Peppers and Dehydrating

 You can and should dry any kind of pepper you can get your hands on. I have done everyone from Jalapeno to baby sweet peppers. They come in so handy for jam and cooking . The list of things you can do is endless. Just slice them put them on you trays and dry. I use my food saver to store. I have also put them into mason jars.

I have used my dried Jalapeno for Strawberry Rhubarb Spicy Spread  this is super good with some cheese and crackers. They did a spread in the Star about this spread it is famous....How funny is that .....

You can dry your peppers  many way. You can dry them whole just take off the top stem and lay them flat onto the trays. You could crush them of leave them whole after they are done. Go to the bottom of this post for the how to on drying them whole this makes a great gift when tied together and topped with a nice label and a jar of jam to boot!

Peppers are powerful plants. Take precautions when preparing fresh peppers and when drying the pods. Wear protective gloves. And for gosh sakes do not touch you face when cutting or prepping the peppers.

If you have a dehydrating machine use it you can also use the oven. . Remove the stems, then lay out the peppers in the trays so that they do not overlap.

For fast, even drying, I cut the peppers in slices. You will end up with many seeds at the bottom of the drier but that is ok just scoop them out and add them to the jar.
Make sure you place your dehydrator in a well ventilated area no matter what you are drying because there is always a lot of fumes and smells.Follow the temperature setting from your instruction booklet. Your final, intended result will be the same as natural drying.

Leave the fresh peppers whole and be sure to include the stem when you pick them . Use a strong needle & thread to loosely sew the stems together. Be sure to leave enough space between each pepper pod to ensure proper air circulation. Hang the clusters up to dry, preferably in a cool, dark place, but many people choose to hang their pepper clusters in places where they can be seen and enjoyed while they dry, like in the kitchen.

I hope this helped you to enjoy your peppers and make  them last all year long.