How to Cut Capsaicin Heat in Cooking

Many of the world's flavorful dishes, from exotic Indian curry to classic red chili with beans, feature the fiery kick of chili peppers. However, if you don't like hot food, or can't eat it due to a health condition such as acid reflux disease or IBS, don't worry. There are ways to turn down a recipe's heat without losing any flavor, so you can keep enjoying the foods you love. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Instructions

1

Choose lower-heat chilies. As a general rule, larger chilies are more mild than smaller chilies. For example, bell peppers have no heat at all, while poblano chilies and anaheims have far less spice than jalapenos, habeneros and cayenne peppers. If you're substituting milder chilies in a recipe that calls for hotter ones, you can also ask your market's produce manager which chili would work best.

2

Remove the ribs and seeds. The heat-producing glands on chili peppers are located in the ribs, and the seeds, which grow near the ribs, absorb much of the pod's capsaicin oil. Cut each chili's top off, slice in half, and use a paring knife to scrape off the ribs and seeds. Discard these.

3

Add dairy to a recipe. Milk is well known for its ability to cool down your tongue after you've eaten spicy salsa or other hot foods. Dairy products do the same thing when added to a recipes. Yogurt is a traditional ingredient in curry, and a little sour cream tastes great with chili or salsa.

4

Add sugar to your dish. Though you don't want to make a savory dish overly sweet, sugar also helps tame chilies by binding to the capsaicin molecules before your tongue can taste them. Choose your sweet ingredients based on what you are serving. Molasses and brown sugar both taste good in a spicy BBQ sauce, the sugar in ketchup goes well with chili, and a fruit chutney pairs perfectly with Thai curries.