A Better Way to Seed Jalapeños
Recently, we found a better way to seed jalapeños and other straight-sided chiles.
We often remove the seeds and ribs from jalapeño chiles to tone down their heat. In the past we’ve suggested running a melon baller or small spoon along the inside of a halved chile to accomplish this task. But sometimes stem removal isn’t complete or easy; plus, jalapeño juice will occasionally spray up. Recently, we found a better method, which also allows you to cut around the core to yield flat, even planks (rather than a pair of curved sides), which makes subsequent chopping or mincing easier. This method will also work with other straight-sided chiles, such as serranos.
With chile flat on cutting board, use chef ’s knife to cut down 1 side, using edge of chile’s crown as guide for where to position knife. Place chile on cut side and repeat on remaining sides to create 4 planks. Discard stem and core, reserving seeds if specified in recipe.
