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drying Dehydrating

Nothotenough said:
Does dehydrating and grinding peppers effect the heat level
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You aren't removing any of the capsacinoid oils that make it hot, only the water when you are dehydrating. Since you are losing water, you end up with less product than you started with, but the same amount of total heat. Essentially this makes your finished product hotter per unit volume than fresh picked pods, but you aren't gaining or losing any heat in the process. I find the finer you grind it up the hotter it seems as well since there is more surface area to get you with.
 
mrz1988 said:
You aren't removing any of the capsacinoid oils that make it hot, only the water when you are dehydrating. Since you are losing water, you end up with less product than you started with, but the same amount of total heat. Essentially this makes your finished product hotter per unit volume than fresh picked pods, but you aren't gaining or losing any heat in the process. I find the finer you grind it up the hotter it seems as well since there is more surface area to get you with.
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+1
 
I dried (and smoked) quite a few peppers this year. I like to grind them into a fine powder so I can store maximum pepper heat and flavor using minimum space (like my "emergency use" pill holder I carry chile powder in on my key chain :cool: ).
 
I made at least one big spice jar of every pepper I grew this year. 3 oz x 21 powders is more than I can possibly eat by next year's harvest. I look forward to that challenge though :)
 
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