How hot do you like your food?
As hot as it comes23.8%
Properly spicy28.1%
A bit of heat26.6%
Barely any9.2%
None at all12.4%
28.1% answered "Properly spicy".
How much spice can people handle?
Statistics from 1,614 accepted quiz answers*. Updated September 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 28.1% of 1,614 people.
Where everyone lands
Low24.2%
Medium40.4%
High35.4%
40.4% of 1,614 people worldwide scored medium on the Sarahah Spicy food quiz.
Results by gender
Women
27.1%
42.9%
29.9%
Men
22%
38.4%
39.6%
LowMediumHigh
In Sarahah quiz answers, 39.6% of men scored high, against 29.9% of women.
Results by age group
Under 18
17.5%
34.4%
48.1%
18-24
19.3%
41.8%
38.9%
25-34
26.6%
41.9%
31.5%
35-44
28.1%
39.4%
32.5%
LowMediumHigh
In Sarahah quiz answers, 48.1% of the Under 18 group scored high, the highest of any age group, against 31.5% of 25-34.
Question by question
Ordering somewhere that asks how spicy you want it, what do you pick?
The hottest they have18.5%
One below the hottest17.1%
The middle option30.5%
Mild19.3%
Not spicy at all14.6%
30.5% answered "The middle option".
Hot sauce is on the table. Do you add it?
Always, before I even taste the food20.5%
Usually, after tasting30.1%
Sometimes28.6%
Never20.8%
30.1% answered "Usually, after tasting".
Have you ever eaten a chilli raw?
Yes, regularly27.3%
Yes, once or twice38.8%
No33.9%
38.8% answered "Yes, once or twice".
When food is hotter than you expected, what do you do?
Keep going, it passes26%
Slow down and finish it32.8%
Reach for a drink25.8%
Stop eating it15.4%
32.8% answered "Slow down and finish it".
What do you actually enjoy about it?
The heat itself13.7%
The flavour that comes with it35.3%
Both equally30.4%
Neither, I just tolerate it7.6%
I don't enjoy spicy food13%
35.3% answered "The flavour that comes with it".
What do you reach for when it is too much?
Water50.7%
Milk or yoghurt22.1%
Bread or rice11.7%
Nothing, I wait it out15.5%
50.7% answered "Water".
Has your tolerance changed over the years?
Gone up a lot29.8%
Gone up a little27.8%
Stayed the same27.1%
Gone down15.4%
29.8% answered "Gone up a lot".
* 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.