Quick tips on habanero peppers?

[Gentle Giant]

Small emergency. Can't find explicit instructions on how to use habanero peppers. Making chili this morning for cookoff tomorrow. Do I use seeds or not? Other tips?

TIA.

[cubedbee]

Seeds contain the heat, it's going to be 100 times hotter with them that without. You probably want them seed it to make it edible to normal humans.

[JMO]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

Small emergency. Can't find explicit instructions on how to use habanero peppers. Making chili this morning for cookoff tomorrow. Do I use seeds or not? Other tips?

TIA.

For all peppers, seeds are the hottest part. Just how hot do you want the chili to be? I may be too late to help you, but I would say omit the seeds, unless you know the judges prefer stuff too hot to eat.

[jkoch]

Originally Posted by cubedbee

Seeds contain the heat, it's going to be 100 times hotter with them that without. You probably want them seed it to make it edible to normal humans.

Seeds aren't the hottest part.

Are the seeds the hottest part?

Not really! The seed contain a small portion of capsaicin (the stuff that makes a pepper hot). The "hot" comes from capsaicinoids concentrated in the inner wall of the pepper and don't forget those white lines that run from top to bottom, these to contain small amounts of capsaicinoids.

http://www.mojavefarm.com/pepper_scale.htm

[_BullDog_]

Method 1)
take one pepper and take out the seeds. Then cut a small piece of the pepper and eat it. If that is not hot enough for you (or the judges) then use the seeds.

method 2) take the pepper, bite half of it off and if you don't spit it out becuase it is too hot then use the seeds in the chili.

[ReserveRage]

I always remove seeds from my hot peppers when I make chili, mostly because I hate biting into them and feeling an explosion of hottness. The stuff still turns out hotter'n'hell. If you need to increase the heat later, just add the appropriate amount of cayenne pepper.

[Mark Cavazos]

I always thought that the capsaicin was in the "ribs". Taking the seeds out helps, but only because it reduces the ribs.

I also understand that milk or ice cream counteracts the capsaicin. Water, beer and other beverages just move it around your mouth.

[vtek]

if you wear contacts, just remember to put them on (or take them off) before you cut the peppers.

[ReserveRage]

Originally Posted by vtek

if you wear contacts, just remember to put them on (or take them off) before you cut the peppers.

With habaneros, I would exercise even more caution and avoid touching the juice with your skin. My finger tips burned for over 12 hours once after I foolishly ripped into many peppers with my bare hands.

[Anitha Desai]

Remember to use gloves while using habanero peppers. If there aren't any disposble ones at home, make one with grocery bag coversor ziploc bags. Worth the effort.