Dehydrated & Frozen Chilis
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Category: Other Food-Related Topics
Forum Name: Canning, Freezing, Dehydrating and Other Food Preservation
Forum Discription: A place to discuss the best ways to prolong the enjoyment of your food.
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=927
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 19:44
Topic: Dehydrated & Frozen Chilis
Posted By: Guests
Subject: Dehydrated & Frozen Chilis
Date Posted: 13 November 2010 at 11:45
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Last week we had our last gasp of warm weather before the plunge, a couple days in the 60's that allowed the spindly, half dead chili pepper plants to ripen some of the remaining chilis that still hung, so rather than let them go to waste, I picked them. They've sat in a bowl for a week now, and I decided I'd better dehydrate them, cause I was not going to eat them all in time.
On the left are cayennes, center jalapenos and on right serranos.
 Except for the cayennes, the other two are too thick and meaty to ever dehydrate properly if left whole in a small dehydrator as we have. So, they get cut in half lengthwise and this works out really well.
One layer got cayennes-
 Another layer the jalapenos and remaining cayennes, and the third layer got the serranos.
 Now, we've done this before and it worked beautifully. Nice dry crispy peppers with the seeds intact, just how I like it to keep up the heat level. A couple of months ago, Mrs Rivet dried some and we put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer to see how they would hold up. Perfectly we've learnt, and a great way to store dried tomatoes & peppers with no fear of any residual moisture turning into mildew. Here's a pic of a bag I pulled out of the freezer to demonstrate-
 Mrs Rivet dried a ton of green tomatoes this summer, and the thin slices not only dried well, but keep just fine in the freezer too. I've dealt a few out like poker chips into soup as it heats and they come out perfecto!
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Replies:
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 14 November 2010 at 16:50
A day later in the dehydrator at 135 F, the split chilis were done. Perfectly diminished and crispy good. They had a surprisingly strong kick of heat to them for being so-late-in-the-season-survivors. Very tasty though, and I munched on plenty during the pregame early show this morning with some swiss cheese and pretzels. Too late I'd forgotten to take pics, but here's the remainders -
 The whole cayennes are still in the dehydrator running steady. They are kind of on the large side, so there's plenty moisture near the shoulders that needs to go. As well, cayennes and thai dragons seem to have a very tight, "plasticy" skin on the outside that is not as permeable as other peppers and slows down the dehydration process. Anyone else notice that? Anyway, they should be done tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a close up of the serranos/jalapenos.
 I like the way the ribs shrivel up and keep the seeds in...that keeps in the heat too, and makes for a nice sting when munchin'! ------------- |