And a nat'ral born redhead to boot----which is money in the bank anywhere!
you can use any peppers you want - I'm a "heat-only-once-in-a-while" person myself
Dang, mama! A guy sure don't want to go scratchin' anywhere after mixing up a batch of this HOT, spicy stuff! YOWZA! Hee-Hee!
Francie, there are several ways of enjoying the taste of chilies without the heat getting to you.
First, as Pepperman has mentioned, remove the ribs and seeds. About 90% of the capsaicin (which is where the heat is) is found in the ribs (technically the placenta). It's contained in tiny, oil-filled sacks. When these rupture (such as when you cut open the pod) the capsaicin gets onto the seeds---which is why it is often erroneously reported that you get rid of the heat by getting rid of the seeds. It's actually the ribs that carry it.
Second, again as Pepperman says, searing the outside will reduce some of the apparent heat.
Next, choose varieties that are low on the heat scale. Heat in chilies is measured in Scoville Heat Units, and ranges from 0 (for bell peppers) to 700,000 (for the hottest known pepper). If you are heat sensitive, anything up to 1000 you'll hardly notice. If you can handle a little heat, up to about 1500. After that, it's variety by variety because even with a lot of heat, if the Brix number is also high the sugar tends to mask the capsaicin.
For what it's worth, poblano, fresno, some of the cherry types, cubanelle some of the New Mexican, and pasilla are some of those that have heat levels below 1,500 SHUs.
Finally, there is a whole world of normally hot chilies that lack capsaicin. You can, therefore, find non-hot jalapenos; non-hot habaneros; non-hot baccatums.
To me, if you take the heat away from jalapenos, all you have left is a sort of green taste. So I don't care for them all that much. However, if you take the heat away from C. chinense (basically, habaneros) what's left is a smoky, tropical fruit flavor. Take the heat away from C. baccatum and you're left with citrusy undertones.
Don't forget, too, that you don't have to use an entire chili. A snippit of a habanero, say, in a pot of beans, brings a new level of flavor without the overpowering heat habs are known for.
First, as Pepperman has mentioned, remove the ribs and seeds. About 90% of the capsaicin (which is where the heat is) is found in the ribs (technically the placenta). It's contained in tiny, oil-filled sacks. When these rupture (such as when you cut open the pod) the capsaicin gets onto the seeds---which is why it is often erroneously reported that you get rid of the heat by getting rid of the seeds. It's actually the ribs that carry it.
Second, again as Pepperman says, searing the outside will reduce some of the apparent heat.
Next, choose varieties that are low on the heat scale. Heat in chilies is measured in Scoville Heat Units, and ranges from 0 (for bell peppers) to 700,000 (for the hottest known pepper). If you are heat sensitive, anything up to 1000 you'll hardly notice. If you can handle a little heat, up to about 1500. After that, it's variety by variety because even with a lot of heat, if the Brix number is also high the sugar tends to mask the capsaicin.
For what it's worth, poblano, fresno, some of the cherry types, cubanelle some of the New Mexican, and pasilla are some of those that have heat levels below 1,500 SHUs.
Finally, there is a whole world of normally hot chilies that lack capsaicin. You can, therefore, find non-hot jalapenos; non-hot habaneros; non-hot baccatums.
To me, if you take the heat away from jalapenos, all you have left is a sort of green taste. So I don't care for them all that much. However, if you take the heat away from C. chinense (basically, habaneros) what's left is a smoky, tropical fruit flavor. Take the heat away from C. baccatum and you're left with citrusy undertones.
Don't forget, too, that you don't have to use an entire chili. A snippit of a habanero, say, in a pot of beans, brings a new level of flavor without the overpowering heat habs are known for.