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First Time Processing Peppers

Having a late harvest of chilies at my disposal this year prompted me to start being creative as to not waste any peppers. Before resorting to freezing, I thought I'd first try out making a basic powder. I dried a few trays of habs and bhuts, and then ground them in the Vitamix (which does a fantastic job, btw). Each was good on their own, but I opted to combine them. I had a chance to add it to a bowl of soup last night and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it heated up the soup without altering the flavor. Now I can easily spice up my dishes without having to pour on 1/3 a bottle of store-bought cayenne powder.
 
We're starting to get sub 40's in the PNW so I figured I'd pull the rest of my immature peppers seeing as the flowers were looking droopy and the plants have seen better days after the nighttime temps. Best thought on these was to pickle them. I did a basic recipe and added garlic and cauliflower. I've always loved those cheap bottles of spicy veggies in the store and figured my own organic mix would be superior and be free of all those colorants and preservatives.
 
I'd love to hear your comments, and maybe see some links to your favorite pickling recipes and powders.
 
Pictures include a recent harvest, my first attempt at a chili powder, and a jar of pickled veggies and chilies.
 

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Side note, I'm glad I chose to dry my peppers in the garage. I went out a few hours after starting and the instant I entered the garage my eyes started burning. So if you haven't tried drying peppers before, avoid doing so in the house. Secondly, wear a mask when taking the top off the blender and pouring the ground chilies into a storage container. My face burned for 15 minutes and I was extremely careful with the process. Either that or take it outside. lol
 
Have fun with your creations fellow capsaicin masochists!
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
If i keep mine 120F or less the fumes are pretty much nothing. It just smells nice to me :D
 
Maybe that was my problem. I put the dehydrator on the regular veggie/pepper setting of ~135F. It has a pretty strong exhaust fan as well. Teach me to use ancient mid-90's equipment. But if it ain't broken......
 
Live and learn. I'll get it right the more I try my hand at it.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
90s pffftttt mine is older than that.
 
Equi-Flow from probably the late 70s.
 

That thing is awesome. It goes to show how superior so many items were built decades ago compared to products now. I was sadly disappointed to look on Amazon and see most Nesco dehydrators still look similar to my old model. I guess it's nice that my trays will adapt to newer models if I was to choose that brand again. It'd save me money on 10 trays anyway. :metal:
 
Man you took the words right outta my mouth.. I am with you 100% on all those points! Not to mention the new trays are shit and not at all like the original ones they came with.. They're "cross-trained" to fit all models so they basically sacrifice and compromise the design for all of them to fit.
Oregon Guy said:
 
That thing is awesome. It goes to show how superior so many items were built decades ago compared to products now. I was sadly disappointed to look on Amazon and see most Nesco dehydrators still look similar to my old model. I guess it's nice that my trays will adapt to newer models if I was to choose that brand again. It'd save me money on 10 trays anyway. :metal:
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