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If heat equals strength and this is the World's Strongest Man Contest, the habanero chile can lift an 18-wheeler. The serrano can lift a VW van. The jalapeño can lift a Vespa, which is still pretty powerful compared to the pepperoncini lifting a Big Wheel way down at the bottom of the Scoville scale. But there is much more to a chile pepper than its brawn. Different varieties have different flavors, colors and shapes and play different roles in cooking. Here’s a breakdown of three popular varieties. The habanero: Lantern-shaped and bright yellow or orange, the habanero is the hottest chile that is readily available in U.S. groceries. You can seed habaneros to lower the heat, but when working with them, wear gloves and keep your hands away from your face. Wash anything that touches the chile's seeds or juices. The habanero's floral, tangy flavor works well as the focal point of a dip. The serrano: Looks like a slender jalapeño. As it ages, it turns from green to red to yellow. Rich and potentially blistering (though sometimes fairly mild), serranos show up most often in salsas, marinades, sauces and chilis. Its size and shape make the serrano difficult to core and seed, so the best way to temper it is by using less of it. The jalapeño: A workhorse pepper that is easy to find in most grocery stores. It's easy to work with, too. If you have a moderate tolerance for heat, you should be able to handle a jalapeño without removing the seeds and ribs. (If you're less tolerant of heat, try taking out the seeds and ribs.) Jalapeños are dark green (red when extra ripe) and have a sweet flavor that is similar to a bell pepper with a kick. Reference: Help! I ate a hot pepper! (Cookthink) Reference: How to seed a chile pepper (Cookthink) Reference:: Why are some jalapenos hotter than others? (Cookthink)

What is tofu?

Tofu is a block of pressed soybean curd. Like many things, tofu originated in China and figures in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, as well as being coveted by vegetarians of all nationalities for its high protein (and nonexistent cholesterol). Neutral-tasting tofu tends to take on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with, kind of like chicken. It comes in many guises, including soft and firm, dried and processed. A versatile ingredient, tofu can be eaten raw, cubed and marinated and added to salads or stir-fried dishes at the last minute (it holds its shape but must be treated with some delicacy). Or it can be cut into slices and fried until crispy. Tofu can also be mashed up and used to make non-dairy desserts, like "cheese"-cake.

What is fish sauce?

Fish sauce is a pungent liquid flavoring made from salted, fermented fish. A staple of Southeast Asian cuisines, most varieties are made with anchovies, salt and sugar. You can usually find fish sauce on the international aisle at the grocery store. If not, you'll certainly find several varieties at any Asian market. (Chinese fish sauce may be labeled fish gravy.) Store fish sauce in the pantry, not in the refrigerator -- the cold air will cause salt crystals to form. In a pinch, or if you want to make a dish vegetarian, you can substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. Substituting fish sauce for soy sauce is a riskier move. Plenty of people do it, but if you're a casual user of or newcomer to fish sauce, proceed with caution: it's potent. It takes 10-15 pounds of fish to make 1 liter of fish sauce, so it's not surprising that the dark liquid smells intensely fishy. The flavor, however, is not so much fishy as it is salty, tangy and vinegary. Paired with lime juice and broth, fish sauce creates a bold base for this soups. Recipe: Broiled Thai Shrimp (Coothink) Recipe: Beef Pho (Cookthink) Recipe: Thai Shrimp, Coconut And Mushroom Soup (Cookthink) Reference: Why is it called Worcestershire sauce? (Cookthink)

How to seed a chile pepper

Most of the heat in a chile pepper -- whether jalapeño, serrano, habanero, or another -- comes from the white ribs and seeds. Removing both reduces the chile's heat and allows more of the pepper's flavor to come through. First, cut the pepper in half lengthwise. If you want the halves to stay intact for larger slices or a large dice, just trim out the seeds and ribs, cut out the stem, and slice the pepper as thick or thin as you like. Otherwise, it's easier to get the seeds and ribs out if you cut each half in half again. To get the seeds and ribs out, hold each quarter by the end. With the knife parallel to the cutting board, slice across the ribs and seeds. When you get to the top of the pepper, turn the knife downward toward the cutting board and chop off the stem with the same motion. (Here, we used a Granton Santoku knife; you may prefer a smaller paring knife.) Reference: Help! I ate a hot pepper! (Cookthink) Reference: How to seed a chile pepper (Cookthink) Reference:: Why are some jalapenos hotter than others? (Cookthink)

How to slice a zucchini

Here are three common ways to slice a zucchini. The type of cut you use will vary depending on the size zucchini you have. A half-round from a medium zucchini and a full-round from a small one might be about the same size. Once you have this technique down, you can vary the cuts as you need to. Here, we happen to be prepping a medium zucchini (though we think the small ones usually taste best).For longer-cooking dishes like ragouts, braises, and stews, you can cut the zucchini into rounds of any thickness. The longer the cooking, the thicker the slices. For full rounds, cut off the top and very bottom of the zucchini, then slice crosswise.For quicker-cooking dishes, and when you want bite-size pieces, cut the zucchini into half or quarter-rounds. After cutting off the top and bottom, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Some zucchini are curved, making it difficult to make two even-sized halves. When deciding where to make the cut, rotate the whole zucchini until it looks straight, then slice.To finish the half rounds, slice the zucchini crosswise. For dishes where the zucchini plays a starring role, cut the rounds on the bias (at an angle).To make quarter-rounds, cut the lengthwise halves in half again lengthwise.Then slice the quarters crosswise to make quarter-rounds of any thickness. Like with whole and half-rounds, you can cut these on the bias for the sake of appearance.

How to slice a shallot

The flavor of a shallot falls somewhere between red onion and garlic, often without the pungency of either. The shallot's subtle flavor works in soups, stews, sauces and pretty much anywhere else you'd use an onion or garlic. Thinly sliced shallots are nice to use in place of sliced onions, say in a stir-fry where you want onion flavor but you want it in a subtle, less aggressive way.To slice a shallot, first cut it in half through the root.Next, cut the papery end (not the root end) off and discard it. This will make the skin easier to peel away.Now just slice across the shallot crosswise. Cut the slices thin for quick-cooking dishes and thick for longer cook times, like a stew.

What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini?

What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini. As far as cooking goes, not much -- just their skin color. We substitute one for the other all the time. Both are so-called summer squashes that are picked while still immature, so that their thin skins and soft seeds are still edible. A yellow squash is of course yellow, with either a straight body and smooth rind or a crookneck and bumpy skin (which looks odd but is perfectly fine to eat). Recipe: Zucchini Soup With Lime (Cookthink) Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink) Reference: Cucumber vs. zucchini (Cookthink)

What is an oil's smoke point?

The smoke points of an oil (or butter) is precisely what it sounds like: the temperature at which it begins to release clouds of smoke. At that point, the oil is breaking down and has a very narrow window of time left until it burns and should be tossed out. The smoke point is different for different kinds of oils. Vegetable oils are tougher and can reach a higher temperature before smoking, making tehm good for frying. (The commonly accepted temperature for frying is somewhere between 365F-375F.) Butter burns easily, and olive oil has a pretty low smoke point, so they’re better for sautéing at relatively lower heats. Here are a few examples of oils and their smoke points (get your thermometers ready!): Sunflower Oil -- 440F Canola Oil -- 400F Butter -- 350F Extra Virgin Olive Oil -- 320F

What is a chiffonade?

The French term chiffonade means "made of rags." In cooking, chiffonade is a technique for slicing herbs and leafy vegetables into long, thin strips. This method is useful for cooking tougher greens like kale and chard, which can be hard to chew when left in bigger pieces. It's also a nice way to slice up herbs like mint or basil to scatter over a dish or add to a salad. To chiffonade something, stack and roll a small pile of leaves and then slice (or snip) them into thin ribbons.

What is lemongrass?

Lemongrass is a Southeast Asian grass that has a lemony aroma and flavor thanks to its high content of essential citral oil. Commonly used in Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Thai cooking, the tough, fibrous grass can be bought fresh, frozen (usually minced), or dried and ground into a powder. It can either be finely chopped and integrated into soups and other preparations, or chopped into sticks and bruised and used to flavor dishes while they cook, then removed before serving. It also makes a nice herb tea -- just add hot water, steep, and serve. Recipe: Southeast Asian Chicken And Cabbage Soup (Cookthink) Recipe: Rasa Malaysia's Malaysian Chicken Satay (Cookthink) Reference: How to prep lemongrass (Cookthink)

Help! I ate a hot pepper!

What should you do if you eat a pepper that sets your tongue on fire? Do not drink beer. Water won’t help either. (In a Caribbean folktale, children drown in a river trying to cool their tongues after eating habanero stew. See Dave Dewitt and Nancy Gerlach's The Pepper Pantry for the full story.) Capsaicin, the chemical that makes a hot pepper hot, doesn’t dissolve in water, so even ice water won’t help remove the heat. Your best bet? Get milk. Because capsaicin is fat-soluble, a compound in milk can actually pull the capsaicin off your tongue and relieve some of the burn. Another option: eat bread or rice to absorb the heat. Cucumber can also have a cooling effect. If you are feeling brave (or masochistic), you could try eating another pepper. According Robert Berkley, the author of Peppers: A Cookbook, you can build up a resistance to capsaicin by eating more chile peppers. With Berkley’s approach, you get the added high of a capsaicin-triggered endorphin release. Before you know it, you might be addicted to the hot little things. Reference: How to seed a chile pepper (Cookthink) Reference:: Why are some jalapenos hotter than others? (Cookthink)