Don't Panic If Your Dish Is Too Spicy, Just Add A Touch Of Dairy

Whether you've spent hours preparing a meal or splurged on take-out only to find it's much too spicy to eat, don't panic. You can quickly and easily rescue any dish with the aid of a little dairy. This helpful addition prevents peppers' spicy molecules from attaching themselves to your taste buds. Instead, the protein in dairy attracts and neutralizes the spicy molecules it comes into contact with. But it is important to understand that dishes with a lot of acidity will curdle dairy like milk or cream. Let's explore different types of dairy and what dishes they work well in.

One of the best ways to fix soup that is too spicy is to add milk or cream to it. This trick also works well with many pasta dishes such as our creamy red pepper penne recipe. Ultimately, it creates a creamy bisque or pasta sauce. Other dishes like casseroles can also benefit from a touch of sour cream, cottage cheese, or even cream cheese. Other dishes that you might not typically serve or associate with dairy can be trickier.

There are tons of baked chicken recipes that can also benefit from a number of types of dairy. Try adding half-and-half, cream, or milk with a fat percentage of your choosing to saucier dishes. Consider the other ingredients and the texture of the dish, though. Slow-cooking recipes could benefit from thicker dairy such as sour cream. While many of these recipes likely already call for dairy, and you can simply add more of the recipe's ingredients, other dishes are trickier to balance. 

Curry, for example, calls for adding dairy later in the cooking process to prevent it from curdling. Try using plain yogurt or a smaller amount of Greek yogurt, which tends to be more sour, to keep the flavors balanced. You can also use full-fat coconut milk as a dairy-free alternative. The fat molecules within the coconut milk will still capture and eliminate the spicy molecules within the dish, toning it down. This option also works well in stir-fry.  

So, don't worry if a dish is too spicy. Simply reach for a dairy product well-suited to the dish and stir it in slowly. You won't have to singe your taste buds to enjoy your meal after all.