Preserving Peppers

Preserving Peppers

You might have bought so many chillies or peppers for some purpose or the store has only bigger packs of these and you are a small family. Preserving these items might be easy for a few but not for everyone, it definitely saves some money if preserved well, than throwing them away if rotten. Always remove the tip of the chilli to store it longer.

Dry chillies in open air, its the easiest but for many who live in colder or humid climates, the story is different. They can dry chillies in an oven. Slice chillies in half to speed drying in ovens and dehydrators.

If your oven is electric, preheat to the lowest setting. The pilot light on a gas oven is sometimes enough, use an oven thermometer to check the temperature; it should be around 150 - 200 degrees.

Prepare the chili peppers the same way as if you were drying outside or if you prefer you can cut them into thin rings. Spread the chili peppers evenly over baking pans or cookie sheets.

Allow the chili peppers to dry all day or overnight in the warm oven. You may wish to turn them once during the drying time, but this is not necessary.

Dehydrators ( may not be available in India)can be purchased with or without a fan, and while the ones with a fan are a bit more expensive, they do their magic faster than those without.

Prepare your peppers as you would for the oven method. You can leave the seeds in or remove them if you wish. Lay the prepared peppers evenly on the trays of your dehydrator and turn the machine on.

Peppers generally take 8 - 10 hours to dry in a dehydrator with a fan or 10 - 12 in one without.