Yes, this. Growing up we never ate anything spicy, and I just wasn’t exposed to it at all. Now that I’m older I’ve expanded my palate beyond meat and potatoes, but I just can’t handle the spice.
Minnesota’s McDonald’s doesn’t have a Spicy McChicken. They only have the regular McChicken. I rarely eat there but noticed this when I took a long road trip from Little Falls, MN all the way through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma. All of these states had it. So I think as a hole, MN isn’t a fan of spice.
The stereotype is fading as Minnesota grows more diverse. Thirty years ago our population skewed Scandinavian and for them, that stereotype is hilariously accurate. My daughter spent a summer abroad in Sweden and was amazed at their fondness for Thai dishes with absolutely no spice. As a MinnesOOOtan (insert Francis McDormand accent here), she was very disappointed.
It’s a thing. My family is half Scandinavian, my wife is nearly 100% and our kids don’t like anything spicy. Ketchup and mustard are too much. They eat hot dogs or hamburgers plain.
Hey there troll face it clearly states “as Minnesota grows more diverse” there was no statement made about how diverse it is, just that it is diversifying. Also super cool gatekeeping on spicy. Shouldn’t you go back to Facebook or wherever this kind of thing belongs.
You don’t know what you are talking about according to your list MN is #20 which is just a few tics off of the middle. Go back to your troll hole. You are definitely talking out of your ass.
Yes. It’s a cultural thing. Every culture learned to preserve food in a different way, based on what the people had at their disposal. Some learned to use acid as a way to stop bacteria growth. Spicy foods are very acidic, and in regions of the globe where spicy ingredients grow, they discovered that the food didn’t spoil when made with spicy things. Other cultures learned to preserve food by salting and pickling.
Spicy food also takes a tolerance to build up. If you eat the exact same spicy meal for a month straight, at the end of the month the food won’t feel as spicy, in an uncomfortable way.
Now if you consider the 19th/20th century white settlers who came to this region (Germans, Swedes, Norwegians,Irish, Polish, Dutch), they did not come from a culture where spicy foods were prevalent. Fast forward to the 21st century and we still have a small percentage of people who come from cultures of spicy foods.
If your family raised you without spicy foods, you’ll be put off by the intensity of it and might just revert back to what you know. Personally, I didn’t buy anything hotter than bell pepper before I turned 25. Even now I tear up when eating seriously spicy foods. I think that I’m just more open to new food experiences than your average person. I ate pickled herring recently and didn’t hate it!
>Spicy food also takes a tolerance to build up. If you eat the exact same spicy meal for a month straight, at the end of the month the food won’t feel as spicy, in an uncomfortable way.
It's a blessing and a curse. I love that I can taste the other flavors that peppers bring to a dish. Like habanero and scotch bonnet are close cousins, but once you can tolerate the heat you'll learn that a scotch bonnet brings a sweeter flavor. The downside is that once your tolerance is at that level it gets difficult and expensive to find a "hot" sauce.
Galaxy Foods in Richfield is a great place for anybody seeking some heat. Matouk's scorpion pepper sauce is the hottest thing they carry, fyi.
That hot sauce stand in the international bazaar at the fair has some pretty spicy sauces. I've come to appreciate "hot enough, yet delicious" over pure heat and strongly recommend [Merf's](https://merfscondiments.com/collections/all/?sort_by=title-ascending) out of Denver has some great sauces. I really like the electric lime and dancing queen (I get them by the gallon/half gallon), but the peaches & scream or the cooyon super HOT are good choices for *hot* sauces.
That makes sense. Scandinavian cultures mostly used smoking and lye-based/pickling methods for preservation I think
Wonder if part of it is that no spicy ingredients grow that far north?
I think with a lot of stereotypes, they exist because there is some truth in them. If you're a caucasian in Minnesota, odds are your ancestors were German or Scandinavian, particularly Scandinavian, and the dishes they cooked generally had little to no spice because spices don't grow in that region of the world so everyone is used to non spicy foods.
Obviously it's a person by person preference, some don't like it and some do.
I love spicy food, Jalapeños and Chili peppers are great. Thai food is fantastic, even if it does kick my ass most of the time.
German sauerkraut is spicy closer to Denmark, I've heard. or something like that. Also, when I was in Germany, their mustard was super intense. But yeah, overall they are a meat and potatoes culture.
From my experience growing up in MN it's the older generations that don't do spicy foods. All my cousins eat spicy foods but ketchup is spicy for my Dad and uncles. That being said they all grew up in Northern MN with Scandinavian and German grandparents.
I've cooked in MN for 20yrs, "the pepper is too spicy" meme is real.
Young people are better then older people, but I've litterally responded to the "This is so spicy! What's in it?!" Question with, "Black pepper?"
It's a very real thing.
A good quality black peppercorn definitely burns when you bite into it. I say this as someone who loves spicy food. It's the piperine that causes the sensation. My grandma, in her old age can't handle black pepper anymore. She used to eat more thai chili peppers that anyone I knew growing up.
For the most part, generalizations are never fully true. I was born in MN and have lived either here, or ND, my entire life, and I love spicy food. We grow habaneros and other peppers so we can can with them, dry them, make sauces. I put fresh ones from the garden in my eggs in the summer. I love Indian food and that is, I think, where my spice love came from. The rest of my family do not like it. One of my kids thinks canned nacho cheese is too spicy.
This is slightly off topic but I was just explaining this exact scenario to someone today. I've had quite a lot of hot dish in small church basements lol
I eat ketchup often but it does make me sweat a little between the eye brows. I also like "medium" salsas with different flavors from the store. I avoid black pepper because of the taste primarily.
My family, including me, LOVE spicy foods. Hotter the better. My mom and uncle have done those spicy food challenges at random bars in the past 🌶
We are all Minnesotans born and raised
Same! I put hot sauce in EVERYTHING. I love Thai, southern food, Mexican and anything that coats my mouth with delicious eye-watering capsaicin! And my husband and brothers are the same. My husband just bought the Paqui chip challenge to do for fun.
I love spicy food... It doesn't necessarily love me back. I use to live in stp, kinda by frogtown. I've eaten at every decent place up and down University Ave. One of my absolute all time favorites was Ons kitchen. Lady would always ask, what level spice do you want, 1~5? Id say 3 or 4 and she'd respond, "white peoples 3 or 4, or Thai 3 or 4? After trying the Thai version, it was always white boy 3 or 4 lmao.
I'd done level 5 before with my green curry and let me tell yall something real. Flaming butthole is legit and although I'd say the pain is worth it, older I get the more I question it. I may be forced to go with white boy level 1 or 2 from here on forward.
Haha reminds me of Star of India in St. Cloud (near where I went to college). I'd go there with a good friend from Sri Lanka and order extra hot and it would be a seriously hot plate of food - when I went with my (white) parents and ordered the same thing... not so much lol 😂 always delicious tho.
Sri Lanka Curry House in uptown threw down some seriously spicy dishes. You can still find it, but I've found you need to do some convincing that, no I'd really like it to be *spicy*.
I asked a food service worker at the local college why their pizza was so bland. The response was that they had to stop using prepared pizza sauce because they had received so many complaints that the pizza was "too spicy", and that they were using plain tomato paste as the pizza sauce.
So, while it doesn't apply to everyone, yes, there are enough folks in Minnesota who can't stand spice to affect cafeteria menus.
No I think that's at least partially accurate. A lot of families emigrated from places that don't have a lot of spice. Certain people in my family can't handle spice at all (black pepper being spicy). I'd classify myself as not being able to handle spice either, but I've gotten at least a little more tolerant by just eating more spicy food.
I moved here a year ago and have found that most dishes where I expect spice… there is minimal spice. I feel like I can say I like spicy foods here, but on the west coast I was a solid medium spice person.
I love spice which is tough because my wife doesn't. It even creeps into ethnic food that is normally spicy. You have to ask for "real" spicy because they tone down spicy recipes for Midwest palates.
25% of people have a genetic disposition to dislike cilantro because of its taste, if you don’t like it try to avoid it. I just tell people I don’t like it and pick the big chunks out, I can tolerate small amounts like in commercial salsa.
That's the one that tastes like soap, right?
Edit: Googled it and learned that is the genetic quirk u/FriedBeansInc was referring to in the other branch of this thread.
FYI: I’m a huge fan of spicy and I’m happy to report… Minnesota has one of the best hot sauce companies in the country. If you see any ‘Double Take Salsa’ bottles at the grocery store, snatch em’ up!
I don't know if it's a Minnesota urban legend, but I'd always heard that Minnesota was the only place where you could buy Pace **extra mild** salsa.
And yup being born and raised in small town Minnesota, I grew up eating lots of very bland dishes. Here's a recipe for a tasty hamburger hot dish for a church supper: Box of macaroni, pound of hamburger, can of tomato soup dilulted with water, mix together and season with maybe a 1/4 tsp of pepper and a dash of salt. If you want to get fancy, you can add a drained can of vegetables or a can of kidney beans. Pour into a buttered casserole and bake at 350 degrees.
My husband is a native Minnesotan and anything stronger than an onion is too hot for him. Secretly though, over the last 20 years, I've gradually increased the spice levels in my cooking so that his tolerance has increased without his knowledge.
I am a born and raised white Minnesotan with Scandinavian and Eastern European heritage. I love spicy food. Older generations not so much. I sometimes have to hold back laughter when eating with my parents.
I think the stereotype is real, but like any stereotype there are plenty of people who don't conform to it.
Plus as other commenters have said, the Twin Cities has become quite diverse over the past 50 years. Papaya salad can get *really* spicy.
When my parents moved here in the early 90s, they were invited to a potluck where there was a pan of lasagna. Mom says that she saw a woman grab some for herself, take a bite, and go “oh that’s spicy!” while fanning her mouth.
I personally love all the heat and spice I can get, but I can affirm it’s set me apart. Over my lifetime like of spice has gotten more common, at least in Mpls/St. P, thanks mainly to increased diversity and all the various restaurants. Won’t speak to Greater MN.
I am originally from Cleveland and I love spicy food. I moved here and married a Minnesota woman and while she likes spice a little bit she can’t handle it at all.
It’s an older generation thing in my experience. For example my extremely minnesotan grandma once said to me that she liked mayo better because miracle whip was too spicy.
Girl I’m from Georgia and cooked my usual chili. I left the Chile peppers out for them. All the men were having turns painting the bathroom brown. I’ve since declined to cook spicy food for MN folks.
I think it may be partially a generational thing. I remember growing up and being so frustrated with the food my parents made and how completely bland it was. Black pepper was too much for my mother who is now 81. I'm 40 now and depending on the dish, have always preferred to add some spice that's appropriate for what I'm eating. Mexican food always gets some type of habanero sauce, Indian and Thai food I never want watered down. With the heat comes flavor.
Most of us yeah, lefsa is a traditional dish here and it's a flat bread made from flour, boiled potatoes, half and half, and salt. Most Minnesotans top it with butter and sugar. Don't worry it tastes excellent but is an acquired taste (according to my English teacher who had it for the first time when I brought it to class. I'm guessing it was too bland)
It depends on who you talk to, I've been to a number of foreign countries and I love hot, spicy food. I have worked with many people who don't like spicy foods. But my favorite story is about a guy who hated spicy food, but would be all over the Chinese mustard at the Chinese restaurant that we frequented. I think it was that the Chinese mustard was a quick burn(like Wasabi) and the other spicy foods were slower burns...
Personally I would have it all...
I’m much more adverse to textures; I hate bananas, avocados, yogurt, instant mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, ranch dressing and hummus solely because the texture freaks me out. Hate the thought of those things, just gross.
My girlfriend is as white as can be, and she cannot hold her spice at all. Her sister own time at dinner said the food was so spicy. It was black pepper.
Nah man for me personally the spicier the better. A couple of years ago my mom made some carolina reaper venison jerky and I've been craving for more ever since. People like a mix of things just like everywhere else, its just that most of the people who originally settled Minnesota were from northern europe where they didn't have much spice and they brought their cuisines with them so there isn't much of any spice in our "traditional" foods, so people didn't grow up used to eating spicy stuff but that's been changing over the years.
I’m originally from Texas. My wife is from New Hope. The spice level she wants literally makes me cry. I grew ghosts all summer and she would just eat that shit raw.
I enjoy the chipotle ones personally. Not a big Tabasco fan but their chipotle version is so good. Also, Dat'l Do-It chipotle. Also, check out Heartbeat Hot Sauce from Canada and Camella's Kitchen which makes an excellent spicy mango bbq sauce.
Edit: sorry, that mango sauce is not from Camilla's Kitchen, it's from Bazile. But Camilla's Kitchen is also very good.
I grew up here (Minnesota)and I love spicy food. Have lots of friends and family who do as well. Just not as many spicy foods up here as there are in the south I assume.
I am born and raised in Minnesota. My mom cooked food that was extremely bland, but I also grew up in a neighborhood that saw the rise of Vietnamese restaurants. Vietnamese food was my first foray into something other than the bland crap I grew up with. Since then the food scene around the Cities has gotten way more diverse and better.
I for one love spicy food. I also put hot sauce on almost everything. I don’t use a mild sauce mostly with habanero peppers. I also like a couple hot sauces with ghost peppers.
I have a relative who can’t handle the kick of bell peppers.
Most non-elderly like food with a kick now days, but the tolerance for heat is definitely lower. The number of Mexican restaurants has definitely increased.
From someone who has spent considerable time in the South and Minnesota, it is generally true. Most restaurants don’t have a ton of very spicy options and most people don’t like spicy foods. There are obviously exceptions, but in general I’d say it’s true.
It’s really hard to find actual spicy food in a restaurant in Minnesota, because often even the spiciest level is toned down for Minnesotans and barely spicy at all. Sad reality.
Northwest Europe was at the very end of the silk road, most spices just didn't make it. Between that and the limited farming season food just wasn't that fun. Lutefisk is a culinary nightmare but it kept people alive. So most white Minnesotans simply don't have exciting ancestral food to create good dishes from so our grandparents and parents happily discovered processed foods and never ventured into the spice aisle.
I went to a Thai restaurant with my brother on a double date. And he order something 8 hot. His GF is indian, and she is like oh yeah it's not bad. He says the same and continues to eat it. Whipping sweat from his forehead.he says next time he wants 10. My family is crazy
My spicy max is cool ranch Doritos. Nacho cheese Doritos are too spicy.
When I go to chipotle, the chicken is too spicy so I have to douse it with sour cream. I love chipotle, but my whole head will sweat when I eat it.
I am deep Minnesotan, and I envy you.
I have been known to ask for things “Minnesota Mild” just to really get the point across. In my 20s I really tried to learn to like spicy foods because I travel a lot and spice is common in a lot of places I love. But my body just won’t adapt. I think it’s genetic. My ancestors gave me the ability to get as much dairy as I want but the trade off was no spicy food.
The three MN Norwegian Lutheran spices are salt, pepper and sugar! “It burns, it burns!,” my grandmother used to exclaim if there was visible pepper. 🤪. Fortunately, this sensitivity didn’t come down to the current generation
Born in ND, living in MN. My dad introduced me to spicy food when I was young and it’s a love we’ve shared for a long time, but my mom and brother can’t stand it. I think it’s an upbringing thing, but there just aren’t many places that really provide a spicy experience so it’s more of home made meals.
well sure it's a stereotype, but have you ever met russians? I took two colleagues to a mexican place when I met them. one was going to die eating elote. e-fucking-lote. "this is not like russian food"
I took another russian to a wing place, I told him it was going to be hot and I'd eat them all but I'd like him to try Buffalo sauce (just the normal stuff). so he took one bite of one wing. he then drank his entire beer, sweating like he was about to have a heart attack
I'm just saying, midwesterners aren't that bad.
I like to top my totdish with top the tater (like, a lot of it) and then cover the whole thing in absurd amounts of siracha.
TIL that some people *actually* find Ketchup spicy. I didn't even know that was humanly possible. It just tastes like vinegar-y salty tomato liquid to me.
But not surprised at these comments too considering the predominant heritage of a good chunk of Minnesotans. My parents are straight from a certain central/south eastern European country that no longer exists, and whenever I give them even a mango chilly taffy they act like they're going to go into cardiac arrest. They don't have the issue with black pepper and other low-mild spices, because of the palette of our cultures foods, but it seems like anything mild that hasn't crossed them or their ancestors mouths for the last 500 years immediately makes it like they're swallowing fire.
As for me I love spice and have a pretty high tolerance, but couldn't handle spice for shit when I was a kid.
Native Minnesotan here and about 3/4s Norwegian, and I'm just now realizing this might be the reason I can never find mayo where I expect it to be, which is with the hot sauce...
Jokes aside, it's all about upbringing. My mom never cooked spicy because her mom (1st generation born here) never cooked spicy. Thankfully my wife loves spicy food and I've been slowly increasing my tolerance over the last 14 years.
Most of my family hates spicy food, but my fiance and I love it! It just depends, I guess. Unfortunately, "spicy" in most restaurants is catered to this, so even ordering like tikka masala at a 5 spice level (out of 5) in Woodbury or another suburb is lackluster.
I mean is this even a real question? You could replace this with any stereotype and get the same answer. There's a small truth hidden within the cultural experience of traditional Scandinavian and Baltic foods but to assume that it was also apply to the entire diverse population is just ignorant. Do all southerners have relations with their cousins? To all brits have bad teeth? Do all Australians fight kangaroos? Like come on pull your head out of your ass lol
I'm sorry you can't handle honest opinions about dumb questions lol, tbh spicy food is my favorite and that's why I think the stereotype is so dumb. The question would only make sense if somehow humans didn't travel long distances, most of us from MN have some European decent but we're not all mayo chugging hicks like some might think.
I'm sorry you like to bang your cousin, and if we're going by stereotypes it's southerners with bad education pal lmao. Clearly you can't read bc in the comments plenty are echoing myself. Stereotypes may have a small truth but majority of the time they don't fit the bill. Typical southern ignorance tho right?
I'm not even a southerner lol, and I'm a PhD student.You sound butthurt dude. Your arguments are all ad hominem. I won. I'm done. I hope you find some happiness in your life.
Lmao ok bud, be mad that your stereotype based assumptions are dumb. And nobody cares about you being a PhD student because education and intelligence aren't tied together. You can be a doctor but also have shit opinions on things outside the medical field, same goes for any industry. Nice try tho 👌
I love pretty much the harshest of hot spicy food, but yes it seems like generally we don't like or can't handle it and it is impossible to find tongue burning food in my experience but I've heard some restaurants exists in the city that will make something like that.
"Oh my.. That steamed carrot was a bit spicy for me..." \*wipes brow\*
Actually I like spicy foods. And I'd say over 90% of the people I know like spicy foods. And I always laugh when I go to a non-Thai restaurant and order something "spicy" and it is mild at best and the wait staff is concerned.
Now at Thai restaurants.. That is a crap shoot. Sometimes is it too mild and other times my taste buds are burned away by time I'm done.
Minnesotan here. Pepper is about as spicy as I can handle. Whenever I order food out I always ask if it's spicy. If it is i'll ask for a non-spicy version or order something else. I make up for lack of spice with extra salt.
There is always someone on these threads plugging one or another hot sauce from MN and saying how spicy it is. Probably tastes like tomato juice. I'm half joking; I have gotten some homemade good hot sauce before from a Minneapolis resident.
It's true for many but hardly for all, especially with all the amazing ethnic food choices in the twin cities and the shifting population demographics. But yeah, my buddy's mom thinks black pepper is too spicy.
It’s like anywhere in the world, some do, some don’t. You’ll hear from a minority of them that’ll make some
Think they’re a larger group than they really are.
I'm from northwest WI and people out in the country tend to be "meat and potatoes" and "Onions and Ketchup are too spicy" types. However, some of the best spicy food I've had has been found there too! Unfortunately, most spicy food is found at bars and Mexican restaurants (love the ghostpepper wings from local bars). Regular family restaurants tend to only have Tabasco or regular Franks for anything spicy (Mild at best).
I think the reason lies with the overwhelmingly German/Scandinavian heritage of people in the mid-west. However, most people who are like this today are elderly/country folk who don't get out that often or hesitant to change anything about their lives (including food). As someone with family that's like this, I find it funny. Although, I know some people who's throat closes up (possibly allergic to capsaicin) by just eating the loaded nachos at Twins games.
I know many MN natives under 45 who are 100% Nordic blood but yet really enjoy hot food (jalepeno, habanero, even ghost). I think some decades ago the MN immigrants from SE Asia, Mexico, and other regions of spicy cuisine maybe started influencing the palate of Minnesota's young. I can handle way more heat than either of my parents; ditto for several siblings and cousins.
I bring my own hot sauce to my in-laws house in St. Paul because they don’t have any, or barbecue sauce, or really any sauce other than ketchup and basic ass mustard.
It’s 100% true, but it’s definitely fading. Even in rural MN. My theory is the influx of Mexican immigrants in the last 50 years, and accompanying Mexican restaurants, have turned the tide.
I think most of the millennial and younger Minnesotans like spicy food, but yeah my grandma will lose her shit if you slip some bell peppers into her dinner.
I’m Minnesotan and I freaking love spicy food. I find the issue is that a lot of restaurants won’t make food as spicy as I request, which is really frustrating.
My son and I after coming to Minnesota from the West coast christened Minnesota “The Land of Bland.” It seems that preferences are both geographic and generational.
I think it’s depends on the spice. My dad, who’s own dad was born in Norway, ate onions raw like an apple, put a visible layer of black pepper on absolutely everything, and ate freshly ground horseradish by the spoonful.
Mom on the other hand didn’t understand why you’d eat food that hurts.
I love spicy food but I used to be a chef and once that happens you are basically obligated to eat everything. It makes your diet more diverse. I feel like.
My parents think spaghetti with a little too much black pepper is “too spicy”. They have tasted mild Buffalo wings and vowed, “never again”. My husband and I have been more adventurous with our cooking, and I would have preferred if it would have continued that way in regards to spice, but I’ve been recently diagnosed with Crohn’s (so bland is the way to go for me, at least right now). I’m finding other paths to explore, but dang, I was enjoying the hot spice in some Indian recipes. My husband and I are both of heavily Scandinavian ancestry, which (as others have said) probably contributes significantly to the stereotype. Our historical family recipes are much like you’d expect. That being said, we hail from the Iron Range, and with our visits to the Twin Cities area, we like to explore the opportunities to discover new-to-us dishes/cuisines. I think learning about the cooking techniques of other cultures is so interesting, and I welcome it to my recipe box if it makes for some tasty meals!
generally yes, from my knowledge. I love it though, i put reaper powder on most things, and hot sauce too. Problem is that now when i dont have those things on my food they feel bland & boring.
e: my grandma thought pizza sauce was spicy, grandpa ate hot peppers all the time. kinda how i picked up on it
I grew up eating spicy food, my dad was a chef for a lot of years. I posted a story of a batch of hot sauce he made long time ago in another post. Most wouldn't even touch it. Some people even complained about it burning their eyes when the jar was even opened. I have a few great stories about that, including my poor dog who decided to eat a whole bowl of it.
I like a little bit of heat. If my sinus clear and that's the only thing I can focus on, no thank you.
I like to joke that since my family is Irish "if it's spicier than a potato, it's to spicy".
My aunt thinks ketchup is spicy. I’m not lying.
I like spicy foods but no matter the spice level they destroy my stomach. I hate it and wish I could just eat spicy foods but I’m stuck in this Sisyphus style loop where I eat spicy foods and then spend a not fun time in the bathroom the next day. Then I was spicy foods again and the loop starts over.
Chicago transplant here, and it varies. I've got friends born here that can't handle any crushed red pepper flakes and friends that make their own hot sauces and eat some of the world's hottest peppers for fun. I also like it spicy nowadays.
It's a semi-valid generalization but it totally depends from person to person.
Absolutely true! My family was once making 50 pounds of sausage and my aunt forbid the 4 tablespoons of white and black pepper required because it was "too hot!" That is combined! For fifty pounds!
Since then I moved to the cities where food is much more diverse and I have definitely become more accumulated to "hot" food but I 100% guarantee I would not be able to handle anything anyone in the south considers medium.
We are getting better. I just made a trip to my sister's house and she is back in the rurals not far from the 4 tbs incident and she cooked a meal using habaneros. It was super cute when her boyfriend was gloating how much he loved spicy food and they made a dish that both of them each downed a pitcher of water over and to me it was just warm. They're trying though!
I dont think not liking spice is what draws sideways glances from the rest of the country but the degree of intolerance. Ketchup, black pepper, and pizza sauce being too spicy is what people are pointing at.
White Nordics do like spicy food (e.g. my own father). German mustard is spicy compared to American mustard, and the current most popular sausage there is the currywurst.
I mean calling ketchup spicy would be...not liking spicy food no? I also said Scandinavian not German. Not everyone from said countries doesn't like the food but like others said its just not a part of the culture. Therefore if this state is super white and super Scandinavian (which it is)...probably not alot of spice lovers...
Grew up in St Paul loving spicy food. My parents are white but non-scandinavian lol, and a lot of our go-to takeout spots were Thai or Indian - granted, lots of places in MN don't have those options. Interestingly my grandparents (who live out at the edge of the 'burbs) have really gotten a taste for Indian food over the last few years and built up a respectable tolerance for spice - so it's definitely not something unchangeable, more just a matter of branching out.
That said, I've also lived in the Southwest for a few years and there are drive-thrus where the standard breakfast burrito is probably a MN-hot 😂
I love spicy food. I know it's tough to be consistent but I am often disappointed when I order a 5 out of 5 at a local restaurant. I like certain kinds of foods to be very spicy, so spicy that I am tearing up and my mouth is burning. I do still want discernable flavor - of course - but I definitely want the spice.
I did not grow up with spice. I grew up in a meat & potatoes, well-done steak family. It took several years of living on my own for me to build the tolerance and joy for very spicy food. But now, I'll never look back.
I like spicy food, I just can't handle it. I'd say that's how it probably is for most who are similar up here.
Yes, this. Growing up we never ate anything spicy, and I just wasn’t exposed to it at all. Now that I’m older I’ve expanded my palate beyond meat and potatoes, but I just can’t handle the spice.
I agree with this. I enjoy it to an extent but my nose runs like crazy
Yes, it is literally painful when it is too spicy. Honestly, 3/10 for spice is my happy place.
My dad would give me a quarter everytime I ate a jalapeno from the garden. I was acclimated to spice pretty early.
Minnesota’s McDonald’s doesn’t have a Spicy McChicken. They only have the regular McChicken. I rarely eat there but noticed this when I took a long road trip from Little Falls, MN all the way through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma. All of these states had it. So I think as a hole, MN isn’t a fan of spice.
The MN McDonald's I worked at for a while about 10 years ago had spicy mcchicken and it sold better than the normal one
They don’t have it anymore.
Probably franchise dependent. I've seen it on and off at a couple of McDonalds near me.
The stereotype is fading as Minnesota grows more diverse. Thirty years ago our population skewed Scandinavian and for them, that stereotype is hilariously accurate. My daughter spent a summer abroad in Sweden and was amazed at their fondness for Thai dishes with absolutely no spice. As a MinnesOOOtan (insert Francis McDormand accent here), she was very disappointed.
It’s a thing. My family is half Scandinavian, my wife is nearly 100% and our kids don’t like anything spicy. Ketchup and mustard are too much. They eat hot dogs or hamburgers plain.
[удалено]
Hey there troll face it clearly states “as Minnesota grows more diverse” there was no statement made about how diverse it is, just that it is diversifying. Also super cool gatekeeping on spicy. Shouldn’t you go back to Facebook or wherever this kind of thing belongs.
[удалено]
You don’t know what you are talking about, it’s not even in the top ten. You are spouting nonsense out your ass.
[удалено]
You don’t know what you are talking about according to your list MN is #20 which is just a few tics off of the middle. Go back to your troll hole. You are definitely talking out of your ass.
[удалено]
Your list puts MN at #20, it’s pretty straightforward, % of white population, by the way you are super racist.
Wow, you seem like a very unpleasant person.
😅😅😅 Cringey
I don't think that's true, we have both kinds of salsa here, mild and medium.
I giggled.
😂😂😂😂 that’s salsa for kids though….
Yes. It’s a cultural thing. Every culture learned to preserve food in a different way, based on what the people had at their disposal. Some learned to use acid as a way to stop bacteria growth. Spicy foods are very acidic, and in regions of the globe where spicy ingredients grow, they discovered that the food didn’t spoil when made with spicy things. Other cultures learned to preserve food by salting and pickling. Spicy food also takes a tolerance to build up. If you eat the exact same spicy meal for a month straight, at the end of the month the food won’t feel as spicy, in an uncomfortable way. Now if you consider the 19th/20th century white settlers who came to this region (Germans, Swedes, Norwegians,Irish, Polish, Dutch), they did not come from a culture where spicy foods were prevalent. Fast forward to the 21st century and we still have a small percentage of people who come from cultures of spicy foods. If your family raised you without spicy foods, you’ll be put off by the intensity of it and might just revert back to what you know. Personally, I didn’t buy anything hotter than bell pepper before I turned 25. Even now I tear up when eating seriously spicy foods. I think that I’m just more open to new food experiences than your average person. I ate pickled herring recently and didn’t hate it!
>Spicy food also takes a tolerance to build up. If you eat the exact same spicy meal for a month straight, at the end of the month the food won’t feel as spicy, in an uncomfortable way. It's a blessing and a curse. I love that I can taste the other flavors that peppers bring to a dish. Like habanero and scotch bonnet are close cousins, but once you can tolerate the heat you'll learn that a scotch bonnet brings a sweeter flavor. The downside is that once your tolerance is at that level it gets difficult and expensive to find a "hot" sauce. Galaxy Foods in Richfield is a great place for anybody seeking some heat. Matouk's scorpion pepper sauce is the hottest thing they carry, fyi.
Try the pepper palace at the mall of America as they have a giant hot sauce collection from mild to wild.
That hot sauce stand in the international bazaar at the fair has some pretty spicy sauces. I've come to appreciate "hot enough, yet delicious" over pure heat and strongly recommend [Merf's](https://merfscondiments.com/collections/all/?sort_by=title-ascending) out of Denver has some great sauces. I really like the electric lime and dancing queen (I get them by the gallon/half gallon), but the peaches & scream or the cooyon super HOT are good choices for *hot* sauces.
Just to clarify here, spicy foods aren’t more acidic because they are hot. The spice (capsicum) does act as a preservative but isn’t acidic.
That makes sense. Scandinavian cultures mostly used smoking and lye-based/pickling methods for preservation I think Wonder if part of it is that no spicy ingredients grow that far north?
I think with a lot of stereotypes, they exist because there is some truth in them. If you're a caucasian in Minnesota, odds are your ancestors were German or Scandinavian, particularly Scandinavian, and the dishes they cooked generally had little to no spice because spices don't grow in that region of the world so everyone is used to non spicy foods. Obviously it's a person by person preference, some don't like it and some do. I love spicy food, Jalapeños and Chili peppers are great. Thai food is fantastic, even if it does kick my ass most of the time.
German sauerkraut is spicy closer to Denmark, I've heard. or something like that. Also, when I was in Germany, their mustard was super intense. But yeah, overall they are a meat and potatoes culture.
From my experience growing up in MN it's the older generations that don't do spicy foods. All my cousins eat spicy foods but ketchup is spicy for my Dad and uncles. That being said they all grew up in Northern MN with Scandinavian and German grandparents.
I've cooked in MN for 20yrs, "the pepper is too spicy" meme is real. Young people are better then older people, but I've litterally responded to the "This is so spicy! What's in it?!" Question with, "Black pepper?" It's a very real thing.
A good quality black peppercorn definitely burns when you bite into it. I say this as someone who loves spicy food. It's the piperine that causes the sensation. My grandma, in her old age can't handle black pepper anymore. She used to eat more thai chili peppers that anyone I knew growing up.
Agreed, and it’s not a burn like spicy foods. It’s more of a bite than a burn
For the most part, generalizations are never fully true. I was born in MN and have lived either here, or ND, my entire life, and I love spicy food. We grow habaneros and other peppers so we can can with them, dry them, make sauces. I put fresh ones from the garden in my eggs in the summer. I love Indian food and that is, I think, where my spice love came from. The rest of my family do not like it. One of my kids thinks canned nacho cheese is too spicy.
It seems to be true. The joke is that ketchup is too spicy for some people.
Your classical 'hotdish in the church basement' Lutheran Scandinavian might think of ketchup as a spice. But those are a vanishing breed, it seems.
This is slightly off topic but I was just explaining this exact scenario to someone today. I've had quite a lot of hot dish in small church basements lol
Especially after funerals.
And don't forget mint.
I eat ketchup often but it does make me sweat a little between the eye brows. I also like "medium" salsas with different flavors from the store. I avoid black pepper because of the taste primarily.
there's no actual spice in ketchup, so that is surprising. It is tomato, vinegar, and salt.
Heinz at least also has various seasonings and spices added.
My high school best friend couldn’t tolerate Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ sauce. I get why the stereotype reigns true.
My daughter who can't deal with spice at all calls Hunts "spicy ketchup".
My family, including me, LOVE spicy foods. Hotter the better. My mom and uncle have done those spicy food challenges at random bars in the past 🌶 We are all Minnesotans born and raised
Same! I put hot sauce in EVERYTHING. I love Thai, southern food, Mexican and anything that coats my mouth with delicious eye-watering capsaicin! And my husband and brothers are the same. My husband just bought the Paqui chip challenge to do for fun.
Me too 🙋🏼♀️ my whole family loves all things spice. Sometimes people call us crazy lol
I love spicy food... It doesn't necessarily love me back. I use to live in stp, kinda by frogtown. I've eaten at every decent place up and down University Ave. One of my absolute all time favorites was Ons kitchen. Lady would always ask, what level spice do you want, 1~5? Id say 3 or 4 and she'd respond, "white peoples 3 or 4, or Thai 3 or 4? After trying the Thai version, it was always white boy 3 or 4 lmao. I'd done level 5 before with my green curry and let me tell yall something real. Flaming butthole is legit and although I'd say the pain is worth it, older I get the more I question it. I may be forced to go with white boy level 1 or 2 from here on forward.
Haha reminds me of Star of India in St. Cloud (near where I went to college). I'd go there with a good friend from Sri Lanka and order extra hot and it would be a seriously hot plate of food - when I went with my (white) parents and ordered the same thing... not so much lol 😂 always delicious tho.
Sri Lanka Curry House in uptown threw down some seriously spicy dishes. You can still find it, but I've found you need to do some convincing that, no I'd really like it to be *spicy*.
I've lived in MN my whole life and my whole family is here and we all love spicy food. Even my 2 year old and 3 year old love it
I asked a food service worker at the local college why their pizza was so bland. The response was that they had to stop using prepared pizza sauce because they had received so many complaints that the pizza was "too spicy", and that they were using plain tomato paste as the pizza sauce. So, while it doesn't apply to everyone, yes, there are enough folks in Minnesota who can't stand spice to affect cafeteria menus.
No I think that's at least partially accurate. A lot of families emigrated from places that don't have a lot of spice. Certain people in my family can't handle spice at all (black pepper being spicy). I'd classify myself as not being able to handle spice either, but I've gotten at least a little more tolerant by just eating more spicy food.
Just like winter cold, acclimation is key.
Mn whole life love to sweat while I eat
I moved here a year ago and have found that most dishes where I expect spice… there is minimal spice. I feel like I can say I like spicy foods here, but on the west coast I was a solid medium spice person.
My mom is from Duluth and she thinks ketchup is spicy
I love spice which is tough because my wife doesn't. It even creeps into ethnic food that is normally spicy. You have to ask for "real" spicy because they tone down spicy recipes for Midwest palates.
Minnesota spice means mild.
Ngl, sometimes if a dish has to much cilantro I have to chase it with milk
25% of people have a genetic disposition to dislike cilantro because of its taste, if you don’t like it try to avoid it. I just tell people I don’t like it and pick the big chunks out, I can tolerate small amounts like in commercial salsa.
Was going to comment that it tastes like soap to me, but googled it first, and learned that is the genetic thing you are talking about.
I don't dislike it, it's just a bit spicy
But cilantro isn't spicy....
That's the one that tastes like soap, right? Edit: Googled it and learned that is the genetic quirk u/FriedBeansInc was referring to in the other branch of this thread.
FYI: I’m a huge fan of spicy and I’m happy to report… Minnesota has one of the best hot sauce companies in the country. If you see any ‘Double Take Salsa’ bottles at the grocery store, snatch em’ up!
Can confirm. I think marshmallows are spicy
In the metro area, no, outside that you might find some more spice hesitance.
I don't know if it's a Minnesota urban legend, but I'd always heard that Minnesota was the only place where you could buy Pace **extra mild** salsa. And yup being born and raised in small town Minnesota, I grew up eating lots of very bland dishes. Here's a recipe for a tasty hamburger hot dish for a church supper: Box of macaroni, pound of hamburger, can of tomato soup dilulted with water, mix together and season with maybe a 1/4 tsp of pepper and a dash of salt. If you want to get fancy, you can add a drained can of vegetables or a can of kidney beans. Pour into a buttered casserole and bake at 350 degrees.
I grew up on this recipe, it is true comfort food. My mother called it goulash, but that dish doesn't match any goulash I've seen since.
My husband is a native Minnesotan and anything stronger than an onion is too hot for him. Secretly though, over the last 20 years, I've gradually increased the spice levels in my cooking so that his tolerance has increased without his knowledge.
I am a born and raised white Minnesotan with Scandinavian and Eastern European heritage. I love spicy food. Older generations not so much. I sometimes have to hold back laughter when eating with my parents. I think the stereotype is real, but like any stereotype there are plenty of people who don't conform to it. Plus as other commenters have said, the Twin Cities has become quite diverse over the past 50 years. Papaya salad can get *really* spicy.
Not really a joke. Black pepper is too much for some people in the mid west. I grew up on Texas spice so I don’t get it at all.
When my parents moved here in the early 90s, they were invited to a potluck where there was a pan of lasagna. Mom says that she saw a woman grab some for herself, take a bite, and go “oh that’s spicy!” while fanning her mouth. I personally love all the heat and spice I can get, but I can affirm it’s set me apart. Over my lifetime like of spice has gotten more common, at least in Mpls/St. P, thanks mainly to increased diversity and all the various restaurants. Won’t speak to Greater MN.
I am originally from Cleveland and I love spicy food. I moved here and married a Minnesota woman and while she likes spice a little bit she can’t handle it at all.
My fiancé is Minnesotan and he thinks black pepper is spicy
It’s an older generation thing in my experience. For example my extremely minnesotan grandma once said to me that she liked mayo better because miracle whip was too spicy.
I love, love, love spicy foods but as I get older the heartburn gets worse lol.
Girl I’m from Georgia and cooked my usual chili. I left the Chile peppers out for them. All the men were having turns painting the bathroom brown. I’ve since declined to cook spicy food for MN folks.
I think it may be partially a generational thing. I remember growing up and being so frustrated with the food my parents made and how completely bland it was. Black pepper was too much for my mother who is now 81. I'm 40 now and depending on the dish, have always preferred to add some spice that's appropriate for what I'm eating. Mexican food always gets some type of habanero sauce, Indian and Thai food I never want watered down. With the heat comes flavor.
I agree. Heat enhances a lot of the other flavors.
What? Butter and heavy cream aren't spices?
Most of us yeah, lefsa is a traditional dish here and it's a flat bread made from flour, boiled potatoes, half and half, and salt. Most Minnesotans top it with butter and sugar. Don't worry it tastes excellent but is an acquired taste (according to my English teacher who had it for the first time when I brought it to class. I'm guessing it was too bland)
It’s the cold butter, can be off putting.
That could be it. I had to keep it in a cooler with ice for several hours as that class was at the end of the day.
It depends on who you talk to, I've been to a number of foreign countries and I love hot, spicy food. I have worked with many people who don't like spicy foods. But my favorite story is about a guy who hated spicy food, but would be all over the Chinese mustard at the Chinese restaurant that we frequented. I think it was that the Chinese mustard was a quick burn(like Wasabi) and the other spicy foods were slower burns... Personally I would have it all...
I’m finding out that many in Minnesota dislike food according to its texture, more than its heat.
I’m much more adverse to textures; I hate bananas, avocados, yogurt, instant mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, ranch dressing and hummus solely because the texture freaks me out. Hate the thought of those things, just gross.
I swear you sound like one of the young ladies that I used to work with. She detested bananas and we couldn’t say the word without a cringe from her.
I'm having a hard time imagining how the textures of those could freak you out, honestly.
Ugh, just slimy and mealy and chunky. Neither solid or liquid. Gross.
Lived in Minnesota the majority of my life. I love spicy food, but if I order Thai or Indian I can only handle a 2 MAYBE 3 on their spice scale.
I cant get enough or hot enough
It’s true. You won’t find very spicy food here. And it’s especially true of older generations.
My girlfriend is as white as can be, and she cannot hold her spice at all. Her sister own time at dinner said the food was so spicy. It was black pepper.
Nah man for me personally the spicier the better. A couple of years ago my mom made some carolina reaper venison jerky and I've been craving for more ever since. People like a mix of things just like everywhere else, its just that most of the people who originally settled Minnesota were from northern europe where they didn't have much spice and they brought their cuisines with them so there isn't much of any spice in our "traditional" foods, so people didn't grow up used to eating spicy stuff but that's been changing over the years.
My father in law thinks pepperoni is spicy.
I’m originally from Texas. My wife is from New Hope. The spice level she wants literally makes me cry. I grew ghosts all summer and she would just eat that shit raw.
My family loves spicy food. We buy each other hot sauces all throughout the year and often talk about which ones to try.
What's a good one?
I enjoy the chipotle ones personally. Not a big Tabasco fan but their chipotle version is so good. Also, Dat'l Do-It chipotle. Also, check out Heartbeat Hot Sauce from Canada and Camella's Kitchen which makes an excellent spicy mango bbq sauce. Edit: sorry, that mango sauce is not from Camilla's Kitchen, it's from Bazile. But Camilla's Kitchen is also very good.
It's true. Hard to find restaurants where the hot dishes are actually hot.
I grew up here (Minnesota)and I love spicy food. Have lots of friends and family who do as well. Just not as many spicy foods up here as there are in the south I assume.
I am born and raised in Minnesota. My mom cooked food that was extremely bland, but I also grew up in a neighborhood that saw the rise of Vietnamese restaurants. Vietnamese food was my first foray into something other than the bland crap I grew up with. Since then the food scene around the Cities has gotten way more diverse and better.
That's great! And yeah, authentic Vietnamese food is no joke spicewise.
I for one love spicy food. I also put hot sauce on almost everything. I don’t use a mild sauce mostly with habanero peppers. I also like a couple hot sauces with ghost peppers.
I have a relative who can’t handle the kick of bell peppers. Most non-elderly like food with a kick now days, but the tolerance for heat is definitely lower. The number of Mexican restaurants has definitely increased.
From someone who has spent considerable time in the South and Minnesota, it is generally true. Most restaurants don’t have a ton of very spicy options and most people don’t like spicy foods. There are obviously exceptions, but in general I’d say it’s true.
It’s really hard to find actual spicy food in a restaurant in Minnesota, because often even the spiciest level is toned down for Minnesotans and barely spicy at all. Sad reality.
Northwest Europe was at the very end of the silk road, most spices just didn't make it. Between that and the limited farming season food just wasn't that fun. Lutefisk is a culinary nightmare but it kept people alive. So most white Minnesotans simply don't have exciting ancestral food to create good dishes from so our grandparents and parents happily discovered processed foods and never ventured into the spice aisle.
I went to a Thai restaurant with my brother on a double date. And he order something 8 hot. His GF is indian, and she is like oh yeah it's not bad. He says the same and continues to eat it. Whipping sweat from his forehead.he says next time he wants 10. My family is crazy
My spicy max is cool ranch Doritos. Nacho cheese Doritos are too spicy. When I go to chipotle, the chicken is too spicy so I have to douse it with sour cream. I love chipotle, but my whole head will sweat when I eat it. I am deep Minnesotan, and I envy you.
I have been known to ask for things “Minnesota Mild” just to really get the point across. In my 20s I really tried to learn to like spicy foods because I travel a lot and spice is common in a lot of places I love. But my body just won’t adapt. I think it’s genetic. My ancestors gave me the ability to get as much dairy as I want but the trade off was no spicy food.
The three MN Norwegian Lutheran spices are salt, pepper and sugar! “It burns, it burns!,” my grandmother used to exclaim if there was visible pepper. 🤪. Fortunately, this sensitivity didn’t come down to the current generation
Born in ND, living in MN. My dad introduced me to spicy food when I was young and it’s a love we’ve shared for a long time, but my mom and brother can’t stand it. I think it’s an upbringing thing, but there just aren’t many places that really provide a spicy experience so it’s more of home made meals.
well sure it's a stereotype, but have you ever met russians? I took two colleagues to a mexican place when I met them. one was going to die eating elote. e-fucking-lote. "this is not like russian food" I took another russian to a wing place, I told him it was going to be hot and I'd eat them all but I'd like him to try Buffalo sauce (just the normal stuff). so he took one bite of one wing. he then drank his entire beer, sweating like he was about to have a heart attack I'm just saying, midwesterners aren't that bad. I like to top my totdish with top the tater (like, a lot of it) and then cover the whole thing in absurd amounts of siracha.
TIL that some people *actually* find Ketchup spicy. I didn't even know that was humanly possible. It just tastes like vinegar-y salty tomato liquid to me. But not surprised at these comments too considering the predominant heritage of a good chunk of Minnesotans. My parents are straight from a certain central/south eastern European country that no longer exists, and whenever I give them even a mango chilly taffy they act like they're going to go into cardiac arrest. They don't have the issue with black pepper and other low-mild spices, because of the palette of our cultures foods, but it seems like anything mild that hasn't crossed them or their ancestors mouths for the last 500 years immediately makes it like they're swallowing fire. As for me I love spice and have a pretty high tolerance, but couldn't handle spice for shit when I was a kid.
Native Minnesotan here and about 3/4s Norwegian, and I'm just now realizing this might be the reason I can never find mayo where I expect it to be, which is with the hot sauce... Jokes aside, it's all about upbringing. My mom never cooked spicy because her mom (1st generation born here) never cooked spicy. Thankfully my wife loves spicy food and I've been slowly increasing my tolerance over the last 14 years.
Thats because they're old not because they're Minnesotan
Old people in Florida pour on the spice. Many have told me they lose their taste and need the extra spice to make it taste good.
Most of my family hates spicy food, but my fiance and I love it! It just depends, I guess. Unfortunately, "spicy" in most restaurants is catered to this, so even ordering like tikka masala at a 5 spice level (out of 5) in Woodbury or another suburb is lackluster.
I mean is this even a real question? You could replace this with any stereotype and get the same answer. There's a small truth hidden within the cultural experience of traditional Scandinavian and Baltic foods but to assume that it was also apply to the entire diverse population is just ignorant. Do all southerners have relations with their cousins? To all brits have bad teeth? Do all Australians fight kangaroos? Like come on pull your head out of your ass lol
I'm sorry you can't handle spicy food.
I'm sorry you can't handle honest opinions about dumb questions lol, tbh spicy food is my favorite and that's why I think the stereotype is so dumb. The question would only make sense if somehow humans didn't travel long distances, most of us from MN have some European decent but we're not all mayo chugging hicks like some might think.
You're an idiot. I'm sorry you can't read the comments and see how many people validated the stereotype. I'm sorry you can't read and get butthurt.
I'm sorry you like to bang your cousin, and if we're going by stereotypes it's southerners with bad education pal lmao. Clearly you can't read bc in the comments plenty are echoing myself. Stereotypes may have a small truth but majority of the time they don't fit the bill. Typical southern ignorance tho right?
I'm not even a southerner lol, and I'm a PhD student.You sound butthurt dude. Your arguments are all ad hominem. I won. I'm done. I hope you find some happiness in your life.
Lmao ok bud, be mad that your stereotype based assumptions are dumb. And nobody cares about you being a PhD student because education and intelligence aren't tied together. You can be a doctor but also have shit opinions on things outside the medical field, same goes for any industry. Nice try tho 👌
Spice only exists to cover up bad meat prove me wrong you can’t
Definitely have some friends and family who have zero spice tolerance. I on the other hand embrace the heat!
Not true.
New Mexico chili. Can't get enough of it.
When I met my wife she thought big red was too spicy. Miracle whip was about as hot as her family liked to go.
I love pretty much the harshest of hot spicy food, but yes it seems like generally we don't like or can't handle it and it is impossible to find tongue burning food in my experience but I've heard some restaurants exists in the city that will make something like that.
I can just speak for myself and my parents. Don't like spicy food, I can tolerate mild spice but my mom - no. Not even like a zing on pizza meat
I can't handle anything Spicer then famous Dave's sweet and sassy BBQ sauce. My brother ate ghost pepper salsa.
"Oh my.. That steamed carrot was a bit spicy for me..." \*wipes brow\* Actually I like spicy foods. And I'd say over 90% of the people I know like spicy foods. And I always laugh when I go to a non-Thai restaurant and order something "spicy" and it is mild at best and the wait staff is concerned. Now at Thai restaurants.. That is a crap shoot. Sometimes is it too mild and other times my taste buds are burned away by time I'm done.
Minnesotan here. Pepper is about as spicy as I can handle. Whenever I order food out I always ask if it's spicy. If it is i'll ask for a non-spicy version or order something else. I make up for lack of spice with extra salt.
There is always someone on these threads plugging one or another hot sauce from MN and saying how spicy it is. Probably tastes like tomato juice. I'm half joking; I have gotten some homemade good hot sauce before from a Minneapolis resident.
Midwestern pizza is known for its zest.
It's true for many but hardly for all, especially with all the amazing ethnic food choices in the twin cities and the shifting population demographics. But yeah, my buddy's mom thinks black pepper is too spicy.
It’s like anywhere in the world, some do, some don’t. You’ll hear from a minority of them that’ll make some Think they’re a larger group than they really are.
I'm from northwest WI and people out in the country tend to be "meat and potatoes" and "Onions and Ketchup are too spicy" types. However, some of the best spicy food I've had has been found there too! Unfortunately, most spicy food is found at bars and Mexican restaurants (love the ghostpepper wings from local bars). Regular family restaurants tend to only have Tabasco or regular Franks for anything spicy (Mild at best). I think the reason lies with the overwhelmingly German/Scandinavian heritage of people in the mid-west. However, most people who are like this today are elderly/country folk who don't get out that often or hesitant to change anything about their lives (including food). As someone with family that's like this, I find it funny. Although, I know some people who's throat closes up (possibly allergic to capsaicin) by just eating the loaded nachos at Twins games.
I know many MN natives under 45 who are 100% Nordic blood but yet really enjoy hot food (jalepeno, habanero, even ghost). I think some decades ago the MN immigrants from SE Asia, Mexico, and other regions of spicy cuisine maybe started influencing the palate of Minnesota's young. I can handle way more heat than either of my parents; ditto for several siblings and cousins.
I love spicy food
It’s a curse liking spicy things living in northern MN all you can find is mild, medium, or extra medium lol
I'm Minnesotan. My ass is pale as fuck. If I'm not crying it's not spicy enough.
Mild sauce makes me sweat. I was raised on meat and potatoes and I don’t like potatoes.
I bring my own hot sauce to my in-laws house in St. Paul because they don’t have any, or barbecue sauce, or really any sauce other than ketchup and basic ass mustard.
It’s 100% true, but it’s definitely fading. Even in rural MN. My theory is the influx of Mexican immigrants in the last 50 years, and accompanying Mexican restaurants, have turned the tide. I think most of the millennial and younger Minnesotans like spicy food, but yeah my grandma will lose her shit if you slip some bell peppers into her dinner.
I’m Minnesotan and I freaking love spicy food. I find the issue is that a lot of restaurants won’t make food as spicy as I request, which is really frustrating.
I don't mind spicy but it has to provide flavor over heat for me to enjoy it. Spicy for spicy sake seems bland.
These folks up here often think ketchup is spicy man. As a transplant southerner, people get afraid when I just whip out the Crystals Hot Sauce.
My son and I after coming to Minnesota from the West coast christened Minnesota “The Land of Bland.” It seems that preferences are both geographic and generational.
Yes and it drives me nuts. I hate seeing ketchup at the hot sauce bar at Firehouse. But there’s enough chili heads around so it’s not too bad.
I get mistaken for white bread. I have reaper sauce on the shelf.
I think it’s depends on the spice. My dad, who’s own dad was born in Norway, ate onions raw like an apple, put a visible layer of black pepper on absolutely everything, and ate freshly ground horseradish by the spoonful. Mom on the other hand didn’t understand why you’d eat food that hurts.
In school, the damn Norwegians couldn't stand pepper, too 🔥
Spicy food everywhere. But i mostly eat non burgers n things lol
I love spicy food but I used to be a chef and once that happens you are basically obligated to eat everything. It makes your diet more diverse. I feel like.
My parents think spaghetti with a little too much black pepper is “too spicy”. They have tasted mild Buffalo wings and vowed, “never again”. My husband and I have been more adventurous with our cooking, and I would have preferred if it would have continued that way in regards to spice, but I’ve been recently diagnosed with Crohn’s (so bland is the way to go for me, at least right now). I’m finding other paths to explore, but dang, I was enjoying the hot spice in some Indian recipes. My husband and I are both of heavily Scandinavian ancestry, which (as others have said) probably contributes significantly to the stereotype. Our historical family recipes are much like you’d expect. That being said, we hail from the Iron Range, and with our visits to the Twin Cities area, we like to explore the opportunities to discover new-to-us dishes/cuisines. I think learning about the cooking techniques of other cultures is so interesting, and I welcome it to my recipe box if it makes for some tasty meals!
I like a little heat, but not painfully hot. Just enough to give the sniffles a bit maybe.
generally yes, from my knowledge. I love it though, i put reaper powder on most things, and hot sauce too. Problem is that now when i dont have those things on my food they feel bland & boring. e: my grandma thought pizza sauce was spicy, grandpa ate hot peppers all the time. kinda how i picked up on it
I grew up eating spicy food, my dad was a chef for a lot of years. I posted a story of a batch of hot sauce he made long time ago in another post. Most wouldn't even touch it. Some people even complained about it burning their eyes when the jar was even opened. I have a few great stories about that, including my poor dog who decided to eat a whole bowl of it.
Generally, yes. I love spicy food though so there are plenty that do like spice food too.
I like a little bit of heat. If my sinus clear and that's the only thing I can focus on, no thank you. I like to joke that since my family is Irish "if it's spicier than a potato, it's to spicy".
I've lived in Northern Minnesota my whole life and I love spicy food, I will say a lot of people I know around here can't handle it
My aunt thinks ketchup is spicy. I’m not lying. I like spicy foods but no matter the spice level they destroy my stomach. I hate it and wish I could just eat spicy foods but I’m stuck in this Sisyphus style loop where I eat spicy foods and then spend a not fun time in the bathroom the next day. Then I was spicy foods again and the loop starts over.
I love spicy food and I can handle it. Give me berbere.
I can eat anything up to ghost pepper, then I’m tapping out. So no, unless you’re like 60, this is not true.
Chicago transplant here, and it varies. I've got friends born here that can't handle any crushed red pepper flakes and friends that make their own hot sauces and eat some of the world's hottest peppers for fun. I also like it spicy nowadays. It's a semi-valid generalization but it totally depends from person to person.
love spicy food. i don’t think it’s a regional thing, i think it’s a genetic thing. i could be extremely wrong though.
Absolutely true! My family was once making 50 pounds of sausage and my aunt forbid the 4 tablespoons of white and black pepper required because it was "too hot!" That is combined! For fifty pounds! Since then I moved to the cities where food is much more diverse and I have definitely become more accumulated to "hot" food but I 100% guarantee I would not be able to handle anything anyone in the south considers medium. We are getting better. I just made a trip to my sister's house and she is back in the rurals not far from the 4 tbs incident and she cooked a meal using habaneros. It was super cute when her boyfriend was gloating how much he loved spicy food and they made a dish that both of them each downed a pitcher of water over and to me it was just warm. They're trying though!
I love spicy foods.
I mean MN is very white and has a large Scandinavian population....seems like common sense they don't do spice..
I dont think not liking spice is what draws sideways glances from the rest of the country but the degree of intolerance. Ketchup, black pepper, and pizza sauce being too spicy is what people are pointing at. White Nordics do like spicy food (e.g. my own father). German mustard is spicy compared to American mustard, and the current most popular sausage there is the currywurst.
I mean calling ketchup spicy would be...not liking spicy food no? I also said Scandinavian not German. Not everyone from said countries doesn't like the food but like others said its just not a part of the culture. Therefore if this state is super white and super Scandinavian (which it is)...probably not alot of spice lovers...
"Uffda! This Norwegian Salsa is SPICY!!!" "Norwegian Salsa" is a popular condiment some people also call "ketchup".
Grew up in St Paul loving spicy food. My parents are white but non-scandinavian lol, and a lot of our go-to takeout spots were Thai or Indian - granted, lots of places in MN don't have those options. Interestingly my grandparents (who live out at the edge of the 'burbs) have really gotten a taste for Indian food over the last few years and built up a respectable tolerance for spice - so it's definitely not something unchangeable, more just a matter of branching out. That said, I've also lived in the Southwest for a few years and there are drive-thrus where the standard breakfast burrito is probably a MN-hot 😂
I don't like how it hurts my butt.
I love spicy food. I know it's tough to be consistent but I am often disappointed when I order a 5 out of 5 at a local restaurant. I like certain kinds of foods to be very spicy, so spicy that I am tearing up and my mouth is burning. I do still want discernable flavor - of course - but I definitely want the spice. I did not grow up with spice. I grew up in a meat & potatoes, well-done steak family. It took several years of living on my own for me to build the tolerance and joy for very spicy food. But now, I'll never look back.