Tip of the Day: Take the heat out of a hot pepper

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jun 12th 2008 @ 6:00AM

Sometimes you want to add a little bit of habanero or scotch bonnet flavor to a sauce or salsa, but you're not feeling like white-hot-screaming-plunge-your-face-in-the-snow pain for dinner, thankyouverymuch.

The Instructables website has a good tutorial on how to remove the "burn" from a chili pepper - note that de-seeding is only the beginning. Their method uses alcohol to dissolve the capsaicin - the enzyme that makes chilis spicy. You'll need anything that's 80 proof or above - vodka or tequila are good choices.

First, cut out the seeds. Next, pour olive oil on the exposed flesh, rub it in, then rinse under water. Pour the booze over the pepper, rub it in, then rinse again and allow to dry. Ultra-spicy peppers will need to soak in the alcohol for up to three hours.

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Filed Under: On the Blogs, Tip of the Day, Ingredients, How To
Tags: chili peppers, peppers, spices, spicy, tequila, vegetables