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Tactics To Help You Beat The Heat When Enjoying Mexican Cuisine

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Dining in a Mexican restaurant gives you the opportunity to savor creatively-designed and carefully-built dishes with flavors that will have your taste buds dancing. Among the spices used in this style of cuisine are such as peppers as the chili, jalapeno, habanero and chipotle -- good news if you love hot and spicy food. When you plan on consuming such potent spices, it's important to have a plan of action for cooling your fiery mouth afterward. Although you might be tempted to grab your glass of ice water, ignore this feeling -- water won't do much to cool your mouth. Instead, focus on these foods that can help to quell the burn.

Dairy Products

Dairy products serve as a valuable ally when you're attempting to cool down your mouth after you've eaten spicy Mexican food. Dairy products will do battle against the heat element in these spices -- known as capsaicin -- and reduce its intensity. The good news is that many different dairy products are readily available when you eat at a Mexican restaurant. Consider ordering a glass of milk when you place your food order or look for dishes such as yogurt or sour cream. Because of their helpful cooling effects, these dairy products are often listed as side dishes at Mexican restaurants to help customers dealing with spicy food.

Bread

If you're served a bread basket or any other type of bread product when you arrive at the restaurant, make sure not to eat it all up before your main course arrives -- the bread can help to weaken the sensation of spice in your mouth. Bread products can absorb the spice residue and make your mouth feel significantly cooler in a short period of time, but make sure that the bread you have on your table is plain, rather than covered in something spicy.

Starchy Foods

Plain sources of starch can also be valuable to eat as a way to counteract the heat from your appetizer or main course. It's always a good idea to order a starchy side dish to help cool your palate as you eat. Given that rice is popular in Mexican cuisine, a bowl of white or brown rice can help stop the burn. If you don't see a rice dish on the menu, don't be afraid to order one -- you probably aren't the first spicy food lover to make this request. Click here for more info about Tucson Arizona Mexican food


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