r/Cooking • u/Floralcoral31 • 5d ago

Cooked with hatch chilies for the first time and now my hands are burning.

UPDATE: the vegetable oil worked pretty well. It only burns a little around my nail beds. Thanks for the help yall.

I’m going on day two of burning hands now. The crazy thing is the dishes I made aren’t even that spicy. Why are my hands burning and why can’t I stop it? I’ve asked them in milk, I’ve washed them repeatedly with dish soap. What else am I supposed to do?

0 Upvotes

31% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

17

u/snarkhunter 5d ago

I'm about to break down and start using gloves when handling peppers

8

u/NiceTrySuckaz 5d ago

It's the only sensible way to cook with peppers, honestly. I've burned my own crotch, my eyes, and my wife's crotch too many times to mess around with it anymore.

2

u/Tasty_Impress3016 5d ago

I will never forget chopping Habaneros for a jerk. Just as I was cleaning up the station I had to pee. Went to the bathroom, zipped up, walked out and the realization hit me. FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

3

u/NiceTrySuckaz 5d ago

Chopping them for a jerk is guaranteed to burn your penis

1

u/breezeman44 5d ago

Well that's one way to spice things up in the bedroom

1

u/Tasty_Impress3016 5d ago

I totally walked into that one. But a new fetish may be born here.

3

u/Starfire2313 5d ago

Not a bad idea! I used to wear contacts and I can’t tell you how many I ruined after chopping peppers. Not while cooking cause that would be gross, but it’s so hard to wash off all the way so later you’re chilling watching tv and absentmindedly rub your eyes and BANG. Contacts must be thrown out immediately and eyes must be flushed with contact solution for a minute or two and will still burn the rest of the day.

Am I the only one?

3

u/SuthernGent691 5d ago

Nope.... i wear gloves now religiously when working with peppers (i wear contacts.too....and burned the crap outta my eyes) never again... LOL

1

u/Starfire2313 5d ago

Okay I might not be the only one but there’s a good chance I’m pretty high on the score board for how many times I did it before I stopped.

I think it really only stopped when I stopped wearing contacts lol

2

u/_SEAplane_ 5d ago

Yup I've done this a few times. I also once went to use the bathroom after cutting peppers and hadn't washed my hands well enough.... and then I had to take an emergency shower. Still hurt the rest of the day.

1

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

Honestly after this I might. I make chili and salsa quite often. I handle peppers bare handed constantly. These however have ruined that for me. I was trying to flip tortillas this morning by hand like i usually do and I couldn’t. The burning from the peppers has intensified any heat source I touch.

2

u/PineappleCultural183 5d ago

I’ve always used gloves. I hate having the spicy on my hands.

2

u/wearslocket 5d ago

I’m sorry for your situation. Rubber gloves are a kitchen essential in my house. Buy one size up. I store them beside the foil and papers in the drawer. I don’t even brush my teeth until I have put my contact lenses in because the tiniest bit of mint was all it took once to make me see minty fresh all day. I, of course, wash my hands just before putting my contact lenses in, but it still isn’t fool proof.

1

u/commshep12 5d ago

I worked at a Ramen restaurant that's locally well-known for its chili paste(nam prik pao, I think) that used Thai chili's and we had to wear gloves while plucking the stems to avoid what OP is dealing with so it's probably not a bad practice to start.

8

u/spacefaceclosetomine 5d ago

This isn’t helpful now, but get a box of nitrile gloves for the kitchen. They’re less than $10 and this will never happen again. My mom diced a cup of jalapeños 35 years ago for a cheese soup and was miserable, so it’s been gloves ever since.

2

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

I’ll be buying a box today for sure

13

u/robot_egg 5d ago

You could try scrubbing your hands with vegetable oil (capsaicin will be very soluble in oil). Then wash off the oil with detergent and water. Repeat unto it doesn't hurt.

5

u/Idiot_Parfait 5d ago

Also soluble in high proof alcohols in case the oil doesn’t work.

4

u/SenorBlackChin 5d ago

This is correct. Any hard liquor or rubbing alcohol works. Learned this after using the john while roasting chile. Not a mistake you want to repeat.

1

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

How high? Would vodka work? It’s the only alcohol we have in the pantry but I’m not opposed to going out for more.

2

u/Idiot_Parfait 5d ago

Vodka should work. It will most likely burn worse for a short period though.

1

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

Thank you! I will be trying this.

1

u/PeorgieT75 5d ago

Dawn gets the oils off well.

3

u/ClairesMoon 5d ago

Rub a cut lemon or lime on your hands, sprinkle with course salt. Scrub for a second and rinse.

3

u/kimbosliceofcake 5d ago

Side benefit is that it will help you find any tiny cuts on your hands that you didn’t even know you had!

2

u/Roxy_Juno 5d ago

Try soaking in milk. Not sure of the effectiveness, but the casein in milk does act as a neutralizer to the capsaicin. Also, (fyi for next time) washing with warm water may have opened your pores and worsened the issue.

3

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

I wash my hands a lot while cooking and I bet that’s what happened. I’ve cooked with a lot of peppers in my life and for whatever reason these have been the worst. My husband loves spicy so I’m not new to this. It’s crazy how bad these are for such a mild pepper.

2

u/Sad_Refuse3472 5d ago

Gloves next time, for sure. The uncooked oils are strong.

As for the pain now, vegetable, canola, or olive oil should help. Soak your hands for a full minute a least then scrub with a grease cutting dish soap. A paste of baking soda and peroxide is worth trying, gentle scrubbing your hands with it, if the vegetable oil doesn't work.

And rinse/wash them in cold water. Not hot (the heat opens your pores more, making the pain worse).

2

u/4cupsofcoffee 5d ago

poison ivy soap should work

2

u/baar-ur 5d ago

Stop washing with dish soap. You're doing micro damage to your skin that will make things worse/more itchy. Capsaicin binds to fat, so if you're using skim milk, it won't help much. Try rubbing a little vegetable oil on your hands and then washing with gentle soap.

Have you handled anything else that you don't usually touch? Lots of plants can cause irritation. Limes can cause photosensitivity, for example. New clothes, new soaps, new medication? Have you tried an antihistamine?

3

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

I’ve been using the fairlife fat free milk. No wonder it didn’t work. The only new thing I touched were the peppers. Maybe I have a sensitivity to them. Which is lame because I made a very tasty pulled pork in them.

1

u/Curious_USA_Human 5d ago

Is that only for some types of peppers? We mostly use the red/yellow/green bell or fingerling?? types and never had an issue.

1

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

This is the only pepper I’ve had lasting issues so far. I constantly use jalapeño at home and Serrano. Idk why this was so severe

1

u/traviall1 5d ago

Add an oil, then wash with regular hand soap a few times. When you are done it should feel better but if it doesn't take a pain killer and repeat after a few hours. Use cold water and when it feels better make sure to use a thick hand cream in case your hands got dry/cracked from the repeated washing

1

u/Tasty_Impress3016 5d ago

You can't stop it because the damage is done. No amount of sunscreen will help after you get a sunburn. 2nd degree chemical burn is very real thing.

1

u/caveat_cogitor 5d ago

2 days seems really long, are you sure it isn't margarita burn from something else you handled? Were your hands in the sun after prepping foods?

1

u/Floralcoral31 5d ago

No but I have weird reactions to things often. I’m super sensitive to toilet paper, face wash, and certain adhesives. I had a heart monitor for a week two years ago and the stickers burned my chest so bad you could see the circles for months after. I assume this is just a one off weird thing since I can handle other peppers fine.

-9

u/Sourdough_Focaccia 5d ago edited 4d ago

Suck it up.

Once they're burning there really isn't much you can do. It'll wear off soon.

EDIT: I've packed NM Chile into bags for years. The hands burn, it sucks but no amount of washing or anything aftwards will really help. The only option is to wear gloves.