How to Dry Peppers for Food Storage
Whether you found a great deal on peppers at the farmers market or harvested a bumper crop of chiles, you can turn that bounty into a shelf stable pantry staple that will add lots of flavor to your meals. Here are 3 ways to dry peppers for food storage.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 2kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound hot chile peppers about 10 to 12 peppers
- 1 pound sweet bell peppers about 4 to 5 peppers
Instructions
Prepare the Peppers
- Choose healthy chilies and bell peppers with no insect damage or blemishes. Rinse well under clean water and air dry on a kitchen towel.
Air Drying Chili Peppers
- Choose thin walled hot peppers for air-drying. Thick bell peppers will not dry fast enough and may begin molding.
- Thread the chilies on string. Use a needle and thread to string the peppers together through the stems. Leave space in between the peppers for airflow.
- Hang the chili peppers to dry in an area with good airflow and sunshine. Depending on the humidity in the air, this method can take 3-4 weeks until the peppers are fully dry.
Dehydrating Peppers with a Food Dehydrator
- Small chilies can be dried whole. Bell peppers will dry quicker cut into pieces. Remove the stems, seeds, membranes, and cut bell peppers into uniform pieces.
- Spread the pieces out on the drying screens and set the temperature between 125˚F and 135˚F (or per your food dehydrator's instructions).
- Swap the screens frequently and remove the peppers that are dry. Dehydrating time can take 4-12 hours depending on the peppers.
Drying Peppers in the Oven
- Cut larger peppers into uniform pieces so they dry quicker. Small peppers can be dried whole. Use gloves when handling hot peppers.
- Spread the peppers out on baking sheets and place in a 150˚F oven. Leave the door open a crack to allow moisture to escape.
- Check on the peppers every 30 minutes and rotate and remove the ones that are dry. Depending on the peppers, drying in the oven can take 1-2 hours.
Storing Dried Peppers
- Peppers are dried completely when brittle. Store fully dried peppers in airtight jars away from sunlight.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5g | Calories: 2kcal