Spicy and “swicy” - or sweet and spicy - foods are very trendy, but which generation handles it best? That’s what a new survey asked 2-thousand adults and it turns out, Gen Z is all about the heat.
According to the poll, respondents between 18 and 28 have the most tolerance for fiery food, with 43% rating their spice tolerance as “high” or “very high.”
- Millennials aren’t far behind at 37%, compared to 31% of Gen X and just 24% of baby boomers.
- Only 3% of that generation will order the hottest thing on the menu, but 11% of Gen Zers say they would.
- The thing is, even if they couldn’t handle the heat, half (49%) of Gen Z admits they’d pretend to so they wouldn’t look weak to their friends.
- But boomers don’t have that hangup, as 65% of them say they’re not embarrassed at all if something’s too spicy for them.
- Nearly three-quarters (71%) of them claim they’ve never tried to hide it if the heat in their meal was too much.
- While 82% of Zoomers admit they’ve done that at some point, they have good reasons, including not wanting to waste food (28%), or offend the cook (26%), or seem too picky (21%).
- A third of them feel embarrassed if they can’t eat something because it’s too spicy and 20% “always” finish a dish, even if they’re visibly sweating from it.
- Millennials love the heat, too, as 18% will put hot sauce on practically anything and 45% say the spice brings out the flavor of the food.
- They’re also the generation most open to trying new dishes, with 76% ready to sample new spicy flavors.
Source: 72 Point