One thing I've always wondered - at what age are Indian kids (or kids from other cultures with spicy cuisines) introduced to spicy food? They mention kimchi for toddlers in the article, what about in India?
I'm not Indian but spicy food is effectively introduced pre-birth. The nutrient range that one gets from ones mother pre-birth appears to have a bearing on ones taste later. Certainly some flavours are passed on to breast-milk, eg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2452382/Mothers-shown-how-to....
The first solids one of my kids (UK) had was Thai green curry, at 5 months, but it wasn't very spicy. Our kids just ate what we eat when they were ready to ween [move on to solid foods]; I can imagine this is probably quite common and so in many cultures if the adults are eating spicy food then the kids are from the time they begin to ween.
Spice-"lite" (ie., the less spicy part of sambar etc.,) are introduced as early as 1 year. Kids essentially eat the same food as their parents by age 2, even if they are still hand-fed by their mothers (sometime even up to the age of 5).
Well, the concept of spicy or non-spicy food is non-existent, at least that is how it was in my family. Some people like a lot of spices, others do not - it is like a family tradition. Generally the mother controls the family taste, husbands fall in line :)
When I was growing up they'd tone down the spice for kids until they were 5-6+. Still slices compared to American food. Our daughter has been eating spicy food since one or so. Not the super hot stuff that even makes Indian people sweat, obviously.
FWIW, my american born daughter (to us south Indian parents), started eating spicy food at the age of 1. She can bat down spicy chicken and fish to make both her grandmothers proud.
