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Capsaicin

January 2nd, 2012 | Food

The other day, I decided to make some chili verde with a bunch of tomatillos and chile peppers I’d wound up with via Bountiful Baskets. I’ve never worked with peppers before, save the occasional bell pepper.

So, I didn’t know I should oil my hands beforehand, or–even better–wear gloves.

OH. EM. GEE.

About the time I finished my pepper-cutting, I noticed my hands were sorta tingling. At first it was just amusing and not very bothersome, kinda like Icy Hot. As time went on, however, it proceeded to burn hotter, and hotter, and hotter. Eventually, I thought I was going to lose my everloving mind.

For the record, to cleanse and soothe, I tried:

– Dish soap and water
– Baking soda
– Vinegar
– Milk
– Sour cream
– Bleach
– Hot water
– Cold water
– Purell
– Rubbing alcohol (topical)
– Whiskey (ingested…WHAT!? Don’t look at me like that.)
– Solarcane
– Vicks (BAD IDEA)
– Witch Hazel
– Foaming engine degreaser
– Oral analgesic gel
– Sugar and milk

ALL OF THESE THINGS WERE BULLSHIT. I was so confused, because most of them came from the internet, SO THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TRUE.

You know what fixed it, in the end? Whimpering, Tylenol 3, and sleep. Oh, and a fit of hysterical laughter over the multiple stories male friends told me of learning the hard way not to cut peppers bare-handed and then handle their junk.

9 comments ↓

#1 Greg on 01.03.12 at 4:48 am

Yeah, once that stuff gets your hands, it's there to stay. I have never had a 'junk handling' problem, but I did rub my eye once, which proved to be a big mistake about 3 seconds later.

#2 guffaw on 01.03.12 at 7:41 am

When did it become 'junk'?
Glad you're better.

#3 fatbandit on 01.03.12 at 2:15 pm

Look on the bright side, at least you didn't have to pee and touch Johnny with those hands or rub your eye, scratch your nose or lick a finger for some reason

#4 Linoge on 01.03.12 at 2:52 pm

Simple Orange tends to work, if only because it removes the top layers of skin, and hopefully the oils with it.

In other news, it must have been a peppery weekend – I did not handle my junk, but I did try to put in contacts after dicing a jalepeno. Brought back memories of my OC-spray training, that did…

#5 Jim on 01.04.12 at 9:21 am

Kind of like your wife putting icy hot on your back after a long day at work, and then she decides to get frisky… That was 20 years ago and she STILL laughs about it.

#6 John on 01.04.12 at 10:51 am

Best method we've figured out….

Have the peppers roasted. Don't do it yourself.
Wear gloves.
bag and freeze with skin on. We put most of the chili's into 'pre-mixed' bags, to make chili the way we like it. ( 2 Dynamite, 6 Big Jims…). The rest is seregated by chili type. EVERY bag needs to be clearly labled (recalling the all Dynamite chili, which mkes your hair sweat…)

When you thaw a bag, you only have to peel a few chili's, so gloves aren't required, although soap and water right afterwards is a good idea.

#7 Roger on 01.07.12 at 4:50 pm

I rubbed my eyes once too. You had a 3 second grace period?

I dont' even remember pulling my hand away!

#8 winstonlabrador on 01.07.12 at 5:22 pm

I've heard other stories that are not as pleasant. (Cooking class with visiting chef not versed in chiles.)

#9 Rauðbjorn on 01.17.12 at 7:45 am

I find rubbing olive oil on the affected area and then washing with soap and water clear up capsaicin burning. Sorry your Chili Verde experience sucked, it's really a tasty dish. I reccomend using nitrile gloves next time.

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