how not to pepper spray yourself (or: kitchen science gone wrong)

2bBush

So I learned this evening how to make homemade pepper spray, by accident.

 

It started with a box of macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and cheese is pretty worthless for dinner unless it's dressed up with something else --tuna, onions, salsa, whatever. Tonight I decided to add taco seasoning, onions and Ro-Tel tomatoes (the kind with diced green chiles)

 

Instead of draining the can of tomatoes-with-chiles into the sink, I drained the juice into water I was bringing to a boil for the macaroni; why not? it might add a little extra flavor.

Then, I realized I'd forgotten to salt the cooking water, so I added salt to the roiling, boiling, tomato juiced-water.

 

And then I couldn't breathe. So I stepped back, blinked, coughed, and stepped toward the stove again. Then I couldn't breathe again --some noxious, painful fume was steaming from my pot.

 

We're my tomatoes poisoned? I sniffed the can --nothing. I sniffed the pot --and my throat nearly closed up again.

 

Somehow, I realized, that the capsacin (or hot stuff) in the green chile juice, in the boiling water, with the salt, created a steam that was, essentially, pepper spray.

 

I don't recommend trying this yourself, mind you. It was pretty awful.

HisDollface

oh my!!!! How are you doing now?

julnmatt

Oh my.....that is horrible.  One time a friend was making  a Thai dish and I walked into the kitchen when they were adding the pepper, I am assuming kind of the same thing and I nearly fell on my butt and was choking, eyes burning and gasping for air.  It is horrible!

tmp-535278437507318

oh no!  I hope you're ok.  when you got to that part of saying the capsaisin (sp?) did the trick, I imagined Alton Brown on the food channel.  Feel better soon!

2bBush

it sure wasn't fun, but kind of funny after the fact! the things you learn by accident!

Jenn09/04

I know exactly what you're talking about. I tried doing something similar once and it was a horrible experience.