How to Decrease Hotness in Chili Cooking
Chili is a dish made from meat, beans, spices and chilies. The first chili was made by the Aztecs, Mayans or Incas, but the cattle drivers of Texas popularized the dish. One of the most distinctive features of chili is the spiciness from the chili peppers. Depending on your tastes, chili can be hot or mild. If you find your chili too spicy, decrease the hotness in your chili cooking by adding a few extra ingredients. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rubber gloves
- Chili pepper
- Knife
- Bowl
- White vinegar
- Potatoes
- Barley
- Lime or lemon
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
Instructions
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1
Cut your chili peppers in half, lengthwise with a knife. Scrape the seeds out with the tip of your knife. The seeds have most of the heat, and removing them will decrease the spiciness of your chili.
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2
Soak the chilies in a bowl full of vinegar for 24 hours to reduce the heat. Discard the vinegar and repeat the soaking if the chilies are still too hot.
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3
Add raw potatoes to your chili, if you find that the dish is still too hot for your tastes. The potatoes should distribute the chilies' heat.
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4
Add uncooked barley or rice to your chili while it's cooking, if it is still very hot. More ingredients will help decrease the effectiveness of the chili.
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5
Squeeze lime or lemon juice into your bowl of chili. The acids help break down the capsaicin oil.
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6
Sprinkle cheese and add sour cream into your bowl of chili. Dairy products have casein, which helps reduce the heat of the chilies and helps dissolve their oils.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear rubber gloves to prevent chili pepper oils from irritating your skin. Capsaicin is the alkaloid oil in the chilies that is responsible for their spiciness.
Drink sugary lemonade or milk, or eat yogurt after eating spicy food.
Do not touch your eyes after handling hot chilies -- the oil is an irritant.
References
- Photo Credit ITStock Free/Polka Dot/Getty Images
