Chilies are an integral part of Latin and Caribbean cuisine. Here are some quick tips on preparation, lowering heat, and safety concerns.
Before we get into the pulp of the matter, there are a couple quick things you should know about chilies, heat, and a quick safety tip.
Scoville Scale
American chemist, Wilbur Scoville, devised a system for measuring the "hotness" of chilies in 1912 by taking the pulp of a chili and feeding it to people. He would continue to dilute the chili pulp, and ultimately the capsaisin which is the reaction inducing chemical, until willing subjects could no longer feel the heat.
Therefore, a sweet bell pepper with no heat is ranked 0 on the scale because it need not be diluted, while something like a jalapeño needs to be diluted 2500-10000 times. Pure capsaisin is ranked somewhere around 15-16 million.
While more scientific methods for measuring the capsaisin in chilies have been developed since Scoville, they are not that much more accurate at describing a type of chili's heat level because of how unpredictable it is. As with a jalapeño ranging from 2500-10000, all chilies have a wide range of heat due to climate, packaging, storage, and soil differences.
Taste your food often because the range could mean the difference between putting in what you think is one chili and getting the effect of four.
Handling
Because capsaisin is a dangerous little chemical, particularly when it comes into contact with mucus glands, be sure to wash you hands thoroughly after dicing and handling chilies. Even the mild ones can leave you hurting after you accidentally wipe flour out of your eyes.
Some people recommend the use of rubber gloves. Walking through markets in Latin America you will never see little old ladies wearing gloves. If they're tough enough, then you probably are too.
Heaven forbid you get chilies in your eyes, the best thing to do is immediately run to a sink and flush out your eyes with plenty of water.
Preparing
Before using chilies in a Latin recipe, it is a good idea to roast them and skin them. This adds a great smokey flavor and also gets rid of the skins that can gum up sauces.
Also, to drastically cut the heat in a recipe, remove the seeds and veins from your chilies before using. If you are looking for a lot of heat, toss them all in.
Beyond the Basics
Now that you have some of the basics of chilismithing down, it is time to get more acquainted with these dynamic little fruits with this Guide to Common Chilies.
I Don't Need Basics!
If you want to just jump into some chili recipes from Latin America check out some of these:
Jalapeno Poppers (aka Armadillo Eggs, aka Texas Torpedos aka Chili Slammers)
Rajas en Crema (a sliced pepper sauce)
