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preservation Dehydrating with hole plants upside down

BigBones

BigBones

Hi pepper experts,


Newbie in pepper growing. I'm watching my plants producing more and more every day and I'm now starting to think about ways of preserving. I've read somewhere that the easiest way to prepare your pepper plants for drying is to simply cut the stem at ground level, then hang the entire plants upside down.

From what I understand, a cool, dry place would work. However, do I also need light or dark is fine? I was planning on hanging them in the basement right by the dehumidifier.

I know this technique is suppose to be a long process. Would it then be a faster if instead, I hang them the 'Ristra' way?


Thanks everyone for you precious advices!
Benoît
 
Hey BigBones,
Cutting the plant means killing it. a live plant keeps producing more and more delicious chiles.
I would pick all the chiles and hang them to dry as a ristra in a ventilated place that is exposed to the sun. if they are extremely small peppers, I like hanging them inside a fine net-like fabric.

I also moved the topic to the proper place.

Good luck. :)
 
Omri said:
Hey BigBones,
Cutting the plant means killing it. a live plant keeps producing more and more delicious chiles.
I would pick all the chiles and hang them to dry as a ristra in a ventilated place that is exposed to the sun. if they are extremely small peppers, I like hanging them inside a fine net-like fabric.

I also moved the topic to the proper place.

Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

I know it would kill the plant but where I live, only a couple months left before frost. Would it still dry if peppers are not exposed to the sun??

Thanks,
Benoit
 
By heat source, do you mean average house temperature? If my basement is at 20-22 celsius and it is kept dry with a dehumidifier, would it be fine?
 
With no moisture at all and good circulation, it might work, but usually that means no. the formula for drying peppers effectively is a semi-high temperature and airflow. too much heat, like in the oven or smoker, can work as well, but it won't taste the same.
 
FYI, I did hang the plants in my basement with the dehumidifier on and it works. All 5 plants now have ripe peppers.
 
Well, ripe peppers are not really 'dehydrated' as you mention in your subject title. I stick a lot of pepper plants and tomatoes still on the plant in a shed or garage and they get some additional ripening action. It buys some time, for sure. But what varieties are you talking about? If thin walled, you could probably dehydrate on the hanging plant, but the thick walled types might go mushy and rot, from what I've been learning.
 
Siliman said:
Well, ripe peppers are not really 'dehydrated' as you mention in your subject title. I stick a lot of pepper plants and tomatoes still on the plant in a shed or garage and they get some additional ripening action. It buys some time, for sure. But what varieties are you talking about? If thin walled, you could probably dehydrate on the hanging plant, but the thick walled types might go mushy and rot, from what I've been learning.
Click to expand...

Yes you are right. Sorry for the confusion. They ripe ok on the plants but when they're ready, I freeze the thick walled ones such as Bhut Jolokia and Malaysian Habanero and I hang the thin walled ones (Assam peppers) the 'ristra' way. Pictures to come...
 
I caught that too muskymojo. Bhut's are very thin walled. Any pics of your Bhut's?

What you're referring to in hanging the entire plant upside down is usually the way that marijuana is dried--not peppers. If you're looking to finish ripening a pod then go with the paper bag trick--place the peppers in the bag and walk away from it for a couple of days. You can add a banana or apple to the bag to help hurry the process.

Best of luck to you.
 
Omri's right, strip the peppers, make ristras from the ones that you actually want dry, and brown bag the ones that you'd like to ripen,
as far as hanging the plants, I do that with my herbs, I do use a dehumidifier and it works well, you really need a dry area, otherwise the plant will mold up on you... :(
I know people into the crafts that are probably drying their perennials this week, for making flower arrangements........yikes!
 
I did the cut and hang thing last year for some of my cayennes that I started very late and didn't ripen before frost risk. They ripened on the plant just like yours. As far as dehydrating your peppers, thick-walled ones need a dehydrator running to properly dry them without going moldy. The best way to dry thin-walled peppers without a dehydrator is to slice them in half, and leave them in a warm, dry part of the house (ideally in the sun) with a fan blowing air across them. I find that this dries them properly in about 3-4 days and doesn't give the mold a chance to grow. If they change color in blotches or anything like that throw them away. Bhuts, as said, should be thin-walled like a cayenne and will dry this way. I prefer this method over ristra hanging at room temp since I find a lot of my peppers go bad in ristras and I'm always afraid to eat them.

If you want to dry them faster or start drying thicker walled pods like jalapenos and such you're going to need a dehydrator. I recommend running one around 130F for faster drying and good tasting pods. Much hotter will make them taste odd and cooler makes them dry slower and risk baddies getting in.

Hope this helps.
 
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