Topic: Soup with too much chilli - any way to tame it?

[Tinkie_Bear]

Hope you can help, I have just made a pumpkin soup with chilli and it's way too spicy for me, any ideas how I can calm it down a bit?

Thanks

Helen

[Baccy Man]

Add something milk based like cream or yoghurt or make another batch with little or no chilli in it & mix the 2 together.

[Curryandchips]

two things which 'kill' chillies, are milk as Baccy man says, or sugar ...

[debster]

hubby chef says there isnt much you can do except water it down to make a larger quantity sorry

[Tinkie_Bear]

Thanks for your help, I have made loads so I will try each option when I defrost it - I think hubby will like it as it is but it darn near took my head off, even just dipping bread in it !! 

Note to self, red chillis do make it look pretty but they also add heat - DOH !!!

Thanks again.

Helen

[Shirley]

Doesn't freezing make the spices even more spicier!

[tim]

I thought that potato worked?

[Baccy Man]

hubby chef says there isnt much you can do except water it down to make a larger quantity sorry

If you water it down you will lose the consistency & need to add a thickening agent you will also be diluting all the other flavours as well. I wouldn't reccommend this method.

Doesn't freezing make the spices even more spicier!

Freezing allows the spices to blend with other ingredients which intensifies the overall flavour, it is most effective when you have meat,fish, soya etc... in the frozen food as the spices will be absorbed by them in the same way they would if you marinaded them in the first place.
It won't make the soup any hotter if anything it may appear to taste slightly milder when it comes out of the freezer as the chilli will of combined with the other flavours in the soup.

I thought that potato worked?

Potato will work to a limited extent but they will only make a very small difference when you use them to remove excess herbs or spices. If there had been too much salt on the other hand they would have been a perfect solution.

As Curry mentioned sugar will also counteract the chilli but that is of limited use in a pumpkin soup as it could sweeten it too much creating a need for more remedial action. Whereas yoghurt, cream etc... are regularly used in pumpkin soup recipes anyway so it would negate the effect of the chilli & still fit with what you are making.

[RosieMcPosie]

i'd suggest using cream... yumm spicy pumkin soup :)

[newbies]

I stir in a tub of fruit yoghurt, such as orange, it softens the flavour and fools those who don't like spice!

[Rob08]

The yoghurt/cream idea works a treat.  Another thing to try (we do this with curries) though it will change the flavour somewhat, is to stir in some chutney.  It takes the burn out very effectively.

[Tin Shed]

Would coconut milk work?

[Baccy Man]

Yes coconut milk works so do the soya equivalents of milk yoghurt etc...

[Susiebelle]

Wow!! the stuff I learn from this forum - and I thought I was a knowledgeable cook (first mistake) Baccy man are you a Chef? I will certainly have to print this thread and keep in my "how to correct" secret place!!

[Baccy Man]

Baccy man are you a Chef?

I am not working as a chef at the moment but I do have a diploma in professional cookery & several years experience if that counts.
Rescuing things that have gone wrong was part of the basics on my training. My tutor would intentionally substitute ingredients with similar looking things & if we didn't spot what he'd done the wrong ingredients would go in, he would curdle sauces, or chuck a handful of salt, sugar, flour, herbs, spices etc... into things. Whatever went wrong we had to rescue and serve, starting over was not allowed unless we could clearly show there was no way to rescue the meal & if we thought something was unrecoverable but were wrong about that we were told there is a way to rescue it & had to carry on until we got it right.
The idea behind it was that if we had someone with limited experience or someone who had only done NVQ training working for us then we would be able to correct the mistakes they made rather than wasting time & money starting over with fresh ingredients.

[Susiebelle]

I thought so Baccy Man, you can't beat good sound training, stays with you for life, it will certainly take the heat out of my kitchen in future :P :P - thank you for to sharing.