How to handle the heat!
April 04, 2015
Hi everyone!
Recently, we talked a little bit about how to increase the spice level of certain dishes. While that worked great for a lot of people, we had a few people ask us how they to handle the spice levels! Not a problem. Spiciness has a different effect on everybody, and a lot varies on what you used to increase the spice. However, there are some universal methods to handle spicy dishes, and we wanted to share those with you.
Now the obvious, most famous solution is a nice, cool glass of milk. Really, most dairy products will help you out, and India even has it's own special yogurt they use to add flavor and control spice levels called raita. This little trick should help you handle some pretty tough situations, but if it doesn't, we have a few more ideas!
You'll notice that many Indian or Mexican dishes come with cilantro and lime on the side. Not only is this for flavor, but they prove to be coolants that help control the sting. If you're worried, don't be afraid to ask for a little more than usual and really cover your food! While they might not work after you've already got the burn going, they can prove to be preventative, which is also very important!
Next up we got the age old methods of salt and sugar. Effectively, you can just directly eat some salt or sugar, let them sit on your tongue and they should mitigate the burn. While we're on the page of eating things to control it, try eating something like dark chocolate or ice cream even as well. All of this has proven to be effective and who can say no to another excuse to eat ice cream?
Finally, we recommend eating something like a cracker or bread. Not only does it absorb some of the oils, but it changes the texture quite dramatically so that your tongue receptors can't focus as much on being on fire!
There you go people! A few little tricks to help handle the moments you bit off more than you can chew. Remember to eat slowly, enjoy the food and don't try to make it a competition! A little spice can be good for you but like all things, keep it in moderation.
Have a fantastic day everybody and thanks for reading!
