Making spicy food has never felt as high-stakes until now. And this is not an exaggeration.
Spicy dishes like Bicol Express will always have a special place in my heart and in my stomach. But as I began to learn in my research, making spicy dishes may come at a higher price than I thought.
While some recipes will specifically call for adding ground up spice or chili paste, the most straightforward way to add spice is to add whole or chopped chili. If you are planning to cook something that requires you to do the latter, keep reading for your own sake!
Why Can’t I Just Rinse My Hands In Water?
When chopping chili, it isn’t just the chili itself that remains on your hands. That isn’t even what makes it spicy in the first place. In reality, it’s the oil from the chili, known as capsaicin. It is what gives the chili peppers their spice and the very thing that sticks to your hands.
Because capsaicin is not water-soluble, you can’t simply wash your hands after chopping chilis.
What Is The Best Way To Avoid This?
In situations like this, prevention is always the best advice.
The most surefire way to avoid getting chili on your hands is to wear gloves before you start chopping. Though disposable plastic gloves should suffice, nitrile gloves are very much recommended. Regardless, the important thing when it comes to your choice of gloves is to make sure they are food safe.
What Do I Do If It’s Already On My Hands?
If you try searching for it online like I did, there are long lists of tips on how to get rid of your hot pepper hands. So instead of simply regurgitating all of the usual tips back to you, I decided to consult some friends who know their way around a kitchen much better than I do.
Here are 6 tips on how to deal with hot pepper burns and properly wash the capsaicin off your hands for good.
1. Avoid touching your eyes & all other sensitive areas
While researching, I’ve read too many online stories of people haphazardly washing their hands, then heading straight to the shower and feeling the burn all over their body. Or worse, a parent handling their 4-month-old after making spicy salsa.
The most important thing to remember after chopping chilis is to avoid touching any sensitive areas on yourself or anyone else. You don’t have to wait to feel the burn to know your hands are probably covered in capsaicin.
2. Dip your hands in ice water
This tip is less about getting the oil off your hands and more for soothing the pain if it does start to hurt your skin.
Prepare a big bowl of ice water ahead of time so that you can dip your hands in it as soon as you’re done chopping. Reducing the burning sensation will not only help with the pain itself, but it also gives you time to game-plan the most accessible awy to wash off the oil.
3. Dip your hands in dairy products
Another way to alleviate the pain is to “wash” your exposed hands using milk, yogurt, or any liquid dairy product. The science is the same as why a glass of cold milk relieves the burn when you’re eating spicy food.
Similar to the ice bath, this is primarily meant to cool the sting. Keep in mind that using non-dairy products won’t be nearly as effective because they lack casein, which is the exact protein that specifically breaks down capsaicin and calms the heat.
4. Wash your hands using an acid
Another way to think of removing the oil on your hands besides breaking it down is using acidic household items to help break down the oil on your skin.
Because capsaicin binds tightly to skin, mild acids can help cut through the oil residue. Try washing or soaking your hands in vinegar, lemon juice, or tomato sauce, and then follow up with soap and warm water. Repeat this process a few times until the burning sensation subsides.
5. Wash your hands using dish soap and cool water
Using your standard soap is not enough to remove the capsaicin from your hands. Some vouch for using dish soap as it is specifically designed to break down oils. It’s a good start, but do keep in mind that you would have to do this several times in order to to wash as much capsaicin off as possible.
The important thing to note if you choose to try this is to make sure you use lukewarm to cold water when rinsing your hands. Exposing your already burning hands to warm to hot water is a recipe for extra pain.
6. Soak your hands in oil
Because capsaicin is fat-soluble, it can easily dissolve in oils.
One tip that I’ve both found online and corroborated through my friends who cook is soaking your chili-smeared hands in any oil and then washing them using a decent oil-removing soap. You can also opt to do this several times, but it shouldn’t take more tries comparing to just washing with dish soap. Also, you don’t need to use an expensive oil. Any cheaper cooking oil should do the trick.
Some also recommend rubbing your hands with just a touch of oil (but not enough for your hands to become slippery) before cutting peppers will coat them enough to prevent the sting from happening in the first place. Just make sure you are still able to hold the knife properly in order to avoid a different kind of injury.
7. Apply petroleum jelly
This tip is the best of both worlds!
Applying petroleum jelly like Vaseline helps soothe the burning pain while also pulling the capsaicin off your skin.
From what I’ve read and what my cooking friends have recommended, you can apply the petroleum jelly to the affected areas and let it sit for around 20 to 30 minutes before washing it off with cold water and dish soap.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is not recommended to chop chilis without wearing protective gear like gloves.
Capsaicin is the oil that makes chili peppers spicy in the first place. Rather than the chili itself sticking to your hands, it is the oil from the chili that is making your skin burn.
You can dip your hands in an ice bath, in any dairy product like milk or yogurt, or wash your hands in an acid to neutralize the capsaicin.
Simply washing your hands with regular soap and water will not make any significant changes to your predicament. This is because capsaicin is fat-soluble and non water-soluble.
The two best ways to remove the capsaicin from your hands is to either soak them in any oil or applying petroleum jelly. For the former, the capsaicin will easily dissolve in any oil, of which you can proceed to washing your hands using cold water and a decent oil-removing soap like dish soap. For the latter, it can do both: help soothe the burning pain and help lift the capsaicin from your skin.
