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I guess I was born into it :). Both of my parents originally came from Manado (North Sulawesi), a region in Indonesia well-known for its spicy, hot dishes loaded with herbs, aromatics and LOADS of chilies. Even some of the 'snack' dishes are spicy! There are also many variations of homemade sambals to accompany every meal.

Though I was born and grew up in a different city in Indonesia, Manadonese dishes were often part of the family meals. When I moved to the U.S. as a teen, the food I grew up with became a scarce commodity, but when there's a will, there's always a way! I don't remember a time when I didn't like hot, spicy food, even as a kid.

Continuing the legacy, my two young sons are growing up eating spicy foods. My youngest, a few months shy of turning 3, would specifically ask for something hot: so I'd dab some Sambal Lampung (Indonesian version of Sriracha, and yes, it's hot!) on his plate. He'd sometimes cry from the heat, but that never stopped him from coming back for more!

My mum told me: 'You can't call yourself Malay if you can't stand the heat of chilies.'

I've always loved spicy food but 17 years in the Caribbean have turned the love into something of an addiction. My daughter, now 11, was raised on scotch bonnets - no need for any kind of slow indoctrination. It's just what we eat at home.

It was like someone just flipped a switch in my tongue one day. As a child, I made my parents order all food mild, refused to use mint toothpaste because it was too "burny", and wouldn't eat an altoid or spicy salsa if you paid me.

About 3 years ago, I was eating some salsa at a Mexican restaurant and I realized I wanted it to be hotter. It was crazy. I started ordering my food medium, then hot, and now I literally crave hot food. I feel like a crazy pregnant woman, insisting to all my servers that when I say hot I mean HOT! Don't just dial down the heat because I'm a gringa, I want it native!! Now I make pretty much everything spicy, but it sometimes gets me in trouble with dinner guests who are not chileheads.

My boyfriend's family is Indian. They start them young. I once visited his cousins and they had twin girls that were 2 years old. They were eating some spicy food and they didn't even bat an eye. I, on the other hand, was crying and blowing my nose through the whole meal.

However, the downfall is that they thought all non-spicy food as bland. In fact, they thought Chinese food wasn't tasty enough. Too bad for them.

Although I can't handle the heat, I'd rather be able to taste the subtleties in food.

I grew up in Chicago. Spice for us was the little shaker of red pepper flakes at the local pizza joint. I fell in love with Thai and Tex/Mex food, and built up a love of spice.

Then I moved to the UK. And I have very little spice tolerance at all anymore. I can manage a Madras curry, but not a Vindaloo. And, when working at a reastaurant run by a Salvadorian chef, I made the mistake of asking for something 'extra hot'. I had hiccoughs for a week. Apparently, he regarded it as a personal challenge. And he won.

I love chiles, but I don't want them to mask the flavours underneath. You need to know just how much to add to a dish; to give it added flavour and kick, but not burn the tongue. I'm sure you all know this, but the current leading theory on why we like spicy food is that the pain triggers endorphins, which make us feel better. That's right; chiles really are a drug.

Um...I'm Mexican and Filipino, so it wasn't really an option growing up. You either ate spicy food as is, or you went hungry!

My Mexican dad drinks taco shop hot sauce cups like little shots because he can't be bothered to pour it on his burrito. I've even heard my Filipino grandmother exclaim, a la Marilyn Monroe, "I like it hot, baby!" while adding another chile to a pot of stew!

My Sicilian husband also likes spicing up food in any way possible, so we have several different sources of heat on hand at all times -- from hot sauces like Sriracha and Tapatio to red chile flakes to spicy mustards, we've got it covered!

Cute story Andrea;
I think I realized I was a true chilihead when I would bring the jar of chilipowder to the supper table and add it to my bowl of chili. I must have been aroud 7 y/o-ish.

I crave spicy foods every single day.
I do like my heat in moderation though...I want to taste the other flavours.

I just started dating a guy and I took him out for some beers for his birthday...I ordered some nachos with extra jals and cheese...I noticed throughout the evenings' conversation that he was picking all the toppings off....I really really hope he's not a bland eater. And if so: how should I break him in? He seems open-minded overall but perhaps just hasn't been exposed to a real foodie lifestyle!

My journey must have been at least partially genetic. My father's idea of salad dressing is mayo + hot sauce, and my 93-year old maternal grandmother eats jalapenos every day like they're candy (she also loves her Coors Light - bless her heart!)

My mom used to bring home spicy take out from a local Chinese place. She'd let me try a little. My mouth would burn for hours, but I liked it. When I was a teenager, a Thai restaurant opened about 45 minutes away. My family quickly was hooked on spicy curries and basil stir fries.

One of the first Chinese dishes I learned to make was kung pao chicken. I gradually starting adding increasing numbers of dried chiles to the dish. It's a go to "pick me up" dish still because of the adrenaline buzz I get from eating the dried chiles.

Born and raised in New Mexico, there is no escaping chili. I grew up eating it- red and green- and miss having it around all the time. I live far away now and having Hatch chili roasted at my local store is out of the question. But when we go back for a visit, its all I eat! And weird thing is, I can tolerate hotter chili now that I don't eat it all the time. It could be that I just don't care how hot it is. It's just too darn good to not eat it. And who knows when I'll get it next.

for most of my life, i couldn't tolerate heat. then last summer my friend (also a former no-heat girl) and i spent seven weeks in thailand, where the chilis are hot and ubiquitous, so rather than fight the movement, i gave in. the first phrase we learned in thai was "phet ma!" or "very spicy," which quite amused our hosts every time we would gasp the phrase and gulp down water. midway through our trip, we noticed that we were now dousing everything from phat thai to pizza in chili flakes. the chili back here in the states no longer cuts it for me. the hotter the better!