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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Save a too Spicy Soup

I posted this hint years ago but the blog is in cold storage.  Since I just listed it again on Facebook, I thought I ought to post it again here.

So you have made the perfect pot of Chili Colorado and are ready to serve it.  One last sprinkle of cayenne and the lid falls off.  You now have half a bottle of cayenne and the soup is inedible.  You can either dilute it until you have enough chili to feed a hundred or you can try this trick. 

Add a cup or two of salad or olive oil.  Something that is consistent with the flavor of the soup.
Stir until the oil turns red.
Allow it to float to the top and then skim it off.

Capsaicin is a fat soluble molecule.  It will be extracted by the oil.  You will probably discover that the soup is not spicy enough after this.  Add your spice back slowly.

If you are a thrifty type who can't stand the thought of throwing away a cup of oil, you might try to save it and use it at chili oil.  I've never done that.  I have no idea of the safety of doing so since the oil has been infused in soup and probably has remnants of vegetable and meat matter in it.  If you try, keep it in the fridge and treat is like a leftover.  Remember, I have no idea if this is a safe thing to do... probably not if there are little spots of soup in the bottom of the container.  They will be anaerobic and could grow all sorts of bacteria.  Of course they come out of boiling soup so they might be sterile.  I just don't know.  I dump it out.

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