Of Hot Peppers and Suffering

I love peppers. But I do not love cooking them.

Today I made a wonderful vegetable dal, with lots of different mild peppers, and one Serrano pepper. Despite the fact that Serranos are not what I'd call a blazing-hot pepper, the residue from slicing it up has my hands in agony. They literally feel like they're on fire. I tried washing them well, but it didn't help, and the hot water was unbearable on the sore spots.

The odd thing is that I don't think I touched the pepper much, if at all. I had roasted it, lifted it onto the cutting board with a fork, and sliced it up using the fork and a knife. And yet, both of my hands are burning like I bathed in it.

Does anyone else experience this? What can I do for the BURNING?!

Capsaicin is soluble in oil - try washing your hands in vegetable oil. Alcohol can help, too - you could try something like Purell.

I cut hot peppers all the time, and I mean probably four days / weeek at home, but never have encountered this issue myself. I do hear about it from others tho. My guess would be washing your hands with something that the capsaicin is soluable (forgive me if I spelled it wrong) in. Alcohol comes to mind.

you dont want to wash your hands in warm/hot water after working with peppers imho, this open the pores up, and gets the pepper oil in further.

I am pretty much cutting/seeding a couple dozen peppers at a time(jalapenos/seranos/habaneros), and many times run the pepper under cold water while I am seeding them, typically I do not get much of the after burn with this method(my hands are kind of tough from years of kitchen work).

good luck.

I'm one of the lucky ones: I've never gotten more than an interesting warmth in my hands from handling cut peppers.

On the other hand, I wear contact lenses, and sooner or later, they do have to come out, which requires finger-in-the-eyes, and my eyes appear to be much more sensitive than my tongue: tasting a digit doesn't appear to be a good indicator.

I highly, highly, highly recommend lots of soap/detergent before getting fingers anywhere near your eyes or nose.

If you do rub your eyes after cutting hot peppers, try rinsing them out with milk.

This might have happened to me.

Might have?

I too wear contacts, so I’ve learned to keep a supply of latex (surgical) gloves handy. They can be a bit uncomfortable to wear, but I think it’s better than the alternative.

I too wear contacts, so I’ve learned to keep a supply of latex (surgical) gloves handy.

I just pop a sandwich bag over the hand holding the pepper.

spinynorman99 wrote:

I too wear contacts, so I’ve learned to keep a supply of latex (surgical) gloves handy.

I just pop a sandwich bag over the hand holding the pepper.

That would work great for peppers, but when you're up to your elbows inside a laser printer, with toner everywhere, that wouldn't work too well.

I use latex gloves as well ... and don't ever go to the bathroom right after slicing peppers, either !

I once made the mistake of using the bathroom (standing Position) after chopping up some Seranos with only a quick rinse of my hands. Alcohol helped quite a bit, I used Stoli on the rocks with a twist!

Marshall K wrote:I once made the mistake of using the bathroom (standing Position) after chopping up some Seranos with only a quick rinse of my hands. Alcohol helped quite a bit, I used Stoli on the rocks with a twist!

Worst. Visual. Image. Ever.

Hard-core chileheads refer to the consequences of handling very hot chiles and then touching things you shouldn't as 'Hunan Hand.' That term could be extended to the ongoing burning sensation in the skin after exposure to water - especially hot water.

Interestingly, I don't mind the ongoing burning sensation phenomenon at all. It seems like a natural balm against the pain of arthritis for me - and keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies actually do package capsaicin cremes for controlling aches and pains. As long as you keep the oil away from sensitive tissue, it does seem to have very useful homeopathic applications, as long as the burn level is something that you can stand.

Dmnkly wrote:

Marshall K wrote:I used Stoli on the rocks with a twist!

Worst. Visual. Image. Ever.

Took me a second or two ...