I made some salsa last night from the garden (two kinds of tomatoes, a couple tabasco peppers, a jalapeno, and a couple serrano chiles). Twenty-four hours later, I'm still feeling the heat on my left hand from cutting up the capsica. Anyone have any household remedies for neutralizing the acid?

Yeow. I think it was the tabascos that did me in. I'm glad I didn't use one of the habaneros...

Being a native Texan has its advantages, and on of them is knoeing how to deal with peppers.

Peppers are ?hot? because their juice and seeds are highly acidic. The way to stop the pain these acids cause is to neutralize their pH with a base. Any base will do, provided you're careful, but if your hand is burning badly I'd suggest rubbing it with something that will absorb the acid -- like flour, or cornmeal, or crushed sodium bicarbonate. You might for example soak your hand in a bath of Alka-Seltzer for ten minutes or so and see how that works.

If your hand still hurts afterwards, it may be due to a food allergy or some other condition. My advice is to try one of the home remedies tonight and, if it still hurts tomorrow, have an M.D. give it a look.

Rand -

Go to the hardware store and get yourself a box of (unpowdered) latex gloves. I keep a box in the kitchen for -exactly- this sort of occassion. I cut peppers all day long and your rip 'em off when your done and there's no problem.

Actually, I just soaked it in 1% milk for a few minutes, and it's fine now...

;-)

I was going to suggest eating icecream with your bare hands, but ya beat me to it with the 1% milk...

Milk is the usual solution for soothing one's mouth. The capsaicin is fat-soluble, I believe, so the milk fat should pick up some of the hot stuff and rinse away.

I might have tried a little olive oil, but usually I use the latex gloves to avoid the problem.

Obviously, you are a person of Good Taste.

Gee, Rand, when I saw that title I thought you were talking about your 7 jillion posts per day on sci.space.policy...

Gee, Rand, when I saw that title I thought you were talking about your 7 jillion posts per day on sci.space.policy...

Javascript trimmed off this part:

"(grin, duck and run)"

Javascript trimmed off this part:

"(grin, duck and run)"

Pineapple juice is very good too. Works for me when I over do the chillies and do something insanely silly like wiping my eyes.

A weak bleach solution works as well.

Peppers are not hot because they are acidic. A base will do nothing to neutralize the burn. They contain a chemical irritant called Capsaicin. Capsaicin is soluble in oil, and other oils can remove it (or spread it). Mild detergent, alcohol, mineral spirits, and lemon juice will help to get rid of it. But once it has soaked into your skin, you just have to let it dissipate on its own.

It is a great misconception that peppers are hot because they are acidic. They are NOT. It's all because of the Capsaicin.

I made some Green Chili Stew and it is way to hot. Over did the Serrano and green chili peppers. Makes my lips burn like crazy. Any ideas on how to cool it down a bit.