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drying 2nd attempt with dehydrating peppers for powder

razyrsharpe

razyrsharpe

So, my next attempt at drying peppers for powder has commenced.  This time, i cut each pepper in half and i have noticed that the drying time is significantly quicker.  From the looks of things, it may take appx. half the time to dry them!  i hope this is the case...  
This time around i have dried a batch of serranos in which about half have ripened to red.  i know this will affect the color of the powder, but will it affect the flavor?  My next experiment will be to roast the peppers prior to dehydrating.   i hear the flavors are outstanding this way.   thanks for all the advice in advance.
 
I've found that in my dehydrating adventures, cutting the peppers in half is an absolute must, and you're right,it is much faster. In fact, I'm seriously tempted to buy some extra "shelves" for my dehydrator, since it can handle up to 8 of them, and go from there if I have a sufficient pepper crop.
 
elcap1999 said:
I've found that in my dehydrating adventures, cutting the peppers in half is an absolute must, and you're right,it is much faster. In fact, I'm seriously tempted to buy some extra "shelves" for my dehydrator, since it can handle up to 8 of them, and go from there if I have a sufficient pepper crop.
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I am up to the max on all mine, 12 trays each!
 
You don't absolutely have to cut in half to greatly reduce the drying time, but you do have to cut them open. I usually cut larger pods in half, just because it's quick and easy. But for small pods that would potentially slip through the shelf slots, I only cut one side and pull it open a tad. The key is to get air inside the pod, one way or another.
 
here are two examples of the powders i made the second time.  Jalapeno, and Serrano (using appx. 2/3's red ripe serranos in the mix)  ... the Serrano is the reddish powder of course.  
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Tagging in here instead of starting a whole new topic.
I'll be dehydrating this weekend for th efirst time.
 
I'm going to cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
But should I pput them in th edehydrator cut side up, or cut side down?
 
either or will be fine really.
 I use to strategically place mine upside down until I realized it was taking me forever to do a 6 tiered batch with 2-3 more batches waiting to be done. I pretty much dump them on and separate them with gaps to help the drying process. (of course I smoke them 1st outside)
 
OhioHeat
 
I ended up with about 60 pounds of jalapenos last fall that needed to be processed pronto.  Desperate times called for desperate measures.  I used  a slicer attachment to run  'em all, then piled 'em up on the trays. 
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Too Much?  No Problem!  Wrapped up the whole stack with cling wrap to make it air-tight on the sides.  It took a day or so longer but worked perfect! 
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Ghetto kitchen gear~  :)
 
 
OH!  That just reminded me of This Post about dehydrating!   
 
ivplay said:
^^^^^^
SalsaLady, If there was duct tape and a gum wrapper in there, I would dub you MacGuyver!  That was creating kitchen work...
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  :lol:  Thank you.  First time I did that stack up trick, I used tin foil and electrical tape.  Does that count? 
 
impending_bending said:
lmao very nice
what was the beer for? in case you got thirsty while wrapping?
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thank you, too~
 
The beer's incentive to get the work done!    Actually, it was to give a reference of how tall the Leaning Tower of 'Peno's was.
 
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