Would you like your puttanesca with a dose of red pepper flakes, your udon noodles with chili garlic sauce, your fish sandwich with tons of Tabasco? No thanks, you say? Hold the spice? Many cuisines boast a high degree of spice in their dishes—and while many eaters love hot food, whether or not they grew up with it—some people simply can’t tolerate spicy ingredients.
Though scientists don’t fully understand the biological background for liking, not liking, or merely tolerating spice, they do pinpoint our spice sensitivity to the trigeminal system, according to Popular Science. That means we register spice as a sensation—like pain!—not as a taste. In this case of spicy peppers like jalapeños, the pain comes from capsaicin.
If your goal is to have your meals taste delicious and be painless, bookmark this list and leave these spicy ingredients out of your recipes. (If you love spicy food, it’s a different challenge: try as many as you can!)
Pepper sauces
Vinegar-based hot sauces and chili pastes are some the the most popular spicy ingredients in Blue Apron dinners.
Harissa
A North African hot sauce made with garlic and oil–and hot red peppers, of course.
Red chili paste
From Southeast Asia, this paste comes already equipped with Thai flavors, like lemongrass.
Sriracha
There’s a seaside town in Thailand called Si Racha–and that’s where this beloved sauce with the rooster on the bottle originally hails from.
Tabasco
All-American Tabasco is made on Avery Island, Louisiana, delivers a slightly vinegary punch along with its heat. We love tiny Tabasco bottles!
Spicy Brassicaceae
Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi are all part of the brassicaceae family. In small quantities, even spice-haters can tolerate ginger and mustard, but ramp up the amounts and you’ll be running for a cold beer.
Wasabi
Real wasabi is related to horseradish and cabbage and delivers a short-lived heat similar to horseradish. Most of the wasabi you see in your Japanese take-out, however, isn’t actually wasabi; rather, it’s a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and food coloring.
Horseradish
Pungent horseradish is usually served grated and mixed with vinegar, as a condiment for roasts or fish. The root has a peppery punch, though the spicy feeling doesn’t last all that long in your mouth.
Whole Grain Mustard
Mustard is enjoyed worldwide, in all kinds of preparations, and with all kinds of pairings. The spiciness doesn’t always come out, however, but the warm heat comes through in large quantities, in whole grain mustard, and in mustards labeled clearly as hot.
Ginger
Ginger root can contribute a mild heat to stir-fries and teas, but using a lot of minced fresh or dried ginger will make spice-haters pucker in pain.
Mustard Powder
Like whole grain mustard, mustard powder has the warm heat of the other brassica plants–horseradish and wasabi–and is a great way to balance out rich dishes, like macaroni & cheese.
Peppercorns & chilies
In addition to heat, peppercorns and chilis can have beautiful floral and herb flavors.
Dried Thai Chilies
Thai cuisine makes fantastic use of bird’s eye chilies in noodles, soups, and stir-fries, and though fresh chilies can really enliven the dish, these whole dried peppers are easier to keep around.
Jalapeño
You probably already know the jalapeño from its frequent appearances, well, everywhere. You can actually control the heat of the medium-sized green pepper by preparing it in slightly different ways.
Peppercorns
So many recipes call for freshly ground pepper that we forget peppercorns can be more than an everyday spice. In fact, those black peppercorns, once thought of exotic because they came all the way from India, have a complex and delicious heat. So, once in a while, try using more than a sprinkle to flavor your food.
Red Chili Flakes
A pantry staple, the flakes are made of dried, pulverized red chilies–a pinch is all you need to spice up pizza, pasta, or any dish that needs a kick.
Szechuan Peppercorns
Despite their name and appearance, Szechuan peppercorns aren’t related to black, white, green or even chili peppers. But rather than spice, the peppercorns deliver a quintessential tingly menthol feeling.
Gochujang
A sweet-spicy soybean-based chili paste often used to garnish the Korean rice dish bibimbap.
Aleppo Pepper
These flakes deliver a bright, light spice, complex and slightly reminiscent of cumin.
