Cooking with Habanero Peppers

Joe loves trying new recipes, especially recipes that involve his new grill!

Joe found a recipe he wanted to try that included Habanero peppers.
He’d never cooked with Habanero peppers and didn’t know the power of their potency.

Joe was extra careful to NOT touch his eyes after cutting up the pepper but little did he know that just touching the inside of the pepper would cause him so much pain.

After we put the boys the bed I went to the store, when I came home I found him soaking his hands in milk.

Apparently, the oil from the pepper had saturated his skin and caused his hands to burn. He had tried everything he could think of and everything he could find on the internet to find relief from the pain.

I know I can do this, I’ve done it before and I can do it again.
Washing his hands
Soaking his hands in milk
Washing them with vinegar
Washing them with rubbing alcohol
Etc…

Nothing really got rid of the pain. Most of the treatments would offer relief when applied but would return shortly after.

So I put my super sleuth internet detective hat on and learned that opening up the pores in the skin will help release the oils.

Here’s How Joe Found Relief From the Habanero
We filled the sink with SUPER HOT WATER
He soaked his hands in the hot water for about a minute (you could see the oil from the pepper float to the surface)
We drained the skin and wiped it down.
Then he washed his hands with olive oil
Then we repeated soaking his hands in hot water and washing them with oil about 3 more times.

Near the end his hands felt better (although there was still a slight burning sensation for the rest of the day).

Moral of the Story: Wear GLOVES when handling Habanero Peppers.