Regular vs. HOT Carrots

I realized that there's something important about me that you should know: I'm not a spicy person. Mild Chicken wings used to set my mouth on fire (the only reason that this is no longer true is that I don't eat them anymore. I'm a honey garlic chicken wing girl.) So the moral of the story is that I get along with spicy foods about as well as baking soda gets along with vinegar: it explodes.

But then my problem is that it’s difficult to find things with a good flavour. Most foods, especially vegetables, are either boiled and bland or grilled and spicy. So I’m looking for a perfect combination of the two. Carrots have always been my favourite snacking veggie, and if you ask my parents then they'll pull out their favourite stories with me involving diapers and carrots. While they are still yummy, I have gotten kind of bored snacking on the same food for over a decade. And there started my search for the perfect snacking vegetable.

For some reason, I thought that the HOT Pickled Carrots might be just what I’m looking for. There’s only one small piece of pepper in with all of those carrots, so this seemed to be a reasonable assumption, wouldn’t you think?

Well, I thought wrong. I took a bite of one of these hot carrots, and as I start chewing, I'm thinking that it's not so bad. There's a bit of a zing, but it still has the taste and texture of a normal carrot. I'm not a fan of mushy cooked carrots, so the crunchy texture was just perfect. But then one second passes, and another, and I realize that I'm losing feeling in my tongue! I thought it was a carrot, but it tasted like I was taking a bite straight out of a pepper! I took me three glasses of water and a banana to be able to taste again. But I still can't taste normally. And let me tell you, cupcakes do not go well with a spicy after taste!

Then I brought the hot carrots to a friend to see what he thought. And he loved them! Said that the spiciness was exactly what he loved, but could never find. Of course I think he's a bit crazy, but by the time I got back from getting a drink, the entire jar was empty. So the HOT carrots gets three thumbs up from him (he “borrowed” one of my hands) and a burnt tongue from me.

Well, I did enjoy the taste of the carrots before the pepper kicked in, so I figured I'd give the regular variety (without the jalapenos!) a try. And lo and behold, I found exactly what I was looking for. A nice crunch when I bit into it, soft to chew, and it tasted like a delicious carrot with a dash of extra flavour that made it better than the regular variety, and I could still feel my tongue after (which is an extra bonus). Ladies and Gentleman, I found my new favourite snack food! I give it four thumbs up!

Have you tried the pickled carrots? Who do you agree with? Am I right in saying that the most delicious one is the regular variety, or is my friend right in saying that the HOT carrots are the best? What do you think?

~Summer Pickle Blogger