How do I fix food that is too spicy?

Chilli heat comes from capsaicin, which dissolves in fat and not in water. That single fact explains why a glass of water does nothing and a spoonful of yoghurt works immediately, and it tells you which fixes are worth trying.

What you'll need

• Cream, yoghurt or coconut milk (optional)
• Sugar (optional)
• Lemon or lime (optional)

Step by step

1. Add dairy or another fat.Cream, yoghurt, coconut milk, butter, cheese. Capsaicin is fat-soluble, so fat genuinely carries it away rather than just diluting. This is the most effective fix.
2. Add a little sugar.A pinch balances heat perceptually. It works well in tomato-based and Asian dishes and is easy to overshoot, so add small amounts.
3. Add acid.Lemon, lime or vinegar. It cuts through and distracts from the heat, and it usually improves the dish in other respects too.
4. Bulk it out with something starchy or neutral.More rice, potatoes, beans, tinned tomatoes or coconut milk. It spreads the same capsaicin through more food, which genuinely reduces the concentration.
5. Add a nut butter or ground nuts for a rich dish.Peanut or cashew butter adds fat and body, and suits many curries. A tablespoon makes a noticeable difference.
6. Remove visible chilli pieces if you can.Whole chillies, seeds and large flakes are still releasing heat. Fishing them out stops it getting worse while it sits.
7. Serve with something cooling alongside.Yoghurt, raita, soured cream, cucumber, bread or plain rice. If the dish cannot be fixed, the accompaniment can carry it.
8. Season again after adjusting.Adding dairy and bulk dilutes the salt as well as the heat. Taste and correct, or it will taste flat as well as milder.

Tips

• Water makes it worse briefly by spreading the capsaicin around the mouth. Milk, yoghurt or bread is what to reach for at the table.
• Heat builds as a dish sits, particularly with whole chillies in it. Something that seemed fine when cooked can be much hotter an hour later.
• Next time, add chilli gradually and late. It is easy to add and very hard to remove.

Common mistakes

• Adding water or stock to dilute it — Capsaicin is not water-soluble, so water thins the dish without meaningfully reducing the perceived heat. Fat and dairy do.
• Adding a lot of sugar — It balances heat in small amounts and makes the dish sweet in large ones, which creates a second problem.
• Leaving whole chillies in while it sits — They keep releasing heat, so the dish gets hotter over time. Remove them once it is hot enough.

Questions people ask