Quick chilli pepper tips

- Rub some vegetable oil into your fingers before chopping chilli peppers to avoid stinging or burning feelings (or just wear gloves!).

- To keep the chilli flavour but reduce the spicy heat, slice the chilli from top to bottom then scoop out and discard the white-ish membrane and the seeds.

- To rescue food which is too spicy, try adding natural yoghurt, mayonnaise or sugar to your dish.

- Don’t drink water to cool your mouth when you take a bite of something too spicy – try milky drinks instead.

-  As a general rule, smaller chillis are hotter than larger ones.

- You can keep dried chillis for around a year if kept in an air-tight box.

-  If you’re unsure how much chilli you should put in a recipe then add it in small amounts until you get the taste you want – remember it’s easier to add more than to take it away.

- Add finely chopped chilli to steamed vegetables for a spicy change.