Chillies - to de-seed or not to de-seed?

Bargain_Rzl

This is just a quick q - I'll be home in a couple of hours and making the chilli con carne recipe from the BBC website. I have a few red chillies (medium) in the fridge, and I've never done chilli con carne using fresh chillies before. The recipe simply says that the chillies should be chopped finely - can anybody suggest whether they should be de-seeded or not beforehand?

Cheers,Rzl

Anne_Marie_2

Generally recipes say that chillis should be deseeded, but I like "hot" so never bother, really is a matter of personal taste.

RoCas

Chillies don't necessarily need to be seeded but I believe they are "hotter" if you leave the seeds in.

dragonsoup

They wil be a lot hotter if you leave the seeds in! I am impervious to the heat so don't always bother but it depends who I am cooking for.

Do take care though if you scrape them out. It is very easy to squirt yourself with chilli juice and if it gets in yours eyes it is pure agony. Also make sure you don't touch your face until you have washed your hands throughly. There is a strong irritant in chillis and I now tend to use disposable gloves when deseeding.

Apologies if you already know all this!

smokey112

Rzl

it really is up to yourself if you want to deseed them - I never do unless I am using a red chilli for a Salsa - I deseed then - but for chilli and curries etc the hotter the better.

As dragonsoup says -watch your fingers and dont touch any sensitive parts after handling

HTH
Ang
x

Gingham_Ribbon

I leave the seeds in but I like it hot. I sometimes add chilli powder too, but I'd check it first or it could end up inedible! If you like milder flavour, deseed it.

I put washing up liquid on my hands and rub it in, then add water and wash my hands thoroughly after chopping chillis.

Bargain_Rzl

Thanks everybody. I do prepare chillis a lot for other dishes, so know about preparing them - just somehow never got arouond to making "fresh" chilli con carne.

The pot is bubbling away on the stove ATM smelling delicious, and I went for the de-seeded option

tr3mor

If anyone wants to know an easy way of deseeding chillis...

Chop off the end.

Roll the chilli, upside down, between the palms of your hands and watch the seeds and pith fall out.

competitionscafe

If cooking for me - seeds in. If cooking for other people - seeds out. You can always keep the seeds to one side and add them later if you find it's too mild.

I make a Thai pork meatballs recipe from Nigel Slater which has chillis in - but as it's raw pork you cannot tell how hot it will be until it's cooked so sometimes it comes out a bit hotter than I expected if I put the seeds in.

Always wash your hands (very well!) after chopping chillis, especially (for men) before going to the toilet (ouch!)