TIFU by essentially pepper spraying my entire household.

We’re having a seafood boil later today for the 4th. Previously the potatoes have taken ages to cook, meaning more time spent outside in the Florida heat over a boiling pot. In an attempt to limit the time my husband will be outside in triple digit temps today I decided to pre-boil the potatoes on the stove after breakfast.

I threw some Zatarain’s seasoning in the pot & added water. While it was coming to a boil I cut the potatoes in half. As soon as the water started boiling I started coughing & knew shit had gone wrong. I immediately turned on the exhaust fan, but it was already too late.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of inhaling creole/cajun seasoning, let me paint you a word picture: imagine the pain and sharp discomfort of getting caught in a plume of smoke - your eyes are burning, your nose tingles with a pending sneeze and your throat feels raw & irritated. This was all those things, but invisible and also angrier somehow.

Everyone that came through the kitchen, dining room, & living room was squinting, coughing, sneezing, and looking very confused. This included the cats, which almost made it worth it.

TL;DR: This morning I aerosolized spicy seasonings on the stovetop and made inhabitants of my house pretty miserable for about 15 minutes.

  • 70ms@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    I did something similar once (ONCE) making ghost pepper hot sauce. 😂 I didn’t even think about it and heated them without turning the exhaust fan on and then got a good breath. NOT fun so I totally empathize!

    • Hotpuck6@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Found out the hard way that running Carolina reapers in a dehydrator can have a similar effect. Took like a full day to not walk into the house and get “spice eyes”.

      • 70ms@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Oh yeah, never again. 😂 It completely gassed the kitchen! The hot sauce was worth it though!

  • Marxine@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As a spicy stuff enjoyer I’d definitely end up doing this someday. Hope I’ll remember your experience before it happens 😅

  • t0m5k1@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I did similar by trying to cook a curry with fresh spices. I just turned off the hob and took my wife to the pub, after a meal and 3 pints each about 4 hours had past and we felt it was safe to return.

    I covered the pot after mixing it all together and let it cook on very low heat over night, turned out really nice but the gas I first created left a curry smell that lingered for a few months according to visitors Lmfao.

  • bleeps@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I could totally see myself doing this. What’s the correct timing to add the seasoning?

    • Leaess@kbin.socialOP
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      1 year ago

      @bleeps
      I really don’t know - we’ve always done it outside in the past, so I didn’t bother reading instructions. 😬