Wearing Kitchen Gloves While Chopping Jalapeño Peppers
This post is about wearing kitchen gloves while chopping jalapeño peppers, and why to wear them to prevent oil from burning skin and eyes.
Do you need to wear gloves when cutting jalapenos? Yes! The oils can burn your skin, and you want to avoid getting any in your eyes!
Wearing Kitchen Gloves While Chopping Jalapeño Peppers
OUCH! if you’ve had this happen (hand raised!)
For a milder flavor, remove the seeds and ribs from each half.
Of course, if you want a spicier dish, leave the seeds and membranes intact.
How to Prevent Jalapeno Hands
The best cure for jalapeno hands is preventing it in the first place–wear gloves. Every time you handle hot peppers (such as when you’re making a jalapeno recipe, like Bacon-Wrapped Air Fryer Cheesy Jalapeño Poppers or Cheesy Baked Jalapeño Peppers, make sure you have a pair of gloves handy.
Then, thoroughly wash your hands in hot, soapy water when you’re done with the prep.
What is a jalapeño pepper?
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2-3 1/2 inches (5-9 cm) long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to over-ripen and turn crimson red.
When our friends came Labor Day weekend, Steph and I were canning together in the kitchen and she suggested that polyethylene (kitchen) gloves were a must when cooking with jalapeños.
Brilliant. No more weepy eyes when your hand accidentally touches your face after chopping these little rascals.
Or feeling their effect the next day and the next …
It’s a great kitchen tip!
Home Remedies to Try
There are many old wives’ cures that can provide relief if you didn’t wear gloves and need to fight the zingy pain. Try one (or a combination) of these remedies:
- Oil: Slather your hands in olive or vegetable oil to help dissolve the capsaicin.
- Dairy products: Place your hands in a bowl of cold milk or cover them with yogurt. The casein found in dairy can help wash the capsaicin away.
- Hot, soapy water: Place your hands in hot, soapy water and gently scrub with a clean kitchen brush. Repeat until the pain subsides.
While everyone’s body reacts differently, see what works for you!
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Is there a special name fore these pair of gloves?
Thank you in advance.
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This is where I smack my forehead and go, “Why didn’t I think of that”. All the burning eyes and lips that I could have saved over the years. Love this!!
Yep, jalapenos are killers when you touch the seeds. That’s the only food I’ve ever worn gloves for while handling.
Fortunately, growing up in Texas, where jalapenos are quite common to cook with, I had already heard the horror stories, so I never had to suffer the consequences.
Without being graphic, some of those horror stories include some other very sensitive body areas!
I was chopping jalapenos today and had to do something immediately afterwards, so I grabbed a pair of gloves….brilliant minds thinking alike!
I also wear them when I frost cakes for weddings. While I don’t do it often, I find it helps and I don’t feel like I’m covered in sugar….
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Why has this never crossed my mind?! Genius! No more burning finger tips!
Yup – only way to go. Plus use your melon baller to scoop out the insides!
(who actually uses their mellon baller for melons? we really need to rename it – I also love to use it for scooping out the core of pears when I am canning them!)
I use gloves for everything. I have a big box of disposables and I always use them for chopping jalapenos and when working with chicken, ground beef, etc. I can’t even stand to touch a dirty dish without my gloves on. Even to put a fork in the DW requires me putting my gloves on.
I always wear them for chopping jalapeños! I’ve heard too many horror stories of people accidentally rubbing their eyes afterwards, problems with contacts, I don’t even want to think if I accidentally touched my kids’ faces. The best cure to relieve the burn is pouring milk on the affected area and yes, I’ve known people to flush their eyes with milk in the worst instances. I suppose if your hands burned so much you could soak your hands in a bowl of milk.
I don’t use gloves but I think I’m going to start! I’m good about not touching my face, but I’m always scared to touch anything that will go into my kids’ mouths after I’m done. It’s been a good excuse to have my husband change diapers, though … don’t want to get jalapeno juice on those sensitive areas! :)
Good tip. It never fails, my eye always starts itching when chopping peppers and I reach up to scratch it, sometimes stopping myself.
I don’t typically use gloves when working w/jalapenos but I do with hotter peppers. definitely necessary to not rub your face or anything until you have washed your hands really good – but that’s sometimes easier said than done since we can so easily forget!
I used to think using gloves when seeding and chopping peppers were for the weak. Oh man. After a big batch of salsa I learned that lesson the hard way! My hands burned for about 12 hours. I didn’t even attempt my contacts and made my husband do it. I tried every remedy we could find online, to no relief. I went to bed with bags of ice– and finally found relief after some serious prayers! I now know that I must be “weak!”
Oh I learned this the hard way. I was seeding jalepenos with my fingers one time and then later went to take my contacts out. Yeah, complete burn, fiery, painful sensation. I couldn’t even open my eye. My hubby had to take my other contact out. I lived it and learned. LOL!
Have a beautiful day my friend.
I too use them for chopping peppers.
Great idea with the gloves, I’ve always used a knife and fork when chopping chillies to stop getting them on my hand, it would be much quicker to use gloves when doing a huge batch though. I don’t really use gloves in the kitchen at all at the moment.
I finally commited to a 31days topic today on my blog – 31 days to the perfect city. So excited about taking part and reading lots of posts next month, after a bit of a break.
Jade
mainly for dishwashing – when i remember. i’m working on really remembering to tie on an apron before cooking and put on gloves before washing – saves my clothes and my hands! great tip on the hot peppers front – thanks!
I always wear them to wash dishes and for cleaning. I have used them when chopping peppers before, too.