5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (2024)

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5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods? ›

A squeeze of lemon or lime juice or a little vinegar can help cut through spiciness. Acidic foods tone down the spiciness in foods and can add some flavor, making this a good trick for seafood dishes or creamy soups and chowders.

A squeeze of lemon or lime juice or a little vinegar can help cut through spiciness. Acidic foods tone down the spiciness in foods and can add some flavor, making this a good trick for seafood dishes or creamy soups and chowders.

Balancing it with an acid can help neutralize the molecule's activity. This means drinking or eating something acidic — such as lemonade, limeade, orange juice or a tomato-based food item or drink — may also help cool your mouth down. (Milk is also acidic, by the way.)

Peanut, almond, or cashew butter are all rich in fat and can help dissolve capsaicin and mitigate some of the heat from chiles. If you're hesitant to add fat, you can also dilute the heat of a curry or stew by adding more water.

Dairy products containing casein, such as milk, yogurt, and ice cream, are particularly effective in calming the burn. Thanks to their ability to attract and wash away capsaicin molecules.

Sugar works to counteract the heat caused by capsaicin in peppers so adding a touch of honey or sugar can tone down a spicy dish. The downside is that the sweetness may alter the flavor of your dish so it is best to add a little at a time and taste test it to make sure you maintain a balance between savory and sweet.

Enjoy every bite by pairing your spicy dish with a refreshing glass of milk. Milk helps your mouth handle an oily chemical compound in chili peppers called capsaicin that causes the well-known burning sensation from consuming spicy foods. This relief is thanks to casein, a protein found in cow's milk.

To stop the cascade of reactions to the fiery chemicals, reach for milk— which contains a protein called casein that clings to fatty molecules like the oily capsaicin and carries them away. A 10 percent solution of sugar water also works by harnessing capsaicin's chemical reaction with sucrose.

A recent “Flavor Trend Category Report” by Technomic concludes that Asian people have the highest tolerance for spicy foods, while Caucasians have the least. While it's easy to joke about various cultures' spice tolerances (or lack thereof!), it's difficult to have a truly universal understanding of spice tolerance.

Sweet Defeats Heat

Adding something sweet to a too-spicy dish is another great way to reduce spiciness. A sprinkle of sugar or honey should do the trick. Or add a touch of sweet ketchup. If it's a tomato-based sauce, stir in a little more tomato sauce and maybe a touch of sugar.

What to drink to calm down spicy food? ›

Balancing it with an acid can help neutralize the capsaicin. This means that drinking or eating something acidic can give you some temporary relief from the burning sensations. Things such as lemonade or orange juice are great options. You can also try a tomato-based item.

While it may feel like your taste buds may be singed forever, the pain is temporary. The burn from capsaicin generally dissipates in about 15 minutes, according to McGee. Serena Ball, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, food writer and recipe developer.

The most commonly espoused home remedy is consuming dairy products, as they contain proteins called caseins that bind neatly with capsaicinoids, preventing any capsaicin that hasn't already hooked onto a receptor from latching on, safely washing the now-neutralized compounds down your gullet instead.