The method of drying peppers at home in three ways
To dry the peppers at home after washing them, you can put them in the open air and sunlight for a few days. You can also use the oven and fruit dehydrator to dry the peppers.
Pepper is one of the most used spices in the home, and it is best if we can take advantage of the properties of homemade organic pepper by drying it at home. The popularity of bell peppers and red peppers and the delicate taste they give to food has made many housewives consider drying these fruits and using them in their dishes. In this article, methods for drying different types of peppers are explained. You can choose one of these methods according to the facilities you have available and try to dry red peppers, sweet peppers and hot peppers easily.
How to dry red pepper
If you know the ways to identify high-quality spices, you know that few spices can match the quality of homemade ones. Drying hot red peppers is an ideal solution for storing and using peppers in the future. There are many ways to dry red pepper, you can learn about these methods in this article and dry hot red pepper at home and use it in your food and cooking for the future.
1) Dry in the sun and open air
The easiest way to dry peppers is in the sun and outdoors. To use this method, you'd better pay attention to the following tips and steps.
Choose the best quality and type of hot red pepper; The peppers you choose for drying should be fully ripe and red in color. Do not use red peppers that have spots, holes, or cuts.
Note that airflow and outdoor drying methods are only applicable in dry climates.
If you try to dry peppers outdoors in wet weather, very soft peppers will be the result of your labour.
Warning: You need protective gloves and goggles when working with hot red peppers. Pepper and its seeds contain oils that are harmful to your eyes, ears, mouth, and skin. Gloves and goggles can reduce the risk of infection when drying the peppers.
Use a sharp knife to chop up the red pepper.
Cut the pepper in half vertically with a knife. Remove the seeds from the pepper.
Check the weather where you live.
Choose a date when the weather will be warm and sunny for 3 consecutive days. You can use online weather software or news and newspapers to forecast the weather.
After cutting the peppers in half and removing the seeds, place the pepper pieces on a sheet of aluminum foil and place them in direct sunlight. Although an outdoor environment in direct sunlight is the best condition for drying peppers, if this is not possible, you can place the peppers behind a window and in front of the sun.
At this point in drying the peppers, place them under direct light for about 8 hours to dry, then turn the other side over so the other side can dry as well.
At sunset, cover the peppers with a clean cloth or net to prevent them from being eaten and damaged by insects, and the next morning remove the cloth so that the peppers are completely dried by the sun.
To see if the pepper is dry or not? Peel off a pepper, if it breaks easily with your hand, then the pepper is completely dry. Remove the pepper from the leaf and store it in a container with a lid for future use.
After the pepper is completely dried, you can grind it and get red chilli powder.
2) Dry the peppers in the oven
One of the ways you can easily dry peppers at home is the oven. Its steps are as follows:
Preheat the oven to 79°C (175°F). The best gas oven temperature for drying peppers is 40°C.
After cutting the pepper in the middle vertically and removing its seeds, place the pepper from the cut part on an aluminum sheet, and note that only one layer of pepper should be placed on the sheet.
Place the bowl containing the peppers in the oven.
At this stage of drying the peppers, the peppers should be left in the oven for 6 to 8 hours. If you like, you can stir-fry the peppers once while they are oven-drying. When they start to turn brown, it means they are dry.
Note: Note that the drying time for peppers depends on their size.
After drying the peppers completely, you can grind them and get red pepper powder.
3) Line drying
Below you will learn how to string dry peppers:
Prepare fresh green or red peppers of your choice. Separate the pierced, damaged, and blemished peppers from the rest.
Wash the peppers with cold water. Although the water temperature does not have much effect on drying peppers, using cold water will help preserve the freshness of the fruit more.
Place the peppers on a clean cloth and allow the water to dry in the open air.
Using a clean, long needle and thread, thread the peppers one by one. Gently insert the needle through the end of the pepper and pull it out from the other side and thread the pepper until the thread is all the way across.
Leave a small space between each pepper to allow the air to circulate well.
At this point in drying the peppers, you should hang the stringy peppers on a wall for several days in a shady, dry, and cool environment out of direct sunlight.
You can hang the pepper floss in the same kitchen environment or a place away from dust and pollution. The minimum drying time for peppers is three weeks.
Once you are sure that the peppers are dry, you can collect them. Just make sure the center of the pepper is dry as well.
How to grind dry chilli
After drying the peppers to grind, consider grinding them outdoors. Before grinding, place a tissue in front of your mouth and then grind the pepper. After grinding, wait a few seconds for the pepper particles to settle, then open the door of the mill.
Be careful not to touch your eyes with your hand, as it will irritate your eyes and cause allergic reactions in some cases. You can store the prepared pepper powder in sealed packages in a dry and cool place for several months.
