Sorting chili peppers at a farm in Bogra, Bangladesh
© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset/Shutterstoc
An extra-spicy extravaganza. Hot and Spicy Food Day
The super-spicy curries of Bangladeshi cuisine start out here in the chili fields, where workers harvest and sort red chili peppers by hand. Once picked, the peppers are sun-dried and used whole or ground into powder. The chilis not only add a flavorful kick to foods but help kill bacteria as well. Plus, spicy foods help diners cool down: One natural reaction to capsaicin, the active chemical in chilis, is sweating, which can help chill the skin amid tropical heat.
We're visiting this chili harvest in honor of International Hot and Spicy Food Day. Whether you're already crazy for chilis or just looking to broaden your spicy-food horizons, today's the day to try that level 5 Thai curry or a burrito with habanero salsa—or if you're truly capsaicin-averse, turn up the heat with a Spice Girls or Red Hot Chili Peppers playlist.
Related Images
Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Peacock feathers
Gamboa Crater, Mars
Marshland, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Aerial view of terraced rice fields, Yuanyang County, China
Blue-green waters around the Bahamas as seen from the International Space Station
Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, California
A great egret in Everglades National Park, Florida
Today on Bing
