Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi people
I am growing Prairie Fire and Krakatoa Chillis in my greenhouse and want some advice re: drying and storing said chillis for future use. I know you can freeze them but fancied drying some for use in spicing up pickled onions etc as I understand dried are possibly hotter? I do not possess a dehydrator but am open to any suggestions??

Many thanks... Phil.

Cooling rack on top of the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard.

Hi Phil,

When I picked last years cayennes, I made sure I had the longest possible stalk and then literally sewed them into a bumch, hung them up in the kitchen, above the rayburn and they dried out really well. I made sure I sewed them as near to the end of the stalk as possible, being careful not to get too close to the end and I used a heavy duty household thread that I had in my mums old sewing box.



For the smaller patio chillies, I've both air dried and oven dried these and have had success in both cases. However unlike the cayennes, I've learned that for air dried or oven dried, as much of the stalk as possible needs to be removed to reduce the risk of rotting (but that may just be down to my inexperience )

(this picture shows patio chillies ripening and drying in our dining room)

BTW in both cases the air dried chillies were hotter than those dried in the oven.

VPM
x

peter wrote:Cooling rack on top of the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard.

Many thanks for the advice

vegpatchmum wrote:Hi Phil,

When I picked last years cayennes, I made sure I had the longest possible stalk and then literally sewed them into a bumch, hung them up in the kitchen, above the rayburn and they dried out really well. I made sure I sewed them as near to the end of the stalk as possible, being careful not to get too close to the end and I used a heavy duty household thread that I had in my mums old sewing box.

Cayenne Chilli string 20110820a.jpg

For the smaller patio chillies, I've both air dried and oven dried these and have had success in both cases. However unlike the cayennes, I've learned that for air dried or oven dried, as much of the stalk as possible needs to be removed to reduce the risk of rotting (but that may just be down to my inexperience )

Chilli ripening 2009 a.jpg

(this picture shows patio chillies ripening and drying in our dining room)

BTW in both cases the air dried chillies were hotter than those dried in the oven.

VPM
x

Many thanks, air drying sounds the best option.

It all depends on the thickness of the skin. A thin skinned chilli like prarie fire will almost dry in the plant in the greenhouse, and is easy to dry strung up over a radiator, stove etc. Something like Ancho or Mulato, with thicker skin need more care - they sometimes dry OK over a radiator, but can go mouldy inside; better to use the warm oven, perhaps.

Jalapenos are traditionally smoked for preservation, making Chipotles. These are rather delectable IMHO, and I'm going to smoke some myself this year.

Incidentally - if you have really hot chillies, do beware drying them in the airing cupboard with your smalls. Capsaicin's volatility is relatively low, but so is the amount needed to cause, erm ... discomfort.

Tony Hague wrote:It all depends on the thickness of the skin. A thin skinned chilli like prarie fire will almost dry in the plant in the greenhouse, and is easy to dry strung up over a radiator, stove etc. Something like Ancho or Mulato, with thicker skin need more care - they sometimes dry OK over a radiator, but can go mouldy inside; better to use the warm oven, perhaps.

Jalapenos are traditionally smoked for preservation, making Chipotles. These are rather delectable IMHO, and I'm going to smoke some myself this year.

Incidentally - if you have really hot chillies, do beware drying them in the airing cupboard with your smalls. Capsaicin's volatility is relatively low, but so is the amount needed to cause, erm ... discomfort.

thanks for the advice... will avoid the smalls at all cost!!!!