I love spicy food. My girlfreind can't take the heat. Is there any way I can build her tolerance for spicy foods?

Try cooking something mild and adding just a bit of spice to it, and then build it up a bit more in a few weeks, and progressively thereafter.

I think an easier way, instead of trying to change her, is just take half the food you cook and make it spicy like you like it, and keep the other half bland.

It’s possible to build up a tolerance, but why would you want to force that on her? @jca makes a good suggestion – make half spicy and the other half not.

Pushing her (even subtly pushing her) is more about control than it is food. Respect the fact that she doesn’t want it, and go with that knowledge. If she wants to “take the heat”, she’ll let you know.

My boyfriend was like this. When I first moved in, I cooked something so hot I thought he would pass out. Now he quite easily takes it. Still not as hot as I would have, but better all the same.

I would gradually add more spice, and as time goes on, she’ll probably want more spice. Making something as hot as possibly for the first time is hard for most palates.
Even now though, I will cook chillies separate and then just add them to my meal, and I often add cayenne and tabasco to mine before serving anyway.

@elbanditoroso I’m not trying to force her. If she doesn’t want spicy it’s fine with me. I was just curious if it was possible for her to build a tolerance to a little more spice.

Certain recipes are much better when everything is added during cooking. Adding it after isn’t the same.

I so agree with @elbanditoroso. Owing to many reasons including upbringing and personal wiring, everyone has his her own tastes. There’s nothing wrong with your suggesting to your gf that she might enjoy spicier foods, but if she’s not interested, I think you should let her be. How would you feel if your she wanted to get you off spicy food?

If she wants to, she can. I once built up a tolerance for five star Thai food. If not, though, you’ll have to add hot sauce to your plate at the table.

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room It almost is like being forced off spicy foods. Mildly spicy food to her is like non spicy food to me.

Spicy food destroys me. Even when drowned in ranch it still hurts on the way out. And that is is shit in the freezer aisle of walmart.

Sneak it in her mouth while she is sleeping! That is NOT what I did. Actually, I just put hot sauce on EVERYTHING. I know my girlfirend cannot resist stealing food from my plate. So, ultimately, she just starting accepting the fact that to steal food from me, the heat will be enforced. She now eats hot sauce on everything. Life is better.

If it is as simple as she isn’t accustomed to it, she can probably learn to like it if she keeps trying it now and then. If she has some sort of allergic reaction (my SIL literally feels her tongue and mouth start to swell) then nothing can be done.

Be with her for a long time and eventually the number if taste buds in her mouth will decline. You can also get her to take up smoking as that will deaden them too :p

Lol, my fiancee is the same. Sometimes, he’ll make it a bit less spicy when I come over, then add hot sauce to his own thing. I appreciate someone cooking for me, and I’ve never asked him to tone it down so I even eat the really spicy stuff (even if I need water on the side) :p

I would say try to maybe put hot sauce on your own portion of it, or just start her slow and then keep adding.. maybe the tolerance will develop naturally.

I think you can yes, since I did that to myself. My ex husband loved very very hot curries. I really used to battle with them. Now I can eat fire.

My partner now, does not enjoy hot food, tonight I made Masala Butter Chicken, he really enjoyed the flavors. It is not a hot curry at all. I have decided though to make my own chilli relish, where I can add chilli to my food as I do miss making lots of spicy hot food. This way I can still get my fix.