How to Make Jalepeno Peppers Milder

There aren’t many peppers more flavorful than jalapenos. Many people have trouble with the heat they generate, however, since they are one of the hot peppers. The good news is that it isn’t difficult to make jalapenos milder. This means that more people can enjoy them.

The constituent that makes these peppers hot is called capsaicin. It is from this substance that the pepper gets its genus name. While it has medicinal properties, capsaicin gives the peppers a bite. What many people don’t know is that even bell or sweet peppers contain capsaicin. It is simply in much less amounts, so it doesn’t taste hot in sweet peppers.

The capsaicin is especially concentrated in the seeds of the jalapeno. This helps to ward off insects and other pests that would otherwise eat them. This, then, gives the first clue in how to make these peppers milder. Remove the seeds and the spongy material the seeds are attached to. Even one seed that isn’t removed can cause the pepper to be hot.

The seeds are not without worth, either, as they can be sprinkled on the flowerbed or garden to help repel pests.

When removing the seeds, be sure to use disposable plastic gloves. The oils adhere to skin, and it only takes once of rubbing your eyes when you have jalapeno juice on your hands, to wish you hadn’t. Even hot water and soap don’t take the capsaicin completely off your hands. It is much better to use plastic gloves that can be thrown away after the pepper is dealt with.

This removes most of the heat, but not all of it. The flesh of the pepper still contains enough capsaicin to make it hot. A good trait of this complex substance is that it does gradually break down in the presence of hot, salty water, or heat in general. This gives the second clue for making jalapenos milder.

If these peppers are boiled in salted water, they begin to lose their sting. Usually, cooking them in boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes is enough to make them reasonably mild. The longer they are boiled, the blander they become.

They can still be made yet milder. To do this, adding naturally mild foods like cream cheese or bacon can help.

It doesn’t stop here, though. The skin of the jalapeno still contains the bite. To remove this, use heat to cook it out. For instance, the peppers can be cooked over a medium barbecue, until they are beginning to blister. They can also be cooked under the broiler grill in the oven, to achieve the same results. In either case, the capsaicin is broken down because of how the pepper is cooked, and the temperature it is cooked at.

It really isn’t hard to make jalapeno peppers milder. It often isn’t an issue for people who enjoy hot peppers. However, for those who have a harder time dealing with hot and spicy foods, these steps can allow you to enjoy the great taste without burning your hair off in the process. Give it a try, and see what you think.