Friday, October 3, 2008

Drying Chilis

I love chilis. They are by far some of the prettiest plants that I have in the garden. They are also prolific producers. I think next year I'm going to plant my chilis in pots on the front porch. They pretty enough to use as landscaping and it'll free up space in my garden spot. I've dried chilis a few times this season and I'd had just about enough of it but when I went out the other day and saw how many more had ripened I just couldn't let them waste so I settled myself in to dry another batch.
Let me tell you something that you undoubtably already know. Please wear gloves if you handle peppers. Yeah yeah, I know,, you're tough, you can handle it. Yeah yeah, you won't touch your face or scratch your ear or go potty until you've washed your hands. I hear you but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE,, not only should you wear gloves but put on a do-rag and even sport some goggles if you're doing habeneros. I have a latex allergy and I was out of vinyl gloves. I was very well behaved and very very careful and I still got very bad chemical burns.
DON'T TAKE THIS RISK. COVER YOUR HAIR, EYES AND HANDS.
Ok,,, public service announcement over.... aren't they pretty?
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First I cut the icky parts off and this also opens the pepper up.
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If you are after heat, just roll the pepper between your fingers and most of the seeds should come out. If you want every last seed out, cut them open and scrape them.
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Again.. sooo pretty. These are the Habeneros.
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I had a few left over Jalapenos so I seeded those too.
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I saved the seeds and spred them in my flower garden. Maybe I'll have some volunteers next year!
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Next I spread them out on my handy dandy baking stone. Yes, I know, it's black and gross and perfect. I love that thing.
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I put them in the oven at the lowest temp (on my stove it's 170 degrees F.) and propped the door open a smidge with a big metal spoon. Excuse how gross the side of my oven is. It's old. Now at this juncture you may want to open a window and a door and put a fan blowing out for the next 6-8 hours. It REALLY spices up the house!
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Seal them in an airtight container and they will keep for AGES! I grind mine into flakes but I don't do it until I'm ready to use them. It helps them maintain their potancy and flavor. Also,, should I need to reconstitute them I can.

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