How to Cool My Spicy Chili

A chili's heat level flutuates; taste a tiny piece before adding it to your chili to have a better idea of how much to add.

Chili recipes call for several spicy ingredients that bring heat to the meal. Using too much of these spicy ingredients will produce food overwhelmed by the taste of the spice making it unappetizing. If this happens, instead of throwing away the entire batch, adjust the level of heat with by adding a few spice-reducing ingredients that won't seriously compromise the flavor of the chili.

Things You'll Need

• Sweet cornbread mix
• Sour cream
• Lime
• Can of crushed pineapple
• Shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Add 1/4 cup of sweet corn bread to every 2 cups of chili and stir it until it fully dissolves. Place a lid on the pot of chili and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

2. Taste the adjusted chili and if it continues to burn at too high a temperature, cool it down further by adding 1/4 cup of sour cream to every 1 cup of cooked chili. Stir the chili for a minute or two until the sour cream has fully blended.

3. Taste the chili and if it continues to be too spicy, squeeze the juice of an entire lemon into the batch. Stir the chili until the lemon juice has been fully incorporated and taste the chili again. If the taste is good, but still too spicy, add the juice of another lemon; be careful not too add too much lemon though as it can ruin the flavor of your chili.

4. Sample the chili and if it's still unbearably spicy, add one can of crushed pineapple. Stir the chili for a few minutes and allow it to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.

5. If it's still too spicy, serve the chili topped with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream to cut the spice. Bring extra sour cream to the table for any extra adjustments.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove the seeds and stems of the chili peppers you use for your chili to eliminate any unwanted heat. When cooking a chili you can always add more heat later, start with a basic recipe and gradually add spicy heat as it cooks, tasting in between adding spicy ingredients.

• Sugar is another ingredient that counter acts spice; however, be extremely cautious when adding sugar to your food because it can easily ruin the flavor if overdone.

References

• "Cooking Basics for Dummies"; Bryan Miller, Marie Rama, Eve Adamson, Wolfgang Puck; 2004
• Chef Talk: When Things Go Wrong: A Guide to Fixing Kitchen Disasters
• Slash Food: Tip of the Day - Cool Down Spicy Food