Handling chili peppers

A habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper can be from 40 to 140 times hotter than a jalapeno. That explains why cooks are advised to wear rubber gloves and use extreme caution when working with chili peppers, especially the hotter varieties. Some people advocate using goggles to protect the eyes. Neither gloves nor goggles are used in Ghana, except perhaps in professional kitchens. When using fresh peppers such as habanero, never touch a pepper directly. I hold the washed pepper with a fork and use a sharp knife to deseed it or remove membranes. Incidentally, capsaicin oil is not water soluble, which is why drinking a lot of water or rinsing a hand with water will not help ease the burn. It is fat soluble, so drinking milk or rubbing oil or even milk on a hand will help alleviate the heat.