called “levante los muertos”, that is, “waking the dead”.

Six thousand years ago, South and Central Americans began growing the hot pepper for this merit. The bitterness also preserved their perishable food in the hot climate. Then, Christopher Columbus thought of India, the islands he reached to the West, and the hot pepper he saw there as black pepper worth gold. Therefore, this red fruit, which has nothing to do with black pepper, was called “pimiento”, which means pepper in Spanish.

1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
oil or cooking spray
salt and freshly ground pepper
2-4 shallots quartered, optional
Special Equipment
air fryer

Instructions
Prep your sprouts by washing and throughly drying. Trim the bottoms and cut in half.
Place the sprouts in the air fryer basket and lightly mist with cooking spray or toss with a small amount of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shallots, if using.
Turn the air fryer on at 400°F for 5 minutes. Shake and flip the sprouts, then set it again for 5 minutes at 400°F. At this point the sprouts will be crisp and tender with some charred leaves. Remove from the basket and enjoy!

The best air fryer?
If you’re wondering which air-fryer we have, it’s this one. I don’t know if it’s the best on the market because it’s the only one we’ve used, but it works great. It’s quiet and easy to clean and really big (which is good because you can put a lot of food in it and bad because it takes up a lot of room in our place).

Calabrese: a spicy cured pork sausage from Calabria, Italy. Bright red, rich, and robust. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.
Mortadella: a large Italian pork sausage studded with small cubes of pork fat, whole black pepper, and optionally pistachios or olives. Mortadella is soft and smooth and silky. It might remind you of baloney, but it’s nothing like baloney. Get this sliced thin.
Prosciutto: By now everyone and their grandma knows prosciutto and it’s no wonder why, it’s salty, rich, and just melts in your mouth. What’s not to love about thinly sliced cured ham?! Get this sliced thin at the deli.
Jamon (Serrano and Iberico): The Spanish version of dry cured ham. Sweet, nutty, and earthy, this delicate ham is cured longer than prosciutto and has a deeper, stronger flavor. Serrano is the more common jamon and Iberico is the more specialty, made from black Iberian pigs. Get this sliced thin at the deli.
Bresaloa: Air dry salted lean beef that’s been aged, made famous in the Lombardy region of Italy. It’s kind of like a beefy version of prosciutto, but less fatty and milder in flavor. Get it sliced thin at the deli.
Finocchiona: a Tuscan salami on the sweeter side flecked with fennel seeds. This is one of my favorites!

If going sugar free is important to you, you can sub in chili powder to taste for the chipotle peppers.

For cooking the sweet potato noodles: you’ll notice a visible texture change when they’re ready – they just sort of relax into the pan instead of being so stiff. You don’t want them to be overly mushy but you also don’t want them to be rock hard and crunchy. Somewhere in between is perfect. For me, 5-ish minutes was about right.

For cooking the corn: this can do a number on your skillet, so make sure you’re using a high quality pan – either nonstick or a really well seasoned cast iron. The idea is to DRY roast them without oil or butter. They don’t get as browned and roasty if you have to put butter or oil in the pan. Also, the less frequently you stir, the more browned they’ll get. I used a nonstick and the bottom of the pan got a little brown but washed out very easily.
I so badly wanted this salad with Cotija cheese, but alas, we didn’t have any and I was too lazy to drive out and get some. Please, someone, PLEASE add a fat handful of that crumbly, salty Cotija to this and report back. I might cry little tears of jealousy but I’ll be so happy for you.

Make the pesto by placing all of the ingredients into a powerful food processor and blending until a thick, green pesto forms. once blended, place the pesto into a pan over a medium heat.
add the chopped spinach and frozen peas and heat until the spinach has wilted. once wilted, turn off the heat and put to one side until needed.
make the white sauce by placing the tapioca flour, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard, almond milk and a pinch of salt into a pan over a medium heat, and cook until the mixture begins to bubble, continuously whisking to ensure the mixture stays smooth and doesn’t form any lumps.
continue whisking until the mixture becomes thick and elastic-like. at this point, remove from the heat and continue whisking to ensure it remains smooth – adding a dash more almond milk if it becomes too thick.
once ready to assemble the lasagne; spoon one third of the pesto mixture onto the bottom of a baking dish. top with one quarter of the white sauce and cover with one layer of lasagne sheets. repeat this process twice more, with pesto sauce, white sauce, lasagne sheets, until you have finished all of the pesto and you are left with lasagne sheets on top. top with the last of the white sauce.
sprinkle with nutritional yeast and place in the oven to cook for 35-40 minutes until bubbling and golden on top.

Make the white sauce by placing the tapioca flour, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard, almond milk and a pinch of salt into a large pan over a medium heat. cook until the mixture begins to bubble, continuously whisking to ensure the mixture stays smooth and doesn’t form any lumps. if the mixture ever becomes too thick, lower the heat and stir through some of the reserved pasta water to loosen up.
once the sauce is smooth, mix the pasta and sprouts through the sauce and spoon into a baking dish.
make the topping by placing the bread and 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast into a food processor and blending until it reaches a bread crumb like consistency.

Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook to the instructions on the pack. once cooked, drain and leave to one side.
if you’re using frozen peas, then cook them in with the pasta for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
once the pasta is cooked; drain and add the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, peas, spinach, salt and pepper.
give the whole thing a good stir before serving.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR FLUFFY COUSCOUS
The only thing to remember about making perfect couscous is to cook it entirely off the heat. Bring the water to a simmer with butter and then add the couscous once the water is boiling. Let the couscous steam off the heat for about five minutes, and you’ll have perfect couscous every time.

If spice isn’t your thing, skip the seafood rub. For a classic seafood flavor, you could use lemon and Old Bay on the shrimp instead.

CAN YOU SEASON THE SHRIMP AHEAD OF TIME?
You can season the shrimp up to 30 minutes in advance. More than that and the seasoning will start to pull a lot of water out of the shrimp.

CAN YOU FREEZE THE SHRIMP SKEWERS?
I don’t really recommend freezing these skewers before or after cooking them. They are best made fresh, cooked right away, and eaten right away. If you do have leftovers, they keep okay for a few days in the fridge, but I wouldn’t freeze them

Cook the peppers and onions: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, sliced peppers, and onions. Cook until peppers and onions start to caramelize in places, 8-10 minutes. Scoop out onto a plate and set aside.

Make the chicken and bean filling: In the same skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, the shredded chicken, and beans. Stir together until warm. Add the salt, chili powder, and cumin, and then add the salsa verde. Remove from heat.

Assemble the burritos: Wrap one 12-inch tortilla or four 8-inch burritos in a few paper towels. Microwave on high for 15 seconds to make the tortillas warm and flexible.

Then, in the lower-middle section of the tortilla, add 1/3 cup cilantro rice, 1/3 cup peppers and onions, 1/2 cup of the chicken and bean mixture, and 1/4 cup grated cheese. (If you’re using smaller 8-inch tortillas, divide these amounts evenly among the four tortillas). Tightly roll the tortilla, folding over the ends, to form a burrito. Once formed, wrap the burrito in heavy-duty aluminum foil.

If going sugar free is important to you, you can sub in chili powder to taste for the chipotle peppers.

For cooking the sweet potato noodles: you’ll notice a visible texture change when they’re ready – they just sort of relax into the pan instead of being so stiff. You don’t want them to be overly mushy but you also don’t want them to be rock hard and crunchy. Somewhere in between is perfect. For me, 5-ish minutes was about right.

For cooking the corn: this can do a number on your skillet, so make sure you’re using a high quality pan – either nonstick or a really well seasoned cast iron. The idea is to DRY roast them without oil or butter. They don’t get as browned and roasty if you have to put butter or oil in the pan. Also, the less frequently you stir, the more browned they’ll get. I used a nonstick and the bottom of the pan got a little brown but washed out very easily.
I so badly wanted this salad with Cotija cheese, but alas, we didn’t have any and I was too lazy to drive out and get some. Please, someone, PLEASE add a fat handful of that crumbly, salty Cotija to this and report back. I might cry little tears of jealousy but I’ll be so happy for you.

Calabrese: a spicy cured pork sausage from Calabria, Italy. Bright red, rich, and robust. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.
Mortadella: a large Italian pork sausage studded with small cubes of pork fat, whole black pepper, and optionally pistachios or olives. Mortadella is soft and smooth and silky. It might remind you of baloney, but it’s nothing like baloney. Get this sliced thin.
Prosciutto: By now everyone and their grandma knows prosciutto and it’s no wonder why, it’s salty, rich, and just melts in your mouth. What’s not to love about thinly sliced cured ham?! Get this sliced thin at the deli.
Jamon (Serrano and Iberico): The Spanish version of dry cured ham. Sweet, nutty, and earthy, this delicate ham is cured longer than prosciutto and has a deeper, stronger flavor. Serrano is the more common jamon and Iberico is the more specialty, made from black Iberian pigs. Get this sliced thin at the deli.
Bresaloa: Air dry salted lean beef that’s been aged, made famous in the Lombardy region of Italy. It’s kind of like a beefy version of prosciutto, but less fatty and milder in flavor. Get it sliced thin at the deli.
Finocchiona: a Tuscan salami on the sweeter side flecked with fennel seeds. This is one of my favorites!

1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
oil or cooking spray
salt and freshly ground pepper
2-4 shallots quartered, optional
Special Equipment
air fryer

Instructions
Prep your sprouts by washing and throughly drying. Trim the bottoms and cut in half.
Place the sprouts in the air fryer basket and lightly mist with cooking spray or toss with a small amount of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shallots, if using.
Turn the air fryer on at 400°F for 5 minutes. Shake and flip the sprouts, then set it again for 5 minutes at 400°F. At this point the sprouts will be crisp and tender with some charred leaves. Remove from the basket and enjoy!

The best air fryer?
If you’re wondering which air-fryer we have, it’s this one. I don’t know if it’s the best on the market because it’s the only one we’ve used, but it works great. It’s quiet and easy to clean and really big (which is good because you can put a lot of food in it and bad because it takes up a lot of room in our place).

Barbacoa Recipe
Tacos filled with juicy, soft and tender beef coated in a savory red chile sauce that has just a tiny hint of spice and a huge hit of flavor.
Ingredients
2 lbs beef cheek, brisket, short ribs, shank, chuck roast, or mix
salt and freshly ground pepper
Marinade
3 dried guajillo peppers
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried oregano Mexican preferred
2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup beef stock low sodium preferred
1/4 cup vinegar
Consomé
1 medium onion diced
3 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1 cup beef stock low sodium preferred
To serve
12-16 4″ corn or flour tortillas or more as needed
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro roughly chopped
1 medium onion diced
1 lime cut into wedges
2-4 jalapeños sliced
Special Equipment
blender

Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil and then remove from heat. Soak your dried guajillo peppers for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cube the beef and season all sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
What to serve with barbacoa
Keep things pure and have a taco party with some other taco fillings like carnitas, al pastor, adovada, carne asada, or birria
Since you’ll have tortillas on hand, nothing beats homemade fresh fried tortilla chips
Finish off with some mexican rice
And of course, pairing anything guacamole is always the answer.
Oven-braised barbacoa
This is the same as stovetop with the bonus advantage that you don’t need to worry about it ever burning. Saute the onions over med-high in an oven proof pot such as a dutch oven, then add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and place in a 300ºF 4-6 hours, until the beef is tender and shreddable.

The “capsaicin” that makes the pepper bitter is a mysterious substance that has been the subject of research and theses. Most, contrary to popular belief, are not attached to the beans in the pepper, but to the white membrane. It is quite healthy as well as being bitter. It contains plenty of vitamins A and C. It acts as a natural air conditioner by sweating in hot weather and a vitamin storage in cold. Recent studies show that capsaicin is especially good for prostate cancer and diabetes. The cream is used to treat many diseases such as rheumatism, back pain and varicose veins. Apart from this, it is also known that hot pepper facilitates digestion and is good for colds. Metabolism works 25% faster after a meal containing hot peppers. For no reason, the dish made with hot pepper in Peru is not called “levante los muertos”, that is, “waking the dead”.

Six thousand years ago, South and Central Americans began growing the hot pepper for this merit. The bitterness also preserved their perishable food in the hot climate. Then, Christopher Columbus thought of India, the islands he reached to the West, and the hot pepper he saw there as black pepper worth gold. Therefore, this red fruit, which has nothing to do with black pepper, was called “pimiento”, which means pepper in Spanish.

Jalapeño, poblano, habañero, pointed, Samandağ, ghost…

There are several theses on how it spread around the world. Thanks to the most popular Portuguese, it went from Central America to Europe, then to Asia and Africa. Pepper, which grows easily in hot climates, reached Eastern Europe in the 16th century. North America met him only in the 18th century through African slaves.

Of course, these are just a few of the thousands of varieties of hot peppers in the world. The bitterness level of each is different. According to the Scoville scale used to measure the bitterness, sweet pepper 0, peperoncini 100-500, jalapeño 2500-5000, habañero 80,000-150,000 units. Peppers such as bhut jolokia (also called ghost pepper), one of the world’s most hot peppers, and the 2.5-centimeter red pepper “scorpion butch chilli” grown in Australia are so hot that growers have to wear special masks and clothes to protect them.

Let’s talk about the use of hot pepper in the kitchen. It is certain that there are different aromas under this burning. The higher the bitterness, the harder it is to taste the pepper. When considering which pepper to use and how, we need to take into account at what point it is burning. Is the pain felt towards the end, or is it not eaten at a level that destroys all other flavors? Does it burn the tip of the tongue or the throat? All of this affects the flavor of the pain.

It is believed that eating bitter strengthens willpower in Japan. There is also the satisfaction of accomplishing the difficult. In dozens of hot pepper festivals that take place every year around the world, participants compete to eat the best. The winner is given adjectives such as the bravest, the strongest.
Let’s come to the psychological dimension of hot pepper. When experts were examining why we are suffering, they looked at events that we were instinctively programmed to stay away from. And they realized that only we humans enjoy activities that create negative feelings. Like taking a high-speed train in an amusement park and falling out of control or watching a horror movie… They call this situation “harmless masochism”. It’s harmless because we know the result will not actually be negative or bad. While our bodies are signaling danger, our minds calm things down. “Enjoy this temporary situation, there is no danger in the end,” he says. In a sense, we flirt with our limits. When it comes to eating with bitterness, over time we start eating out of pain, not despite the pain.

Where did the hot pepper come from? Why do we love it so much? What are the benefits?
Those who eat the crispy fresh. They pour the powder over all kinds of dishes, from rice to salad. It is indisputable that hot peppers have an important place in almost all cuisines of the world. Some dishes cannot be considered without pain. We know that it is also beneficial for our health. There are those who make their diet and even drink their pills.

Still, the first question that comes to mind is: why do we eat something that burns our tongue and hurts physically? What do we have, what are we talking about?

Let’s first look at its physical effects. The moment pain touches our tongue, a signal is sent to our brains that our mouth is on fire. Adrenaline is starting to be secreted, our heart beats faster. Our lips swell, our cheeks turn red. At the same time, we start to sweat as the body goes into cooling mode. Then, endorphins are spreading in our body to deal with the pain. We may be in pain, but we are excited and happy.