Jalapenos and How to Handle Them

Jalapenos are a spicy pepper named after the Mexican town of Xalapa, sometimes spelled as Jalapa. This hotness of this pepper is linked to its cultivation and preparation. Jalapenos are versatile and can be served in everything from drinks to jellies. They can be stuffed or wrapped. They add a spicy enhancement to any dish.

Jalapenos and other spicy peppers differ from the more mild bell peppers because the human eyes and nasal membranes are particularly vulnerable to them. The pepper spray used by many law enforcement agencies as well as consumer pepper spray canisters often is derived from jalapenos. If proper safety procedures are not used when handling jalapenos, the juice will stay on human hands for days. If the juice comes into contact with eyes or the nasal membranes, an intense burning and pain sensation may follow.

The best way to handle jalapenos is to use latex gloves and wear long sleeves to keep the jalapeno juice from irritating your skin or remaining on your skin and later contaminating your eyes and face. Eye protection, such as an eye shield, should also be used to keep any juice from burning your eyes.

If you want to read what happened to me when I ignored my wife and mother-in-law's advice when I helped them make salsa read my blog post here.

If jalapeno juice does come into contact with your skin or eyes, water is not effective in removing it. Simply washing hands with soap and water after handling jalapenos will often not remove the contaminating pepper. Skin irritation or contamination of your eyes, may follow. The best way to remove the jalapeno juice is by using milk to wash your hands.

Milk can also be used to rinse eyes after you have accidentally contaminated them with the jalapeno. Use extreme caution using anything other than water to rinse your eyes.

• If you want an easy appetizer cut jalapenos open and place cheese sticks inside. Then wrap the jalapenos in crescent rolls and bake the stuffed wrapped crescent rolls according to the crescent roll package directions. The result is a unique zesty side dish that only takes a few minutes to prepare.
• Jalapenos also great on a grill. Slice the peppers and place a cheese stick inside and grill for 3 to 5 minutes. Watch the Jalapenos carefully on the grill as they burn easily. Stuffed, grilled Jalapenos are a great companion for steaks.