Jalapeno cleaner (deseed & devein)

[LKJR]

My roommates and I like to make a lot of grilled jalapenos. The drawback is the oil gets in your fingers and stays for days no matter how hard you scrub. (really bad for contacts)

We generally make 2 dozen or so at a time when we grill so I'm looking for a better method to clean them.


I found these 2 tools and was wondering if anyone had any experience with either one.
http://www.jalapenocafe.com/twister.html

http://www.bbq-tools.com/store/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=92

 

[GB]

I do not have any experience with those tools. I just use a pair of gloves. They can be used for many other things too like handling chicken or anything else.

This is the kind I use.

 

[skilletlicker]

I have a very yellowed box of Wallgreens brand latex gloves under the sink. Shortly after buying the box, my knife skills improved enough that they were no longer needed. Of course, I don't wear contacts. I just pulled one out and put it on. Even though it must be 10 yrs. old it is still air tight.

Like GB, I have no experience with either tool. Sorry.

 

[Andy M.]

The capsaicin (sp?) found in chile peppers is an alkalie. It can be neutralized with an acid. After handling jalapenos, I scrub my fingers with vinegar then wash them thoroughly. Works for me.

 

[Gretchen]

Milk will also dissolve capsaicin.

 

[shpj4]

Hello and welcome to DC. I use the Playtex regular gloves and the Playtex heavy duty gloves because I don't want anything to get on my hands or my fingers.

I usually use these gloves when I am cutting up meats etc.

 

[Corinne]

I finally learned my lesson & ALWAYS wear disposable gloves when I'm working with jalapenos. There's something I use to de-seed & devein the peppers that does an excellent job but this is gonna sound strange!

We have 4 parrots. 3 of them were hand raised & we continued handfeeding them for a little while after they came home. What we used was a regular teaspoon with the sides curved up - we bent the spoon with heat & pliers. I kept the spoon & use it all the time when I make poppers.

 

[ChefJune]

One time rubbing your eyes right after working with hot peppers will cure you forever of dealing with those puppies barehanded! I always wear disposable gloves of some kind when handling chiles, wash my knife, and peel off the gloves right after I put the cutting board straightaway into the dishwasher! Not going to have that experience again!

 

[Harborwitch]

We have a chiligrill that we absolutely love. It when we bought it we ordered the 2nd device you gave a link for. It's really a serrated apple corer and works great. It makes short work of de-seeding the peppers. I do use gloves if I'm going to be working on lots and lots of peppers - but for a couple dozen we don't usually worry. If you're really sensitive I'd wear gloves because there will still be "some" contact.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Gloves are a must.
To remove the seeds - use a paper clip. Very effective, cheap as can be!

 

[BreezyCooking]

For peppers that aren't "too" hot, like Anaheims, Poblanos, & Jalapenos, I just hold them down with a piece of paper towel or plastic wrap, slit them open with a very sharp paring knife, & then either scrape the seeds into the sink under cold running water.

For very hot peppers like small serranos, tabascos, thais, & habaneros, I wear disposable latex gloves.

Oh, & just as an aside, I once read an interview of Food Network's Alton Brown, wherein he said that the reason he now wears glasses on his show instead of contacts is due to his accidentally rubbing his eye while dissecting some hot peppers during an older episode when he used to wear his contacts. He said "Never again!!!"

 

[Claire]

It's funny, but I find rubbing my eyes to be self-curing. A minute or so of crying and it is gone. BUT if I touch my nose .... it will hurt for hours. The gloves are cheap. But mostly I've just learned to not touch my face when dealing with hot peppers. I have to ask, though. Once you remove the seeds and ribs, I find jalapenos to simply taste like green bell peppers. Without the heat, what is the point?

 

[letscook]

a box of Disposable gloves are cheap -- and i use the small end of of a melon baller

 

[YT2095]

well the 1`st device looks like something you could make with a bent coathanger, the other looks like a corer/potatoe peeler.

the active ingredient isn`t water soluble, but alcohol or oils will dissolve it (also makes it easier to spread!), the gloves and paperclip idea sound good though

I personaly don`t bother using anything other than a knife and painful memories, a T spoon helps with the really thin chilis though.

 

[GB]

I find jalapenos to simply taste like green bell peppers. Without the heat, what is the point?

You are obviously not getting very hot peppers in that case. I have had ones like you describe and I have also had ones that would take the paint off a house even after deseeded and deveined. Sounds like you just have not found the really hot ones.

 

[twanger]

I thought sure that I would be able to find a properly curved scalpel or exacto blade
that would handle the deveining of peppers handily and was sorely disappointed to
find that there were none offered. So, I am thinking that I will design my own with an
Exacto knife style handle with a looped wire on the end similar to the wire on a cheese
cutter . . . however, I like the paper clip idea mentioned . . . but I am thinking it would
have to be one of the smaller ones . . . I will definitely be looking into that . . .

. . . by the way, could somebody tell me what it is that I am supposed to put in the
"Title:" bar?

 

[Andy M.]

I thought sure that I would be able to find a properly curved scalpel or exacto blade
that would handle the deveining of peppers handily and was sorely disappointed to
find that there were none offered. So, I am thinking that I will design my own with an
Exacto knife style handle with a looped wire on the end similar to the wire on a cheese
cutter . . . however, I like the paper clip idea mentioned . . . but I am thinking it would
have to be one of the smaller ones . . . I will definitely be looking into that . . .

. . . by the way, could somebody tell me what it is that I am supposed to put in the
"Title:" bar?

Same kind of thing as you would put in the subject of an email - a short descriptive word or more to ID the topic of your post.

I use a melon baller to clean out jalapenos.

 

[Wyogal]

oil also takes the "hot" off your hands. I use a knife and just touch the outside of the pepper with my fingers. I use the blade to cut out the ribs and seeds.