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Dry? Fresh? Powder?

I have been working with my first hot sauce - a sauce that incorporates great flavor and a mild taste to boost metabolism ( for fitness related goals )

I did some initial research and found Fresno peppers being a mild yet sweet pepper; and also quite popular and easily accessible.

I however, was wondering - is it more economical to buy dry, fresh, or powder?

and moreover, which is more tasty in your opinion - dry fresh or powder?

any tips and recommendations would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!
Jonathan
 
bhut camp said:
It's always best to use fresh or frozen pods for sauces
 
This is good advice.  Dried pods can be rehydrated too - and they have their use in sauces as well.  The one I try and avoid is powder mostly because my results have been less than desirable (sauce turned out gritty).  
 
For me, it really depends on what flavors you want in your sauce.  Asking fresh vs dry peppers for a sauce, is like asking should I use grapes vs raisins, or fresh tomatoes vs sun dried tomatoes in a recipe.  Drying a fruit / veggie out will change its flavor profile.  So figure out what flavors do you want in your finished product, then work backwards towards the ingredients that give you that flavor.  I personally don't use dried peppers for most of my sauces, but I do have one sauce that I make that has 3 different kinds of dried peppers in it. 
 
RedtailForester said:
Honestly, I prefer frozen for one simple reason. During the freezing process, the cell walls shatter. If you are making a sauce, this will help make a smoother sauce.
 
You know, I never thought of that.  But I made a calypso sauce from frozen fatalii peppers this year and it had an awesome thick smooth consistency.  I'm going to have to try and experiment with that this year.  Maybe my next sauce, split the peppers in two, freeze half over night and make the same sauce from both and see what the differences are.  Thanks for the tip!
 
RedtailForester said:
Honestly, I prefer frozen for one simple reason. During the freezing process, the cell walls shatter. If you are making a sauce, this will help make a smoother sauce.
 
I do this with peppers from the garden as they ripen on the plant.  Just keeping adding to the bags as new peppers ripen, pretty soon there's enough for sauce.  ;)
 
RedtailForester said:
Honestly, I prefer frozen for one simple reason. During the freezing process, the cell walls shatter. If you are making a sauce, this will help make a smoother sauce.
 
Thank you. I will definitely note of that!
However, would freezing the fresh peppers kill the nutrition?
 
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