SFist in the Kitchen: Chili Peppers
The things we do for you, our devoted readers. That's what we kept thinking as we panted and sweated our way through the exploration of chili peppers we promised last week. Even Poblanos set our mouths aflame, and they rank low on the Scoville Scale that categorizes chili heat .
We know people who show off their machismo by chomping on hot, raw chilis. Not us. We'd be happy just to have a higher tolerance. Then maybe we could appreciate the subtle flavors described by Rick Bayless in Culinary Artistry. Of dried chili flavors he says, "Because of the nature of the drying process and what it intensifies, a certain kind of fruitiness is drawn out, this dried-fruit fruitiness. Than that's balanced against a lot of other flavors that range from bitter, like unsweetened chocolate or an almost tobacco-like bitterness, to a real fruitiness like the kind kind you'd get in a dried tomato."
Photos by Melissa Schneider
But even if you're tuned to these subtleties and eat habaneros like candy, you should be wary when chopping the chilis you bring home from farmer's markets. The capsaicin family of chemicals that create the notorious heat form an oil-like liquid that clings to every surface. We remember some painfully swollen eyes brought about by an absentminded wipe of the brow after cutting chilis. Thoroughly wash your hands, knife, and cutting board once you're done prepping peppers. You might opt to wear gloves.
Lots of you know what to do with chili peppers—they're the most widely planted spice, after all—but we're always surprised by their affinity with sweets. We recently fell for some cayenne-spiked brownies a friend made, and we were impressed by the way chili chunks enlivened a loaf of sweet and moist banana bread we made. We just used the chili flesh, not the seeds or whitish placenta that hold the bulk of the capsaicin.
But most chilis find their way into more savory dishes. Chris Schlesinger's "Desert Island Menu" from Culinary Artistry sent us running to the kitchen: Buttermilk Fried Oysters (shuck oysters, drop in buttermilk for 1 minute, then dredge in seasoned cornmeal before frying until crispy in 350° oil) dressed with a vinegar, chili, ginger, tomato, and lime juice sauce warmed briefly over the stove. Yum. For that combination, we'll weather the heat as best we can.
Shellfish was clearly on our minds. The other dish that prompted us to scribble on our shopping list was Chili Shrimp from Anissa Helou's Mediterranean Street Food. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil, toss in some chilis and garlic cloves and let cook for a few minutes. Add unpeeled shrimp. Flip the crustaceans as they fry and pull them out just as the flesh in the tail gets milky white. Let rest on a plate, and add lemon juice (carefully! it will sputter!) into the pan. Whisk aggressively. We served the shrimp and the sauce over pasta we dressed with the last of our conserva, pairing the combination with a good beer.
If you, like us, can't take the heat, food science guru Harold McGee offers some suggestions in On Food and Cooking. Drinking ice-cold water "cools the receptors down below the temperature at which they're activated" and eating some rice or crackers "distracts the nerves with a different kind of signal." Both remedies are only temporary, but the pain eventually fades on its own, usually after fifteen minutes or so. Surprisingly, ripe, red chilis have less pungency than green peppers on the brink of changing color.