"maxine in ri" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> What are some good ways to tone down the fire in hot foods?

lots of good info given here, some I will rehash, but consider.

1. Getting a reference chart of peppers and their heat levels so you know
your chiles such as this one:
http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/chilevarieties.html

2. Use fresh chiles in your dishes and salsas. Many salsas and hot sauces
use cayenne to add the heat as do many commercial blends of hot Chili
(Chile) powder. As it "ages" for years in your spice cabinet it tends to
get hotter. To my taste Cayenne just adds heat with little in the way of a
good chile flavor.

3. Start at the lower end of the chile scale with say a Anaheim or Poblano,
cooking with it as often as possible. When you move up to another hotter
chile, reduce the number of chilies, say from 3 Jalapenos to 1 the first
time you use it in a recipe.

4. Along with starting out low, get into the habit of seeding and deribbing
the pepper before using (use gloves) that will take out quite a bit of the
heat, but do use the sliced pepper with the seeds in it before you move up
to the next hottest pepper. Just remember Mother Nature can and will play
tricks on you. Also make a batch of Chile oil with one or two chiles to
flavor your food when cooking.

5. Capsicum is an oil, (oil and water do not mix) so as mentioned Dairy is
best to move it along or a good tequila/vodka will also work, beer and wine
will not help much although wine better than beer because of higher Alcohol
level. Anotgher way to slowly introduce chile in the diet is to make a
Chile Mayo for sandwiches, Sour cream such as a Cilantro Chile Cream as a
topping or a Chile Lime Butter for grilled corn. Consider leaving the
chiles whole in the dish and then removing them after a period of time you
deem appropriate to introduce the desired level of heat and flavor.
Introduce the chile later in the recipe like is done in Italian cooking of
Fettuccine al limone which uses the red pepper flake at the very end so you
have a little bits of heat in your mouth rather than a solid heat base by
using adding the flakes when initially melting the butter.

6. Sugar and honey, as does cilantro and mint helps balance the heat but
really does not affect it, still it will help you adjust to an acceptable
tolerance level which will build as you eat more chiles. So do use it in
proportion in your salsas, adobos & mojos. Also try fruit/chile salsas,
especially using grilled fruits and chiles, these may be hot but you won't
stop eating them as many do develop a craving for that chile high.

good luck