Introduction: *No Fear* Jalapeño Chopping Prep!
More by the author:
About: Finally have enough of an internet connection to get back to Instructables.com! And the infinite number of emails that are clogging my in box ?. Guess living on a mountain top has some drawbacks- but who care…
Do not fear the simple little green pepper known as the jalapeño, when handled properly you will be able to enjoy it's succulent savory heat in any recipe you choose! It only takes a moment to master cutting, chopping or dicing one up without loosing an eye to the heat of capsaicin.
And besides the great taste they add to your recipe, they are really a very healthy menu item.
Did you know:
And besides the great taste they add to your recipe, they are really a very healthy menu item.
Did you know:
One jalapeño contains more than the daily dietary requirement of vitamin C, as well as vitamin K and many B vitamins
It contains a large amount of potassium, which your body needs
It supplies anti-oxidants to help tissue repair and boost the immune system
- and this one I really like the idea of... they can boost metabolism making weight loss easier and quicker!
- and this one I really like the idea of... they can boost metabolism making weight loss easier and quicker!
Step 1: Let's Get to Chopping
Wash your jalapeño well, and dry it off.
Slice off the stem end of the jalapeño, unless your recipe says to use it for presentation purposes (in which case you wouldn't be chopping it up to begin with so none of thin information would apply).
Place it on a firm surface and insert the knife into the middle. Pull the knife through the end so you have halved the jalapeño.
See those seeds and membranes? That is where the heat is, mixed up all along that center vein. You can determine how much or how little heat you want to add to your recipe by how much of this you remove.
I always remove the seeds, they aren't the main supplier of the heat. But you can decide how much of the center membrane to leave in when you chop it to determine the heat factor.
Slice off the stem end of the jalapeño, unless your recipe says to use it for presentation purposes (in which case you wouldn't be chopping it up to begin with so none of thin information would apply).
Place it on a firm surface and insert the knife into the middle. Pull the knife through the end so you have halved the jalapeño.
See those seeds and membranes? That is where the heat is, mixed up all along that center vein. You can determine how much or how little heat you want to add to your recipe by how much of this you remove.
I always remove the seeds, they aren't the main supplier of the heat. But you can decide how much of the center membrane to leave in when you chop it to determine the heat factor.
Step 2: Diced Jalapeño
If you dont want the outer skin of the jalapeño for some reason, you can just roll your knife along the edge leaving the meaty part of the pepper behind. But since the skin isn't tough, I almost always leave it intact. And the skin gives a great smokey flavor when you grill peppers.
Whichever your decide, skin on or skin off, you need to slice down the pepper length wise into strips.
Gather the strips into a bundle and cross slice them
Whichever your decide, skin on or skin off, you need to slice down the pepper length wise into strips.
Gather the strips into a bundle and cross slice them
and you have diced jalapeño!
Step 3: What If Its That Residual Heat on Your Hands That Scares You?
Peppers are full of capsaicin, a volatile oil that runs trough the peppers core and somewhat into the fleshy parts. This oil sticks to you hands when you are preparing peppers, unless you wear gloves.
I have known people to put a finger to their lips and get burned, rub their eyes and get burned, and some how touched other places I won't mention, but they were definitely burned!
You can, and should, wash you hands after chopping jalapeños, but this will do very little to remove the capsaicin oil from your hands and fingers. Once sure way to clean the oil off is to rinse off you hands and fingers with everyday ordinary household bleach.
Bleach might be hard on your skin, but its a much nicer alternative to a pepper covered finger getting into your eye!
Last thing I wanted to share is how to stop the heat from making your mouth fall open with flames shooting out. People will tell you to use milk, or beer even wash it down with some soda pop. These aren't likely to help, and might even make the pain worse.
I was brought up believing the only way to stop they heat was to eat more pepper, which physiologically makes sense because you are forcing your body to release those "feel good" endorphines which might actually help. But what if you don't want to eat more of it?
SUGAR!
I have known people to put a finger to their lips and get burned, rub their eyes and get burned, and some how touched other places I won't mention, but they were definitely burned!
You can, and should, wash you hands after chopping jalapeños, but this will do very little to remove the capsaicin oil from your hands and fingers. Once sure way to clean the oil off is to rinse off you hands and fingers with everyday ordinary household bleach.
Bleach might be hard on your skin, but its a much nicer alternative to a pepper covered finger getting into your eye!
Last thing I wanted to share is how to stop the heat from making your mouth fall open with flames shooting out. People will tell you to use milk, or beer even wash it down with some soda pop. These aren't likely to help, and might even make the pain worse.
I was brought up believing the only way to stop they heat was to eat more pepper, which physiologically makes sense because you are forcing your body to release those "feel good" endorphines which might actually help. But what if you don't want to eat more of it?
SUGAR!
Consuming a small amount of plain table sugar is a sure fire way to stop the pain! That's probably why milk helps some, the lactase it contains is a simple sugar.
So remember, rinse your hands with bleach, and keep some sugar handy, and enjoy the taste and benefits of the JALAPEÑO!
So remember, rinse your hands with bleach, and keep some sugar handy, and enjoy the taste and benefits of the JALAPEÑO!