Where’s @Lars? I think he has pretty good knowledge about peppers.

I just looked up the Scoville Scale that is used to measure heat in peppers. The Aji Amarillo is 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville Scale. Habaneros are 100,000 to 350,000.

YIKES!

Don’t put in your contacts (do you wear contacts?) until you are sure there is no pepper oil left on your hands.

Habaneros are HOT! I can up pineapple habanero salsa every once in a while. For an entire batch, I use one or two habanero. I wear disposable gloves. They are a yummy pepper, but use in small amounts.

Sadly, Lars no longer frequents Houzz, I miss him.

Both your recipes sound so good! Ceviche is one of my favorite dishes. A lot of our local restaurants make it, all in different ways.

I’ll bet that soup is smelling wonderful!

Lucille, I wear gloves, too, even with just jalapeños. And yes about pineapple habanero salsa. Sweet and hot are a great pair. :)

[ETA: Lucille, just saw your edit … I don’t know what happened that Lars doesn’t post anymore, but am sorry to hear it. I hope he’s doing well.]

I was thinking of Lars the other day because one of my kids might go to Palm Springs for BMW driving "school." I miss him too! Hope he is well.

Yeah, I was kind of in a hurry so did not do enough research. I don't wear contacts, but even for jalapenos, I have learned to be very careful around peppers.

BTW my soup is sooooo good.

Whoa! I don't do very hot either but I know habanero and that would have killed me! Or at least make me swear off all heat for a long time!

The Lars story appeared and was removed on Cooking forum. He and his brother drove to a Forum members home and spent some length of time ( day or 2?) there was some severe dustup amongst the 4 folks present. Private messages transpired on the forum so there is a lot more story . I just happened to see a few references immediately after it happened. I think it was severe enough he won’t be back but the forum member is very active still. c

Mtn, I should send you some of the peppers my DH grew, dried and ground up. Just one tiny speck on the end of a toothpick will have your mouth burning! Over confident people will always take more than a speck and quickly regret it!

Myself, I stay away from all peppers and in restaurants I always ask to have any hot peppers on the side. So many tasty dishes that are ruined by having too much "burn".

The Lars story sounds bizarre. I can get along with most people for a day or two!

Oh my, that is a shame about Lars.

It was still spicy, but at least not ...numbing... after I used just about 1/4 c of the sauce (and chicken broth and more coconut milk) in my chicken dish. Yum

My habanero tips are first that if you want to minimize the heat you need to cut out all the membrane. It will still be hot, but you get a better flavor to heat ratio. Second, if your recipe includes lime, lime juice is great for cleaning your hands to avoid that persistent heat. I keep the rinds if I'm squeezing lime juice and use that. Third, a little bit goes a long way. I don't think I've ever used more than three in a recipe. That bag scares me. Fourth, cut them into teeny tiny pieces. It looks like your recipe pureed them so this is moot, but if you are chopping you want the distribution to be even so people don't ever get one insanely hot bit with a big chunk.

I'm in California, and most of the grocery stores stock a variety of peppers including habanero, loose so you can buy as few as you want. They're so light that it's usually pennies for just a couple. I've been known to make disparaging comments about grocery stores that don't stock a variety of fresh hot peppers.

There is a habanero with no heat but with the habanero taste. It's called Habanada. No, I'm not joking but I don't know if you can find it in stores though the seed is available for growing a plant. I like spicy food, but it unpleasantly bothers a bladder condition so I can't eat it anymore. This year I'm going to grow a jalapeno without heat.

Another one here who misses Lars and hope he will return. He was so talented and his posts were so interesting.

That is interesting about the Habanada. Different peppers have significantly different flavors, the 'lite' versions of peppers offer a chance to add the flavor with less or no heat.

Texas A&M made popular jalapeno seeds for very lightly hot jalapenos. Recently seed called Nadapeno came on the market for completely heat free jalapenos.

One of my favorite dried peppers is the chile de arbol, hot but with good flavor. Typically I will use one or two dried pods in a recipe. I'd probably use a few more if a lite version was available.

Listening to the list of ingredients in your ceviche practically made me faint. Fish… peppers…. cilantro….

Nothing hot or spicy for me; I don’t eat ANY Mexican food on the slightest chance it may contain cilantro which has induced vomiting so severe I ended up in the ER for fluids— twice 😳

Mtn, your day-two soup looks amazing ..

I like heat and follow cawapa's tips for handling and incorporating peppers. The tricky thing is that the heat level varies even within a type of pepper. I will sample a raw jalapeno before I add it to a dish but I won't sample a raw habenero... I just add it incrementally and then sample it combined with the other ingredients.

My habanero tips are first that if you want to minimize the heat you need to cut out all the membrane. It will still be hot, but you get a better flavor to heat ratio.

Yes, I kind of "peel" peppers with my knife and discard everything in the core.

Second, if your recipe includes lime, lime juice is great for cleaning your hands to avoid that persistent heat. I keep the rinds if I'm squeezing lime juice and use that.

Yup. It occurs to me all my recipes w pepper include lime! I use soap and hot water and friction too. I have gotten jalapeno oil in my eye and yikes.

Third, a little bit goes a long way. I don't think I've ever used more than three in a recipe. That bag scares me.

Yes, it is weapons grade. I usually buy peppers loose

Fourth, cut them into teeny tiny pieces. It looks like your recipe pureed them so this is moot, but if you are chopping you want the distribution to be even so people don't ever get one insanely hot bit with a big chunk.

Exactly, We are all spice babies so I finely mince all raw peppers

@Kswl, I only eat finfish and at that, a very small subset of the mildest fish there is. Most of the time, it is halibut from just up the coast. It is sweet and has zero fishiness. My kids are more adventuresome. We first had ceviche when diving; while we were having fun the captain was catching fish and making us ceviche. We were hooked LOL.

This is our favorite: (@kswl, avert your eyes)

Halibut Ceviche

Serves 4 as an entree, 6-8 as a starter

1 pound halibut, skinned by the fishmonger and cubed into a small dice

1/2 t table salt

Pinch of black pepper

½cup fresh lime juice (3-4 limes)

½ c cherry tomatoes, chopped

½ c seedless cucumbers, chopped

¼ medium red onion, finely diced

1 large jalapeño or serrano, seeded and minced

Dash of sriracha

1 medium avocado, diced

¼ cup chiffonaded cilantro

1. Toss the fish with the salt and pepper in a bowl over ice. Stir in lime juice

2. Place in the fridge to “cook” while you prepare the vegetables. Stir occasionally and time things so that the ceviche is served within about 20-30 minutes; any longer and the lime can toughen the fish. The dish should be snow white when it is fully cooked.

3. Dice the onion and place it in a small bowl of cold water

4. Dice tomato, cucumber, avocado and jalapeno

5. At the 20-30 minute mark, remove ceviche from the refrigerator and drain off most of the lime juice

6. Add in a dash of sriracha, then stir in the onion (drain first), tomato, cucumber, avocado and jalapeno. Top with cilantro

7. Serve with tortilla chips plantain chips, or crackers

Milk counters the heat on skin, mouth and any other mucous membrane . it is better than lime etc. c

Yes, that is why I added not just coconut milk as planned, but regular milk when I was panicking and trying to get an edible dinner on the table! The natives were restless.

That’s a yummy sounding ceviche recipe. Have saved the recipe for myself thinking of a summer dinner party.

On other spicy foods, I’d read so much about chili crunch but didn’t care for the TJ’s version. Just figured chili crunch isn’t for me. Then I tried Fly by Jing brand and it is yummy. Not super spicy but flavorful and interesting. On eggs, cottage cheese, in Asian recipes.

Some people say to try with ice cream—- not so sure about that one. But I do have a yellow mango that may be interested.

Last night dining out I had grilled mahi mahi tacos, very spicy and lots of cilantro. Very delicious and grateful for the mango that cooled things of a bit. I haven't found a chili crunch I like so far, but will look for Fly by Jing. I'm wondering though if it's got that Sichuan tingle that I can definitely do without. I don't understand its appeal.

I started using it very sparingly but have become braver. I don’t find it nearly as hot as harissa or jarred Calabrian peppers which I use in dishes such as shakshuka

@Kswl - you must be one of the 4 - 14% of the general population (which also includes me) that has an OR6A2 gene variant.

One of my undergrad degrees is in chemical engineering = I will research things like this (why do some people hate cilantro while others love it).

This olfactory receptor gene codes for the receptor that picks up the scent of aldehyde chemicals — these chemicals are found in cilantro and soap, which is why some people claim that cilantro tastes like soap (or vomit - or dead bugs - not sure how someone determined that!)

Interestingly, repeated exposure to cilantro can help a person to become less sensitized to the taste. Also, if it is crushed/chopped + blended into pestos/sauces, it helps release enzymes that break down the "soapy tasting" aldehydes into milder compounds. I've heard that some people have actually started liking the taste of cilantro at some point.

I have noticed that I can "tolerate" it more now if it's chopped/blended into something vs. just sprinkled on something or larger pieces are incorporated into a dish. However, I can't ever imagine actually liking the taste ever.

@mtnrdredux_gw - I do like ceviche - halibut is a great choice. I saved your recipe - but I still will leave the cilantro out! I also can't do very spicy foods - my interstitial cystitis + burning mouth syndrome make spicy foods not a great idea for me.

Maybe I should make a small portion of the ceviche specifically for me so that I don't spoil the taste for everyone else?

@dani_m08 married to a Chemist and when we first met and started cooking together ( 1970) I couldn’t stand cilantro. No outright response like @Kswl but I could not tolerate the taste or smell.

Years went by with infrequent exposure and I used coriander seeds in LOTS of the Indian curries I made . One day I ate a Cilantro leaf and loved it! Now we have huge bunches when we cook Mexican foods. So something can happen to increase tolerance. ( maybe in political situations as well) ❤️🤞

Maybe I should make a small portion of the ceviche specifically for me so that I don't spoil the taste for everyone else?

I don't think I've ever had ceviche without cilantro. I would just leave it on the side.

@lisaam, thanks for reminding me about Shakshuka. I am slowly working thru my Leche de Tigre, and so I used it in my Shakshuka last night. I read that the name Shakshuka means "mixed up" and can be practically anything. I used the classic pepper onion and tomatoes (with fresh herbs) but added lentils to mine and leftover baby potatoes to DH's. Yum.

HU-113737678 I remember strongly disliking cilantro when I first had it, but like you, I now like it. Good thing -- DH loves to make pico and we make and can salsa every summer. I've wondered how it would have changed and your corriander exposure gives a clue -- that is in a lot of spice blends and I have it in my spices solo as well. My sister says she can't stand it, but will be able to eat something that only has a little in it. Maybe we can still get her converted -- in her grey hair died pink years. Haha

Mtn, that pepper sub surprised me. I would have thought the habenero would have been much hotter. One thing about peppers is that vareity is only one factor. Growing conditions are another factor that can bring out heat intensity. DH loves jalepenos and we grow a variety of peppers, but he hates habeneros. He dislikes the flavor and will not eat anything with them in it. He's worse about them than kale.

Oh -- in addition to the lemon or lime juice, use Dawn rather than plain hand soap to break down the oils and get more off your skin. If I'm dealing with very hot peppers, I might wear gloves, but then still follow with a Dawn handwash. I've rubbed my eyes wit pepper fingers before and hope not to repeat that.

Mtn, that pepper sub surprised me. I would have thought the habenero would have been much hotter.

They are; It is not a good substitute at all, at least not without further explanation or detail. I am using the Leche De Tigre spoonful by spoonful - tonight in quesadillas!

Mtn, I copied and saved your ceviche recipe - it sounds delicious!

I knew a dislike for cilantro was common, and genetic, but didn't realize until recently that many have very adverse reactions to it! I am sorry for them, as I can't imagine life without cilantro!

This is a recipe I found on Epicurious years ago for a "warm ceviche". It is very simple to make. We've enjoyed it as sort of an elevated "tuna on toast" winter meal.

https://app.pcosmealplanner.com/recipe/21115/lime-spiked-seafood-with-roasted-sweet-potatoes-21115

Interesting recipe, it is a warm ceviche. Does the lime not curdle the cream?

I can't eat scallops (allergic to all shellfish) and I only like very very mild salmon, which is hard to find. My fave dish of all time was salmon in calamansi butter over a bed of pea shoots. But other than at that now closed restaurant, I am usually disappointed in the fishiness of salmon and so I no longer bother.

I'm sure you know to look for Atlantic salmon. It is usually much milder than Pacific or Alaskan salmon. Steelhead trout is an alternative -- similar to a mild salmon.

Yes I have heard that. I think Steelhead trout is technically salmon? I should probably try that.

Kswl, I'm sorry you have such a dreadful reaction to cilantro.

It took me a while to make the connection between cilantro and coriander. :-p

The first time I had cilantro was on a burrito. I loathed it and had to throw the burrito in the trash. A little time went by, not a lot, and the next time I tasted it I thought, wait, no, actually I love it. I guess the first time my settings were all wrong. I have loved it with a passion ever since.

For those who may not know, tender cilantro stems have all the flavor of the leaves and shouldn't be automatically cut off and tossed.