How to Remove Hot Spice From Soup

Spicy soups can be made more palatable with a few simple tricks.

Tolerance levels for spicy foods vary greatly. What is considered hot by one person might be perceived as mild to another. The best idea when preparing soup or any dish is to be conservative adding spices until you are sure you haven't overdone it. But even if you have put too much spice in your soup, you can still rectify it.

Things You'll Need

• Sugar
• Pineapple
• Lime juice
• Sour cream
• Yogurt
• Milk
• Carbonated drinks (sugared)
• Cilantro (chopped)

Instructions

1. Add a can of crushed pineapple to your soup. The acidity of the fruit will reduce the spiciness.

2. Squirt lime juice into your soup to counteract the peppery heat.

3. Add sour cream or yogurt to your soup to soften the effect of the spices.

4. Add more tomatoes to tomato-based soups and extra milk to cream soups. Both will reduce the spiciness as both are acid-based.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve milk or dairy-based drinks with spicy foods to counteract the heat. Sugary, carbonated beverages work well if milk is not available.

• Place sour cream, cheese or chopped cilantro on the table so your guests can cool their mouths between sips of spicy soup.

• Avoid serving water with spicy foods. The heat will be spread around your mouth but the spiciness of your food will not be diminished.

References

• Chef Talk: When Things Go Wrong
• 1001 How To: Betty's Spicy Vegetable Ground Beef Soup
• US Hot Stuff: Heat Scale