What do you do when you have too many chili peppers? You set them out to dry for a few days. Spicy, earthy, and overpowering, I'm now storing them in a jar since they easily took over the apartment once I brought them inside. A fantastically fragrant way to preserve some of the summer sun's last few vainglorious rays. (And yes, I hung them with mint floss. I had no twine.)
It's all very simple: just tie them up, hang them in an open space outside that gets lots of sun, and come back a few days later. Ground them up into a powder or keep them whole in an air tight jar. Tasty and perfect for hearty chilies come the cold nights.
Yum. We also throw a bunch in a freezer bag (Ziploc-style from America!)--fresh peperoncini all through the winter :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. My parents used to live in New Mexico, where the dried chiles were everywhere, and I always loved them.
ReplyDeleteThe one (and only) reason I miss living inland is the ability to grown peppers (and garlic and eggplant). Coastal fog just doesn't do those hot-weather crops well. Yours are beautiful plus you get the (very) warm fuzzies from harvesting out of your own garden. Nice touch using mint floss -- not sure I would have thought of that.
ReplyDeleteI just got hit with a huge crop of peppers and this is precisely what I'm going to do with them. I'm still waiting for all of them to turn red, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like how you hung them with floss - I've totally done that before (for drying herbs) because my dad is a dentist so I have tons of floss lying around.
Besides using a blender, how would you grind dried peppers? Any tips?
ReplyDeletePrissycook - Mortal and pestle. Or put them in a zip lock bag and go psycho with a rolling pin or rubber mallet.
ReplyDeletethe brother- Do you have any information on how to use a pressure cooker to create an air tight jar? Might be some good information.
ReplyDeleteNope, not a clue on that. I bet a google search will turn up what you need though.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are great, vivid and colorful. And mint floss? Nice. You are one class act, Mr. Vanilla Garlic! (I would have used cinnamon, but that is just me:)
ReplyDeleteThat first picture is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI am hoping for a large crop of chillis this year so I can make loads of chilli jam and try them out in cupcakes. On a side not thanks for a great blog, full of laughs and sighs and oh my I must try that one day. Good luck with your return to study.
ReplyDeletealmost like chilli potpourri . Another fantastic thing to do would be to pickle them...that way they last almost forever !
ReplyDeleteHey Garrett - I'm doing the same thing with my chilis. The dry and hot Sacramento weather has to be good for something, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI just came across your blog and noticed your chili peppers. I just did a post on harvesting my chili peppers also. Guess it is that time of year! Yours look fantastic.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful! Great shots.
ReplyDeleteI dried my chilies in a dehydrator and crushed my peppers at the end of Aug. Put them in a plastic jar. Just noticed it contained bugs. What did I do or fail to do?
ReplyDeleterroche - My guess is the bugs were always there in the chilies. Just bad luck. I doubt you did anything wrong.
ReplyDelete