How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat
The Sporkful19 Touko 2025

How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat

Food critic Brian Reinhart fell in love with spicy Mexican cuisine as a teenager in Texas, but over the years he started to notice that the jalapeños he’d buy in the grocery store were less and less hot. So he called up an expert who studies chili pepper genetics, and she shared a shocking revelation. In this episode from our friends at the Slate podcast Decoder Ring, host Willa Paskin tells the story, then talks with Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, who puts the jalapeño in the context of an age-old cycle in the American obsession with Mexican food.

Brian Reinhart’s article about the jalapeño ran in D Magazine. Gustavo Arellano’s book is called Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.

This episode was produced by Evan Chung.

Follow Decoder Ring wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, Kameel Stanley, Jared O'Connell, and Giulia Leo. Publishing by Shantel Holder.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(281)

What Makes Dorie Greenspan’s Recipes So Good?

What Makes Dorie Greenspan’s Recipes So Good?

Ask folks in the world of food and cookbooks, “Who writes the best recipes?” and you’ll hear one name more than any other: Dorie Greenspan. "Dorie does rock solid recipes," says Chandra Ram, who judge...

27 Loka 202534min

How Did Staying Hydrated Become A Thing? (Reheat)

How Did Staying Hydrated Become A Thing? (Reheat)

To say that hydration is an invention is only a slight exaggeration. Water bottles have become a crucial accessory — a status symbol. How did that happen? This week we bring you an episode from our fr...

24 Loka 202536min

How Does Paul Hollywood Dunk His Cookies?

How Does Paul Hollywood Dunk His Cookies?

On The Great British Bake Off, Paul Hollywood is known for his tough but fair judgments, his piercing blue eyes, and his handshake, which he offers to a contestant only when they really impress him. B...

20 Loka 202543min

Nadiya Hussain, From “Great British Bake Off” To Elbows Out (Reheat)

Nadiya Hussain, From “Great British Bake Off” To Elbows Out (Reheat)

When Nadiya Hussain competed on The Great British Bake Off in 2015, it seemed like all of Britain — from self-proclaimed #Nadiyators to the prime minister — was rooting for her. Since then, she’s host...

17 Loka 202533min

Why Would You Put A Recipe On Your Gravestone?

Why Would You Put A Recipe On Your Gravestone?

Rosie Grant was already obsessed with cemeteries when she came across her first gravestone recipe. The headstone was carved into the shape of an open cookbook with a cookie recipe on it. Rosie made th...

13 Loka 202530min

Can I Wipe My Oily Hands On My Legs? (Reheat)

Can I Wipe My Oily Hands On My Legs? (Reheat)

We open the phone lines to settle your most contentious food disputes this week. Eliza wants to wipe her oily hands on her bare legs — is her boyfriend Connor right to object? Then, Natalie thinks she...

10 Loka 202535min

What's In Taylor Swift's Signature Cocktail?

What's In Taylor Swift's Signature Cocktail?

Are chicken tenders having a renaissance? Are lit candles in restaurants worth the risk of a few people’s hair catching on fire? And when Taylor Swift designs a signature cocktail…what’s in it? We cov...

6 Loka 202547min

How Ketchup Got Its Name (Reheat)

How Ketchup Got Its Name (Reheat)

Ketchup started as a far different product from what’s on the shelves today. A lot of its evolution can be traced to an early government agency and a group there called “The Poison Squad” that tested ...

3 Loka 202537min

Suosittua kategoriassa Vapaa-aika

nikotellen
antin-matka
sita
the-harlin-show
ihan-oikeesti
unicast
rss-nikotellen
eturivi
everypodi
tahtitehdas
mutsiputki
oral-sex
rss-naapurissa
mysteeripodcast
terkuin-jenna
moottoripodi-2
kaikkea-hyvaa
himocast
rss-viihde-media
20-30-40-podcast