When it comes to spice, my husband and I come from two very different families. My dad is a kind of hot sauce connoisseur- he literally collects hot sauces. I remember one time as a child he brought home a hot sauce that was in a little wooden box and had caution sign tape all over it- and I thought my dad was the coolest ever and absolutely nuts at the same time;). My mom loves to cook and throws in all kinds of spices to her dishes, and isn't afraid to use spicier additions every once in awhile;). So needless to say, spice is something I can appreciate and it doesn't usually frighten me away ;).

My husband on the other hand, thinks ketchup is spicy. His family can barely handle mild salsa, and while I can add a tablespoon (or more! :D) of red pepper flakes to a dish and not blink an eye, they can only add a few sprinkles and even then it might be too hot for their tastebuds! They are definitely not a fan of spicy food. My father-in-law always jokes that spice just ruins your food because then you can't taste it anymore;). It's pretty fun to see the difference in our family's taste palette s:).

So what do you do when you have a dish with some extra spice, but not everyone is a fan of spicy? Here are some tricks you can use to help keep the heat outside instead of inside your mouth!

Dilute. This is probably stating the obvious, but if a dish ends up being a little spicier than you planned, add a few extra ingredients to help dilute the spice and keep it down. For some recipes this may be easier said than done, but try to get creative- add more broth, tomato sauce, cream, whatever will complement the base of your dish to help hide the spice a little;).

Sugar. Don't over-do it on a spicy dish, but a little bit of sugar can help drown out some spice. You could also use honey, which could give a great and unique flavor to some dishes! You can also just put some directly on your tongue if you need to relieve the burning sensation :).

Dairy. It's cold and thick and helps to hide the spice. Try scooping some extra sour cream on a spicy burrito, or add milk/cream to a particularly spicy soup. I remember my dad putting a drop of hot sauce on my tongue when I was about 10 (because I so naively wanted to try one of the hottest ones he had), and I immediately ran for a glass of water- I realized very quickly this was a huge mistake. A cold glass of milk will do wonders to soothe that flare inside your mouth!

Starchy Foods. Potatoes, corn, and breads are all great examples of foods that can help take away some of the sting of spicy food.

Peanut Butter. This would taste wonderful in oriental dishes in particular, but believe it or not peanut butter (or any nut butter) can actually help a lot by masking an overload of spice. You can also smear some on your tongue to cool it down if you accidentally get more spice than you can handle;). You might get some extra creamy texture in your food too; what a fun secret ingredient!

Acidic Foods. Things like lemons and pineapple may not sound really good when your mouth is on fire, but the acid in these fruits can help neutralize the spiciness! Some other acidic food you could add are tomato-based sauces (or foods), oranges, vinegar, or limes.

Bananas/Avocados. These creamy foods can also help soothe a burning tongue, and you can get a little nutrition while you're at it!

How do you guys handle spice? Have any tricks you'd like to add? Share with us below!

    Camille Hoffmann
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! camille@dvo.com

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