by johnah on November 11, 2020
How To Dry Hot Peppers: A Guide For Drying Chilli Peppers
Dry hot chili peppers are very popular in many countries around the world. They have been used for centuries as food and medicine. Some of them are dried, some roasted, and others chopped into small pieces. There are different methods to dry hot pepper which vary from country to country depending on climate conditions and culture’s preference.
So how do you decide what method to use?
You might think that drying your own hot peppers would be easy, but it isn’t. You need to get the right equipment and know how to properly store and keep it. If you don’t want to spend money on these things then there are other ways of drying your peppers. These methods include using commercial products or even just buying pre-dried ones online. But if you’re looking for a simple way of drying your own, here is our guide on how to dry hot peppers!
What You Need To Do:
A few things will be needed to dry your own hot peppers. First of all you’ll need a container to put them in (a bowl works well). Then you’ll need something else to dry them in. We recommend putting them inside a plastic bag or Tupperware container with a paper towel over top so they won’t burn themselves while drying.
Then you’ll need a nice place in or outdoors to hang them up. Once you’ve got all that ready, just follow these steps and you should be drying hot peppers in no time!
1. Gather up your chili harvest.
You’re going to want to get these as dry as you can before preparing them for drying since they have a tendency to become moldy when wet. Just give them a bath and pat them dry with some paper towels then prepare them for hanging.
2. Cut the stems off and prepare to hang.
You can put a string over a beam, door frame, or anything else you can loop it over. Make sure to leave enough room so that the peppers will be at least a foot or two apart from each other.
3. Drip dry.
This is possibly the easiest part of the process. Just hang the peppers and make sure they don’t touch anything else (including your hand). Just let them drip dry. It usually takes a few days for them to become completely dry but you can check on them to see if they’re ready.
4. Store and enjoy.
When they’re nice and dry, take them down and store them in an airtight container. They’ll be good for up to a year this way!
There are other ways to dry chili peppers including using a microwave or oven. These methods work okay but have the potential to ruin your food faster than regular drying methods. The heat can destroy nutrients (and the flavor) in your peppers while leaving them not completely dry. It would be best if you could lay them out somewhere with a lot of sun but not everyone has that luxury.
Having them indoors helps because you have more control over the dehydration process but it isn’t as effective since they’re not getting the full brunt of the sun. If you’re drying a small amount or just don’t have the resources to do it outside then using an oven or microwave is okay. Just don’t over dry them and always make sure to take them out as soon as they’re ready.
Having your own supply of dried hot peppers is very beneficial and can really save you in times of lack. Whether it’s to add some kick to your meals or to just have something different, dried chili are a great thing to have around. Just be sure to keep them from children and pets since they can be quite spicy!
Have fun drying!
Sources & references used in this article:
Assessment of hot peppers for aflatoxin and mold proliferation during storage by Q Iqbal, M Amjad, MR Asi… – Journal of food …, 2011 – meridian.allenpress.com
Mold and aflatoxin reduction by gamma radiation of packed hot peppers and their evolution during storage by Q Iqbal, M Amjad, MR Asi… – Journal of food …, 2012 – meridian.allenpress.com
Effects of blanching and storage on capsaicinoid stability and peroxidase activity of hot chili peppers (Capsicum frutescens L.) by U Schweiggert, A Schieber, R Carle – Innovative food science & emerging …, 2006 – Elsevier
… (HHAIB) pretreatment on the change of antioxidant capacity, the degradation kinetics of red pigment, ascorbic acid in dehydrated red peppers during storage by J Wang, XH Yang, AS Mujumdar, XM Fang, Q Zhang… – Food chemistry, 2018 – Elsevier
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