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When it comes to eating spicy food, most people love the heat. In fact, there are even international competitions that test the spiciness of different dishes. However, not everyone can handle a dish that is too hot. If you find your spicy food is just too spicy, there are several ways to fix it so that you can enjoy it again without endangering your taste buds. In most cases, if your food is too spicy but you don’t think it’s from an excess of cayenne or black pepper, then the culprit is usually the type of peppers used. There are other ingredients in any given recipe for spicy foods — whether that’s a soup or salsa or whatever — and one of them is likely to be responsible for making your mouth feel like a bonfire on crack.
Start with yogurt or sour cream
One of the easiest ways to bring the heat down in your spicy food is to start with sour cream or yogurt. You’d be surprised how effective this simple ingredient is at toning down the heat. What’s the trick? It’s all about fats and emulsification. When you put a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on some spicier food, it binds with the capsaicin and other chemicals in the peppers, and actually breaks them down and dilutes them. This process is called emulsification, and it happens in your mouth and stomach when you consume fats. What’s more, yogurt and sour cream both have a mild cooling effect, which helps to further temper the spiciness.
Mix in some sugar
If you’ve already added some sour cream or yogurt to your dish, and it’s still too hot for your tastes, you should try mixing in some sugar. Sugar and spicy foods actually have a long history together. In fact, the term “sweet and sour” as a description for a Chinese dish goes back to the 13th century. What’s the trick? Sugar doesn’t actually take away the heat, it just diminishes it by covering up the taste of the peppers.
Add some lime or lemon juice
If you’re eating a Mexican or Spanish dish, or a salad with a heavy dose of peppers, try adding some lime or lemon juice. Limes and lemons are used in a lot of spicy dishes because they’re both very acidic and they have a cooling effect. Lemon and lime both also help to break down the capsaicin in the peppers, but they don’t work quite as well as plain yogurt or sour cream. What’s the trick? It’s not just the acidity that makes these ingredients so effective. It’s also their high vitamin C content, which is what helps break down the capsaicin.
Don’t forget to breathe
This one might sound like a silly suggestion, but it’s very effective. When you’ve got a mouthful of spicy food that’s burning the inside of your mouth, you’re likely swallowing while trying to not breathe through your nose. That’s only going to make it worse. Try to remember to breathe through your mouth and exhale through your nose. It’s a good habit anyway, but it’ll help to clear your palate so that you can taste the food better and not just be overwhelmed by the heat. What’s the trick? By breathing through your mouth, you’re letting your taste buds do their job. But by breathing through your nose, you’re shielding your taste buds from the heat.
Add some plain rice or noodles
If you’re eating something like a Thai dish, where there’s probably a ton of garlic in there too, you can take some of the heat away by adding some plain rice or noodles. What’s the trick? Like the sugar trick, the starch in the rice or noodles dulls the effect of the garlic. Many people also like to add a starch like rice or noodles to their meal if they’re eating something really hot so that they don’t burn their tongue. This may seem like a silly and ineffective trick, but research shows that spiciness does cause nerve damage, and eating some starch will help to soothe the burn in your mouth. What’s the catch? Eating something starchy like rice or noodles will give you some relief from the heat, but the pain of the burn will come back when the starch wears off.
Conclusion
When it comes to eating spicy food, most people love the heat. In fact, there are even international competitions that test the spiciness of different dishes. However, not everyone can handle a dish that is too hot. When it comes to eating spicy food, there are several ways to reduce the heat. Start with yogurt or sour cream, mix in some sugar, add some lime or lemon juice, don’t forget to breathe, or add some plain rice or noodles to your meal so that you can enjoy it again without endangering your taste buds.
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