Too Much Pepper? Lemon to the Rescue

Published on Thursday, January 12, 2012, by Caitlin McGrath / Edit Post

Even careful cooks can get carried away with black pepper or cayenne, creating an unpleasantly hot soup or stew. How best to salvage an overspiced dish?

While some suggest diluting it with broth or making a second, unspiced batch to combine with the peppery pot, the most effective solution is also the simplest—and employs an ingredient you probably keep on hand.

A bit of lemon juice will neutralize excess heat, nelly k says, though you may need to add a dash of sugar to counteract the lemon's acidity and bring the dish into balance. Many hounds attest to the effectiveness of the lemon juice save, including bostonpatriot, who says it "worked immediately in my vegetable barley soup."

Discuss: Help!!!! Added too much pepper

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  • I made a Thai Chicken curry soup.. I had 4 cans of what I thought was all coconut milk..plus put the cayenne and the jalapeno` in it, too. Now, I am from AZ and NM but this was too hot for my WI hubby and our guest..sooooo,, I added sliced, squeezed lemon and a can of evap milk plus salt..even though it had 3 cans of chicken broth in it.. I saved it..OH.. I also added thinly sliced fresh cabbage...+READ

    I made a Thai Chicken curry soup.. I had 4 cans of what I thought was all coconut milk..plus put the cayenne and the jalapeno` in it, too. Now, I am from AZ and NM but this was too hot for my WI hubby and our guest..sooooo,, I added sliced, squeezed lemon and a can of evap milk plus salt..even though it had 3 cans of chicken broth in it.. I saved it..OH.. I also added thinly sliced fresh cabbage and that helped A LOT.. Everyone loved it =-) including me.-COLLAPSE

  • FAST & EASY TIP===Cut a potato in half & drop it in the pot. Something about the potato absorbs a lot of the peppery tase, but DON"T eat the potato!

  • Does this also work if the source of the heat is a Peruvian pepper? Also, if the dish has milk, will the lemon juice spoil the milk? Tjanks for the tip!