by Matt Kaufmann

Created on: September 18, 2010

How do you handle chile peppers safely without spreading the burn?  Good question, especially given the fact that the fire of chile peppers has been growing along with their mainstream popularity.  Chile-heads are demanding peppers that are hotter, spicier and more extreme than the "old" hottest pepper.  With this demand for super hot chile peppers comes the problem of handling them safely.

Capsaicin has tremendous potential for health benefits but it's also the substance that makes chile peppers hot...and hot to handle.  Contrary to popular belief the seeds of chile peppers contain very little capsaicin.  It's  the white pith inside the peppers (also called the ribs or the vein) that contain the highest concentration of capsaicin.  Hotter peppers have a higher concentration of capsaicin and will therefore cause a higher degree of irritation.  This is the part of the pepper that you should handle with the greatest degree of care.

While capsaicin is relatively harmless it can cause significant irritation if it comes in contact with mucous membranes. So while it may not irritate your hands you still run the risk of transferring it to your lips, eyes, nose or ears.  And, good luck if you go off to use the restroom after cutting up some really spicy chile peppers.  Not to worry though.  Learning how to handle peppers properly can help you avoid torching your nose and searing your eyes.  Sound good?  Read on!

I've been cooking with chile peppers on a daily basis for most of my life.  One thing my experience has taught me is that the only tried and true method for handling chile peppers while limiting the accidental transfer of capsaicin to other body parts is to wear gloves when handling cut or pureed peppers.  So what do you do if one of your gloves break and you end up with pepper juice on your hands?  Well, I have an answer for that as well.

Capsaicin is an alkaloid that is slightly soluble in water.  So, you'll likely do a lot of scrubbing with soap and water before you make a difference and even then you won't remove all of it.  However, capsaicin is very soluble in vegetable oil and ethanol.  This is pretty handy since you most likely have vegetable oil in the very kitchen that you were preparing the peppers.  So rub your hands with vegetable oil and use a detergent with hot water afterward.  Well now you got the burn off your hands but the fumes from your

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