I found a new trusty mate to just ask questions and get instant answers. how ever wrong they might be;
I will tell you one thing. I am learning to distrust AI answers less and less.
User
lets talk food and spices ok?
ChatGPT
Absolutely, let's dive into the delicious world of food and spices! Is there a specific cuisine, dish, or spice you're interested in? Or perhaps you'd like to know about the use of spices in various dishes or how to pair them with different ingredients?
User
no, I want to ask the following;
Can you please teach me if there is a vocabulary, and if so what is, distinction between food that has a lot of spices (or also herbs) added but is not hot to the tongue and food that might be bland but is on the Scoville scale level up.
ChatGPT
Certainly! The distinction you're asking about involves the concepts of "spiciness" or "heat" in food, which often get conflated but actually refer to different culinary sensations and ingredients.
Spices and Herbs: Flavorful but Not Necessarily Hot
Spices and Herbs: These are used to enhance the flavor, aroma, and color of food. Spices come from the bark, root, buds, seeds, berry, or fruit of tropical plants and trees, while herbs are usually the leaves of plants that do not have a woody stem. When we say a dish is "spicy" in the context of being full of spices or herbs, we're referring to its rich, complex flavors and aromas. This doesn't necessarily mean the dish is "hot" to the taste. For example, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, and basil can make a dish spicy in terms of flavor complexity but not in terms of heat.
Heat: Measured by the Scoville Scale
Scoville Scale: This scale measures the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers and other spicy foods. The heat is caused by compounds called capsaicinoids, with capsaicin being the most prevalent. Foods high on the Scoville scale are "hot" or "fiery" and can cause a burning sensation in the mouth.
Vocabulary Distinction
Flavorful but Not Hot: Dishes or ingredients that are rich in spices and herbs but not capsaicin-based can be described as "aromatic," "herbaceous," "savory," or "spiced." These terms suggest a depth of flavor without implying heat.
Hot but Might Be Bland: Conversely, a dish could be technically high on the Scoville scale due to the presence of capsaicin but not have much complexity in its flavor profile. Such dishes might be described as "hot," "fiery," "spicy," or "piquant." In this context, "spicy" refers specifically to the sensation of heat, not the variety of spices.
Conclusion
It's important to make a distinction between the complexity of flavors provided by non-capsaicin spices and herbs and the physical sensation of heat that comes from capsaicin. A dish can be richly spiced without being hot, and a dish can be hot without offering a wide range of flavors. When describing food, specifying whether it's "flavorfully spiced" or "hot/spicy" can help clarify this distinction.
{1}oops I blundered again. I failed to make that damned Ai focus on the common language usage. But I will let it go now. I have seen enough{/1}
