Would You Like Some Pepper Spray With That Burger?

When compared with the cuisine of many other parts of the world, United States dishes are usually pretty bland. I mean, Big Macs, Double Cheeseburgers and Quarter Pounders aren’t particularly zippy, are they? After all, ketchup and mustard can only go so far – even with pickles.

For Pepper Bellies the search for “interesting” food is a never ending quest. Pepper Bellies, those folks who want food that packs a high intensity punch, are typically on the hunt for dishes containing the ingredient that makes pepper spray such an effective weapon – non lethal, but a weapon nevertheless.

The very same plant family that yields the hot peppers found in your favorite chili is the same one that produces capsaicin. That capsaicin molecule is the main ingredient the non lethal weapon manufacturers harvest for their pepper spray. And now there is another exotic use for those hot peppers.