How hot do you like your food?
As hot as it comes23.9%
Properly spicy28.3%
A bit of heat27.3%
Barely any8.9%
None at all11.7%
28.3% answered "Properly spicy".
How much spice can people handle?
Statistics from 2,553 accepted quiz answers*. Updated October 2026. How these statistics work
Asked "How hot do you like your food?" on the Sarahah quiz, the most common answer was "Properly spicy", chosen by 28.3% of 2,553 people.
Where everyone lands
Low23.8%
Medium40.7%
High35.5%
40.7% of 2,553 people worldwide scored medium on the Sarahah Spicy food quiz.
Results by gender
Women
27.6%
43.7%
28.6%
Men
21%
38.4%
40.6%
LowMediumHigh
In Sarahah quiz answers, 40.6% of men scored high, against 28.6% of women.
Results by age group
Under 18
17.4%
33.8%
48.8%
18-24
19.1%
43.9%
37.1%
25-34
26.5%
41.3%
32.2%
35-44
26.8%
39.2%
34%
45-54
28.8%
40.7%
30.5%
LowMediumHigh
In Sarahah quiz answers, 48.8% of the Under 18 group scored high, the highest of any age group, against 30.5% of 45-54.
Question by question
Ordering somewhere that asks how spicy you want it, what do you pick?
The hottest they have18.8%
One below the hottest16.8%
The middle option31.1%
Mild19.7%
Not spicy at all13.7%
31.1% answered "The middle option".
Hot sauce is on the table. Do you add it?
Always, before I even taste the food20.9%
Usually, after tasting30.4%
Sometimes28.6%
Never20.1%
30.4% answered "Usually, after tasting".
Have you ever eaten a chilli raw?
Yes, regularly27.5%
Yes, once or twice38.5%
No34%
38.5% answered "Yes, once or twice".
When food is hotter than you expected, what do you do?
Keep going, it passes26%
Slow down and finish it32.7%
Reach for a drink25.8%
Stop eating it15.6%
32.7% answered "Slow down and finish it".
What do you actually enjoy about it?
The heat itself13.9%
The flavour that comes with it35.6%
Both equally30.2%
Neither, I just tolerate it7.9%
I don't enjoy spicy food12.4%
35.6% answered "The flavour that comes with it".
What do you reach for when it is too much?
Water52%
Milk or yoghurt21.2%
Bread or rice11%
Nothing, I wait it out15.8%
52% answered "Water".
Has your tolerance changed over the years?
Gone up a lot29%
Gone up a little29.2%
Stayed the same25.7%
Gone down16.1%
29.2% answered "Gone up a little".
* Everyone here chose to take the quiz, and no answers are weighted to match a real population. Each question counts only the people who answered it, so a question some people skipped rests on a smaller group than the total above.
Statistics by country
Only countries with at least 50 eligible answers of their own appear here.