It’s been almost ten years since I posted Why Sriracha Hot Sauce tastes good. In it I wrote:

Did you ever wonder why it tasted so good?

Here’s the answer: It’s twenty percent sugar!

Out of 100 grams, 20 grams are sugar.

Sure, you only have a few grams at a time, so a serving doesn’t have a lot of calories, but that’s a high percent of sugar for when I want something spicy.

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Progress report on enjoying food over doof

I don’t think I’ve tasted it in the decade since. Then in my volunteer work salvaging food that would be thrown away, I ended up with a jar to deliver. It had been opened, so I had a chance to taste it. It’s been years since I’ve eaten something with added sugar more than once a month or season.

Holy cow did it taste sweet! Cloyingly, disgustingly sweet, like it disrespected the peppers by the sugar’s sweetness overpowering the peppers’ heat.

The experience reminded me of when, years ago, a neighbor mentioned he didn’t like the taste of ice cream any more. I figured sweetness and creamy texture still sent signals to the pleasure center of the brain, so I asked, to clarify: “You mean it tastes good, but you still don’t eat it, right?”

I was surprised at the time that he said he didn’t like the taste. He didn’t try to avoid it. Avoiding it took no willpower. He just didn’t like it.

I didn’t believe him at the time. Some time later, I noticed I didn’t find ice cream appealing. Enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables had led my taste system to max out on them. That is, eating them gave me so much pleasure, I couldn’t imagine more. In comparison, ice cream felt like it would lead outside the range of pleasure.

I learned he wasn’t lying. I had come to where he was. I’m glad he shared that feeling with me, since I may taken longer to recognize my distaste for it otherwise, after all, I had loved ice cream since before I could remember. I overcame my addiction through hands-on practical experience.

Now I don’t require willpower to not eat ice cream, no matter how much of what flavor is offered. I joke that there isn’t enough money in the world to get me to eat any.

I’m pleasantly surprised to find Sriracha sauce too sweet now. It’s cheaper and more convenient to chop up habanero peppers, sprinkle a little salt on them, and let them ferment in a jar, then use small amounts. Sriracha has become doof to me.

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