Chilies and Peppers in the Kitchen

Handling and preparation

Many cookbooks warn you about handling hot chilies—they can give your skin a nasty

burn. Some cooks handle chilies without the slightest difficulty, others with sensitive skins need to

take precautions. For most cooks with not cuts or abrasions on their hands, cutting open and

cleaning the membrane from chilies quickly should be no problem. Professional chefs rarely use

any protection, but they are careful to work quickly and to wash their hands, knife and cutting board

with soapy water as soon as they are through. Soap and water are all that take to remove the

capsaicinoid oils. Touching your eyes, nose or some other sensitive parts of your body (or someone

else's, heaven help you) before thoroughly washing your hands is a sure route to agony.

Thin rubber gloves work well if you have sensitive skin, but it is difficult to handle small

chilies with rubber gloves. Some chili authorities suggest oiling your hands for protection. They

don't say how to keep a sure grip on your knife with that slick stuff all over your hands. Another

author uses chlorine bleach in water for rinsing his hands while working with chilies (1 part bleach

to 5 parts water). Ammonia in water is just as effective, but it has a more overpowering smell than

chlorine. Both are rather hard on your skin.

Fumes that escape into your kitchen while you are working on chilies or cooking with them

can irritate your eyes, nose and throat to an extreme. Always work with good ventilation. And

remember, set everything up, so you spend as little touching the chilies as possible and breathing in

their fumes.

TASTINGS The castrated chile

Removing the seeds and veins of chilies is considered sacrilegious in Mexico, no

matter how hot the chili. The process is considered castration and the product is

called capone, which mean castrated rooster.

Roasting and peeling

Roasting and peeling chilies is a chore, and it is debatable whether the amount of additional

flavor justifies the effort. Chiliheads and serious chili-eaters roast routinely and they swear by the

process. There’s no doubt, roasting brings out full chili flavors, it adds earthy and smoky tones and

tames the raw vegetable flavors. Peeling removes the membrane that toughens on roasting. With

experience roasting and peeling are relatively easy.

You don’t need to peel young chilies, but as they mature the skin tends to toughen, and

peeling is unavoidable. Test an unknown chili by popping a small piece in your mouth before going

to the trouble of peeling it.

Peeled chilies have a more subtle and tender flavor, bright color and soft texture. Roasting

before peeling enhances and adds to the flavor. You could make a full-time hobby of collecting the

many methods of roasting and peeling chilies. There are so many different varieties, that what

works for one may not work for another. No matter what method you use, the first step is to cut a

small slit in the chili to keep it from exploding during the process. The skin on chilies and peppers is

airtight to keep out moisture, pests and microorganisms. You start to heat that up, the moisture

inside turns into steam and it explodes like an overinflated balloon.

Serious Kitchen Play