Whether you've forgotten to seed the chili or used a tablespoon of cayenne pepper instead of a teaspoon, it's common to get it wrong and make a sauce that's too hot. However, you shouldn't throw out the whole dish if your mouth is on fire and smoke comes out of your ears after tasting it. Try adding ingredients that mitigate spiciness, such as citrus juice, fruit juice, or dairy products. If you don't want to experiment, just make another batch of chilli-free sauce and use it to dilute the first one; in this case you will have double the dose you expected, but you can keep it in a jar or freeze it.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Mitigate the Spicy Taste
Step 1. Add more tomato to red sauces
If you've made a dressing based on this ingredient, you can add more chopped. As with any other food, the serving size depends on how much sauce you have already cooked and how much you want to sweeten the flavor.
- To start, add half a tomato and then proceed to taste the sauce.
- Have a glass of milk handy to calm your taste buds.
Step 2. Get some citrus fruit, sugar or honey
Adding a sour and sweet ingredient is a well-known remedy for minimizing the spicy taste; try squeezing the juice from a quarter of a lime and dissolving a tablespoon of sugar or honey.
Remember that you can always increase the doses, so proceed with small additions at a time as you taste the sauce
Step 3. Add cilantro and a citrus puree
Perhaps they are already present in the original recipe; increasing the quantities can then make the sauce less strong without drastically changing the flavor. Remove the leaves from about ten sprigs of coriander, chop coarsely and blend them with the juice of a lime or an orange.
Stir in a teaspoon of liquid at a time until you get a more pleasant taste. If you have any juice left, you can use it to season tacos, sandwiches, eggs, and stir-fried vegetables
Step 4. Try a chopped avocado or cucumber
"Chill" the sauce with a cucumber! This vegetable, together with the avocado, reduces the spiciness of the dish, but if it is not already foreseen by the original recipe it could change the consistency and flavor of the sauce. If you're willing to experiment, shred one or both of them and mix them into the preparation.
Step 5. Reduce the intensity of the spicy ingredients with pineapple, peach or melon
Just like with cucumber and avocado, sweet fruits also change the original flavor of the sauce, but could turn it into something delicious. Try dicing fresh or canned pineapple, ripe peach, watermelon, or green melon. Stir in the fruit a little at a time and stop when you reach the desired level of sweetness.
Step 6. Serve a dollop of sour cream
If the only ingredient you have on hand is sour cream, you're in luck! Dairy products are perfect for neutralizing spicy flavors. You can simply accompany the sauce by placing sour cream on top of it or to the side; if you are willing to create a different sauce, mix the two toppings until you have sweetened the more intense one.
Method 2 of 2: Double the Quantity
Step 1. Make another serving of sauce without adding any spice
If you don't want to tamper with the original recipe, your best bet is to cook another batch, but without jalapeño peppers, cayenne pepper, or other hot ingredients. Brown the tomatillos, chop the coriander, squeeze the citrus fruits and proceed with all the steps involved in the preparation.
If you plan to serve the sauce at a party, it is best to stick to the recipe you know; modifying it by adding new ingredients is a kind of experiment and it is better not to use guests as guinea pigs
Step 2. Store the sauce in the refrigerator if you have run out of an ingredient
Maybe you have everything you need for just one batch of sauce, so a quick visit to the grocery store is required to buy what you need for the second preparation. If so, cover the ready sauce and place it in the refrigerator.
Acidic ingredients prevent bacteria from growing, but you shouldn't leave it at room temperature for more than two hours
Step 3. Combine the two sauces
After you have bought and cooked the ingredients for the second batch, mix the latter with the super spicy one. If you've already filled the largest bowl you have with the first batch, chances are you need to use some creativity.
- If you have a large stainless steel pan that you use for roasting, pour half of each batch into it; at this point you should have enough space in one of the two bowls to mix the other halves.
- Avoid aluminum containers because they react with the acidic ingredients of the sauce giving it an unpleasant metallic taste.
- You can also use the largest freezer bag you have.
Step 4. Simmer leftovers before storing them in jars
The biggest problem with diluting the sauce with the non-spicy one is managing the huge amount that remains. Whether you have decided to freeze it or store it in jars, you need to simmer it to minimize the water content and kill germs, a crucial step in this process.
Let it boil gently in a tall saucepan, without a lid, over low heat and stirring often; depending on the amount of water present, you must wait at least 60 minutes or until the sauce has thickened
Step 5. Make sure the sauce you made can be preserved
It needs to be acidic enough to store this way, but it doesn't always contain enough acidic ingredients. The recipe instructions should indicate whether or not the finished product can be stored in jars; if in doubt, stay on the safe side and freeze it. You can keep the sauce in the freezer for up to 6 months.
If you've carefully doubled all ingredient doses (except chillies) of a preservable sauce, the diluted mixture should be acidic enough to keep in jars. It is essential that you have doubled the acidic substances without exaggerating with the non-acidic ones; if you're worried you haven't been accurate enough, just freeze the leftovers
Step 6. Thaw the sauce in the refrigerator
When the time comes to consume it and bring it back to its original consistency, the best thing to do is put it back in the fridge. A gradual increase in temperature prevents the product from becoming too watery; however, it is very likely that the sauce still contains more water than you would like, in which case you must filter it to remove the excess liquid.
