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Capt'n Salsa's Fool Proof Chile Heat Index

Chile heat index? Scoville units, what? Capsaicin? My mouth and hands are on fire, ouch! Well here I am making some delicious homemade salsa for the Monday Night Football game and my mouth and hands are killing me. How can you stop the burning and get this salsa recipe ready to go without hurting your guests. Now, don't take Capt'n Salsa the wrong way, I love the heat of a good chile, but there is a big difference between hot and hurt. But oh boy, what a flavor. You know you're a chile head when you use ... read more

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Chile heat index? Scoville units, what? Capsaicin? My mouth
 
and hands are on fire, ouch!

Well here I am making some delicious homemade salsa for the
 
Monday Night Football game and my mouth and hands are
 
killing me. How can you stop the burning and get this
 
salsa recipe ready to go without hurting your guests.

Now, don't take Capt'n Salsa the wrong way, I love the heat
 
of a good chile, but there is a big difference between hot
 
and hurt. But oh boy, what a flavor. You know you're a
 
chile head when you use cheese and chopped habanero to
 
stuff your jalapeno peppers.

Perhaps I can answer a few of your questions about how hot
 
are those chiles and what can you do about it if you get
 
just a little carried away with the heat.

What's that? Your mouth and hands are burning? Okay, let's
 
start with the hands…

First wet your hands with cold water, and then rub them
 
briskly together with a teaspoon or so of salt as if you
 
are washing your hands. I prefer kosher salt due to its
 
course texture, but grabbing the salt shaker will work as
 
well. Now, wash your hands again with soap and warm water.
 
This also works well when working with garlic and onions.

You did wear your rubber gloves when you started working
 
with the chiles, right?

Come on, Capt'n my mouth is really burning too!

"Your mouth is on fire?"

What ever you do, do not reach for the water; it will only
 
spread the capsaicin oil around inside your mouth,
 
spreading the oil of the chile and you will swear it just
 
go hotter.

So don't reach for the water, okay?

Here are a few remedies that have proven to work.

Milk or dairy products are cooling; grab a glass of milk or
 
a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Did you ever wonder
 
why you almost always see a dollop of sour cream or a
 
helping of "Creama Mexicana Sauce" on your enchiladas and
 
nachos?

Yes, even a "cerveza" can be cooling too, the alcohol will
 
help dissolve the irritating oils as well as "deaden" the
 
pain. Now, wait a minute don't get carried away, you
 
didn't hear me say anything about Tequila Shots.

In addition, a squeeze of lemon or lime will help balance
 
the palate and distract it from the heat. Perhaps my
 
favorite, simply continue to eat the hot salsa that got
 
you to the fire dance in the first place.

Yep, it's true.

Eating more hot salsa with your favorite tortilla and
 
chips, "the bread" will naturally soak up and help dilute
 
the capsaicin level and reduce "the pain."

Hey, Capt'n, what's a Scoville Unit?

Walter Scoville, a pharmacist back in 1912 developed the
 
Scoville heat index to measure the impact of peppers on
 
the tongue. He came up with a way to determine how much
 
sugar water it took to cancel the burn you were feeling on
 
your tongue. For example, if a hot chile, like the
 
jalapeno is rated at 5000 Scoville units, that means the
 
capsaicin oil needs 5000 times its volume in sugar water
 
to neutralize it.

Fine and good but what does that really mean to me? If a
 
jalapeno is rated from 3500 to 5000 on the Scoville scale
 
and a habanero is in the range of 350,000 how hot is it?

Capt'n Salsa's Fool Proof Chile Heat Index, coming to the
 
rescue.

Now just so you know, you might think the Capt'n named this
 
very appropriately, "fool proof" but believe me it really
 
works.

Let's get right to it. Be sure and read the paragraph about
 
"My mouth is burning" and plan accordingly. Remember an
 
effective quencher for the burning palate is grab a glass
 
of milk or your favorite bowl of ice cream and have it
 
sitting at arms reach. You should also have a bowl of
 
chips, crackers or a slice of bread handy.

Now, time to do some good old fashion testing. Ready?

Do not try this with a habanero!

You will need one jalapeno for this test. Begin by slicing
 
just the tip of the pepper off.

Then ever so gently, I do mean very lightly, "hey it's your
 
tongue" so be very careful, touch the tip of your tongue
 
to the cut edge of the jalapeno. Wow!

Fool Proof! See I told you.

Again I'm telling you not to try this with a habanero, even
 
the mildest habanero will knock my socks off.

Here are a few of Capt'n Salsa's tips for handling hot
 
chiles.

You can build up your heat tolerance for hot chiles by
 
starting with the mild ones then increasing to the hotter
 
varieties in your salsa recipes. Overtime the more often
 
you eat them the more tolerant you will become.

When working with any fresh or dried hot chilies, always
 
wear plastic or rubber gloves when working with them.

Chop or cut green chiles on an impermeable surface like
 
china, glass or metal. Do not use your favorite wood
 
cutting board. The wood will soak up the chile oils and it
 
will pass it along to the next food you chop...Wow; these
 
are the hottest strawberries I have ever had!

Do not cut chiles under running water.

When you process or sauté hot chilies they release plenty
 
of burning vapors into the air. Turning your head or
 
wearing a household dust mask will help.

Be sure to experiment with your homemade salsa recipe
 
ingredients. If you are not certain of the heat level the
 
amount of chiles called for will produce, then by all
 
means start with just a very small amount and add to it a
 
little at a time until you achieve your desired results.

Try different varieties of chiles for unique taste
 
sensations.

Share your homemade salsa creations with your family and
 
friends. You will be really glad you did and so will they.

Author Bio:

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