Dehydrating Peppers

[Cynthia Skelton]

I use a lot of peppers in my cooking, especially in winter when I make lots of soups, stews and chilis. During the winter, however, peppers are ridiculously expensive and the quality is terrible. Instead of just settling for crappy, expensive peppers, I dehydrate wonderful and cheap peppers during summer to use all winter long. Dehydrated sweet peppers make a wonderful snack, especially for road trips or hiking. Peppers can also be added to eggs, casseroles or pasta dishes.

Last night at a farm stand, I found beautiful Hungarian Wax peppers for $1/3 and jalapenos for $1/5. Sometimes I find peppers on the clearance rack at the grocery store 4 bell peppers for $1 or a 5 lb bag of hot peppers for $2. If you get a bumper crop of peppers in your garden, dehydrating is a perfect way to stretch your harvest with minimal expense or space.

First, clean the peppers well, and dry. Trim off the stem and any bad spots and cut out the seeds and membrane. I cut small peppers into rings and larger peppers into thin strips. You could cut them into chunks or thick strips, but you won't be able to fit as many on a tray and it will take much longer to dehydrate.

Lay them out evenly over your dehydrator trays and dehydrate for 6-18 hours, depending on types of pepper, size of pieces, humidity, etc. When they are fully dry, they will crack easily when squeezed and clatter when you stir them.

I reuse food jars left over from pasta sauce, pickles or relish to store my dehydrated food. I have stored dried peppers for several months without noticing any loss in quality. If you wanted to save food for a longer term, add oxygen packs, vacuum seal or oven can the peppers. 

You can snack on them (drink plenty of water if you regularly snack on dehydrated food). You can rehydrate them by pouring boiling water over them for about 20 minutes. If you are making soups or chili or a slow cooker meal, just add them to the dish dehydrated, and simply add a bit more water than the recipe calls for.

Originally published at:  http://alifebeyondmoney.blogspot.com/2013/08/dehydrating-peppers.html

[Jennifer]

Just awesome! For folks who don't have a dehydrator, there's a HOMEGROWN 101 on hang drying peppers—and I'll add a link to this there. 

[Carrie Seal-Stahl]

I dehydrated some jalapenos... Forgot to wear gloves... :( LOL

I don't think people really think about dehydration as a go-to method until they get one and try it out a few times. I prefer it BY FAR over canning, and anything I can dehydrate rather than freeze or can, I do! (Plus you can re-purpose the glass containers from the store for storage!)

[Jennifer]

A question for Carrie and Cynthia: Is there a food item you'd recommend that first timers start with?

[Cynthia Skelton]

Tomatoes are a perfect first time dehydrating project. I slice them into 1/8-1/4 inch slices and dehydrate those. They come out paper thin and are perfect for topping sandwiches and pizza. They can also be crumbled and added to chili, soups, pasta sauce, omelets, etc. 

[Carrie Seal-Stahl]

Hmm...I think the first I ever did was make my own minced onion... It was simple- slice the onion thin, dehydrate, then I used my rocket blender to grind it some. Herbs are a breeze as well.

I agree with Cynthia on the tomatoes, too. Simple and versatile.