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Comment by anthomtb | Hacker News Reader

When using hot peppers I remove some of, or all, of the seeds and pith. You can greatly control the amount of heat this way since the seeds and pith have the most concentrated capsaicin.

Maybe habanero is too potent for that strategy but it works well on jalapeno, serrano, and whatever they grow in Hatch, NM.

(and it should be obvious but wear disposable gloves if you do this, unless you want the worst wank of your life).

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I also remove the membrane on the flesh too.

Capsaicin dissolves in alcohol, so I tend to wipe everything down with 70% IPA minimum with a paper towel before sending it into the dish washer.

70% IPA? That’s a serious beer

Sounds delicious, if a bit punchy.

Actual conversation I had last week with my daughter: "Dad, did you cook something spicy in the skillet" (I have a cast iron skillet and normally am the only person who uses it)

"Yes, I made a sauce from chilis that was much too spicy, and used the skillet to cook the sauce down".

"Well, can you let me know next time, because I just made very spicy bacon!"

I normally only wipe down my cast iron skillet rather than cleaning it, and I think the metal is porous (even after seasoned), because I could still get a hint of spice on my finger from touching the cast iron surface.

Oil supposedly also dissolves capsaicin.

Maybe put a half a cup to a cup of evoo and warm up the oil, swirling it around next time? Then you can let it cool down and maybe use this to solidify the oil?

https://www.amazon.com/FryAway-DF413/dp/B09CRN1MM1

That would also mean you wouldn't need to season your pan again.

Don't season your pan with EVOO, its smoke point is too low.

Avocado oil works well for seasoning.

What does smoke point have to do with it?

What you want is a high iodine value. Both avocado and olive oil have low iodine values, and they’re premium oils, so doubly wasteful for cast iron seasoning.

I think the idea is the higher the smoke point the easier it is to bring the oil to a high temperature to get it to polymerize. I don't know if this is true, as my pan came preseasoned and then I mainly add to that by carbonizing previous bits.

I don't think the surface is porous so much as you didn't clean the pan and left capsaicin behind in it. You could try this with other materials - can you eliminate all the spice from stainless or glass without using soap as a surfactant?

It's fine to wash cast iron with soap, and when you're working with spicy things and others use the pan, you really ought to consider it. Even if you don't usually wash your pan.

Isopropyl alcohol is a really bad idea for food. I'd suggest a drinkable alcohol instead, like a vodka or something.

Yeah, I'm not that worried after it goes into the dishwasher.

The real issue is to get as much as the capsaicin off the cutting board, knife, hands, etc, before it goes into the dish washer.

Oh, I see, I misread and thought you were using it to reduce the heat before cooking with it.

Though now I have an idea -- dunk habaneros in vodka for 30 mins before cooking with it.

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