“What’s our problem with spicy peppers?” a French Redditor going by SerBron asked r/france, in a thread posted in 2022. “Apparently we are a people terrorised by anything remotely spicy … Old El Paso has to label its insipid salsa ‘medium’ for us,” the poster complained.
The post generated hundreds of comments – with some posters agreeing and others pushing back, saying that of course tolerance for capsaicin would be lower, given the absence of hot chilli peppers in traditional French cuisine, and others pointing out that while the French may not traditionally do spice, plenty of foreigners can’t handle strong French cheeses.
