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Dehydrating Temperatures

patrick

patrick

I'm getting ready to use my dehydrator for the first time to dry some peppers and could use a bit of advice. The book that came with it suggests a temp of 125F. I've been googling the www for other suggestions and have found temp ranges of 105F to 155F.

Since I'm drying a couple of pounds of orange habs and a couple of pounds of hot salsa peppers, both a gift from a friend, I figure the pro's around here would know best.

Opinions and experiences?

Thanks in advance for the help folks.
 
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I do it a little differently but PRFs method and temperature are fine..

I don't do anything to my peppers, I just pick them and put them in the dehydrator on 125F...the reason I am doing this is to dry the pod intact instead of pieces...now with harvest season hot and heavy, the dehydrator is running 24/7....as pods dry, I bagem and tagem and add fresh peppers to the dehydrator...it sometimes takes 72 hours to dry some of the thicker pods but I am trying to wear this new excalibur out...
 
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I decided to stick with what the book said for the first time, 125F, and see how it works out. It does have the whole house smelling goooooooooood.

I cut them in half lengthwise, removed the seeds and place them on the trays cut side down. That shouldn't make much of a difference should it?

Thanks again for the help, it is appreciated.
 
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removing the seeds (and placenta) should shorten the drying time (and how hot the powder is)

make sure they are good and dry - so you can squeeze them and they crackle and break as any moisture will ruin the powder and it's very hard to dry powdered pods
 
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I also cut mine in half to shorten the drying time, but I leave the seeds and placenta in tack. I set my Excalibur on 125 degrees and in about 24 hours the thinner pods like Habs are done. Some of the thicker ones, I find can take up to 48 hours, when cut in half.

AJ, I knew you'd love the Excalibur. :clap:
 
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So far so good. They've been drying for about 14 hours or so and the orange habs are getting close. The hot salsa ones are going to take a while longer.

When I was removing the seeds I was very careful to leave as much of the placenta as I could. What's the point of making orange hab powder if it isn't :mouthonfire:HOT?;)

The Hot salsa peppers are much hotter than I thought. My 19 year old daughter was helping with the prep with these and she's got a bad case of the hot hand. They didn't bother me at all. I was smart enough to where latex gloves, two pair, when I did the habs. :)
 
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Well after 16 hours here's what the habs look like, all 2.5 lbs of them. They are pretty crispy. Some of them began to turn towards the dark side ie., brown. Did I leave them in too long?

IMG_4522.jpg


Thanks for all the suggestions and help folks, I couldn't have done it without you.

Cheers.
 
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Here is the finished product, about 3.25 ounces/91 grams of very fine powder. I used a coffee mill for the grinding.

IMG_4523.jpg


I think I'll keep one as is for instant flavor/heat and use the rest of it as additions to other powders/sauces I hope to make.

Again, thanks to this place and the people in it, made this a labor of love instead of a job.
 
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AlabamaJack said:
I do it a little differently but PRFs method and temperature are fine..

I don't do anything to my peppers, I just pick them and put them in the dehydrator on 125F...the reason I am doing this is to dry the pod intact instead of pieces...now with harvest season hot and heavy, the dehydrator is running 24/7....as pods dry, I bagem and tagem and add fresh peppers to the dehydrator...it sometimes takes 72 hours to dry some of the thicker pods but I am trying to wear this new excalibur out...
Click to expand...

I like to dry a lot of whole pods too, but I always make a cut to check for nasties and to speed up drying. Its always surprising how many good looking pods have mold or bugs in them.
 
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AlabamaJack said:
I do it a little differently but PRFs method and temperature are fine..

I don't do anything to my peppers, I just pick them and put them in the dehydrator on 125F...the reason I am doing this is to dry the pod intact instead of pieces...now with harvest season hot and heavy, the dehydrator is running 24/7....as pods dry, I bagem and tagem and add fresh peppers to the dehydrator...it sometimes takes 72 hours to dry some of the thicker pods but I am trying to wear this new excalibur out...
Click to expand...

Damn fine Dehydrator aren't they the Excalibur and mine was gift..few years old but works a treat :lol:
 
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Thanks for the grains of rice idea chiliman I'm going to try that. I've had a few folks mention using flour as an anti-caking agent. That just doesn't appeal to me.
 
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in most of the eateries close to the coast where I grew up all the salt shakers had rice in them to keep the salt from clumping...rice works like a charm when it comes to keeping the moisture down cause it sucks it all up...
 
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Powder

I quarter the habaneros, I slit the cayenned down the middle, but do not remove any part of the pepper except for the stems.
This year we had a pretty humid summer so some batches actually absorbed some moisture back into the flesh after they were dried out...
I'm gonna try that rice idea...
 
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