Instructions: Wings (but I will), I mean Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, African, Indian Curries, Southwestern and more applications in more cuisines than I can mention. Once hooked, the quest to find new ingredients and recipes can be addictive! Addictive? Oh yeah. The thought here is that once you have set your mouth on fire, the brain releases endorphins into your blood stream which give you an almost drugged like feeling.

The products available in specialty shops and online are overwhelming in their scope. Literally thousand of products just in the sauce and salsa category alone are available and they are very inexpensive, so sampling them to find just the right flavor and heat is an affordable treat. I personal have about 10 favorites that are on hand all the time and have a special spot on top of my spice cabinet for display!

Heat from Peppers
Fresh, frozen or dried they are the most popular ingredient used in spicy dishes. For over 6000 years peppers (Capsicum genus) have been used as a cooking ingredient and there are over 400 different varieties being grown around the world today.

Early this century a pharmacologist named Wilber Scoville came up with a method to measure the capsaicin in a pepper. Thats stuff in peppers that run through the veins and seeds that dictate how darn hot that pepper will be. You can rarely tell how hot a pepper is by looking at it. Dont you just love those cute little orange ones called Habaneros, dont be fooled, theyll set you mouth on fire.

So this Scoville guy set up a scale by which all peppers are graded as to their heat level. It starts at zero and continues to climb as new scorching hot peppers are produced. A mild bell pepper might have a Scoville Unit rating of around 1000 (parts per million of capsaicin), while a jalapeno will come in around 4000 units. Wow, you think those jalapenos are hot? A habanero can contain up to and over 300,000 Scoville Units. Downright dangerous!

Chilies are rich in Vitamin A and C. A two-ounce chili has more than twice your daily requirement of Vitamin A. When you are buying peppers look for a firm, solid flesh that is unblemished and has an even coloring. They have a good shelf life and should be kept in a cooler in a plastic bag until ready to use.

If you are handling really hot peppers use a pair of those surgical gloves that are available in the Pharmacy area of your supermarket. Do not touch your eyes or certain sensitive spots on your body after handling hot peppers. Its a lesson you can learn from someone with a bad experience or two. ME!

Dried whole chilies should be clean, shiny, and not broken. Store like you do all your spices, in a cool dark area in a sealed container or bag. To reconstitute them cover them with hot water in a bowl until they are soft and you can work with them.

The majority of the heat in a pepper is in the veins and seeds. To tone down a dish and get the flavor of the pepper without as much heat, remove the veins and seeds before you incorporate them into your dish.

One more tip before we go on. If you are eating hot foods heated by peppers, and you face bursts into flames and you need to put out the fire, water is not the answer. It only makes it worse, drink milk or a piece of bread or toast with butter. Or run to your freezer and gobble up some ice cream. Now thats a good excuse to eat ice cream!

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