powder-flake Finally making hab powder!

[CaLoR]

I finally decided to try this. I borrowed a dehydrator to try it out and see before I bought one. Hopefully if this works and I like the dried form, I can always have the girlfriend get me one for Christmas.

I got about 35 peppers split in half drying out since this morning. I did go and purchase a coffee grinder since they are pretty inexpensive.

Anyone got any hints as to be able to tell when they are done, or is it pretty obvious? I was also wondering if you guys put the seeds and everything through the grinder or take them out, I left them in for the dehydrating because I wasnt gonna save them.

I still have about 8 to 10 peppers a day coming off the vine mostly from one plant. I might save a few seeds from it since its such a monster. I had to do something with them besides freezing them, eating them, or attempting to give them away. Most people just turn their nose up.

I did find a few takers on them, but I warned them ahead of time not to use too many if you dont like the burn.

 

[talas]

Well CaLor my friend it seems we are first time Dehydrator users,Mine has an auto setting Excalibur so iam going to try that when i start harvesting

 

[CaLoR]

Well CaLor my friend it seems we are first time Dehydrator users,Mine has an auto setting Excalibur so iam going to try that when i start harvesting

Aaah, the fancy dehydrator.

I saw those, pretty snazzy. Good luck to ya!

 

[AlabamaJack]

I dehydrate mine until they crack when I squeeze them...if you don't get them completely dry, they won't blend up as well plus the moisture will cause mold...JMO

 

[RowBear]

I'm like AJ, I dry mine until they crack when I bend or squeeze them.

 

[CaLoR]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Thats what I have done waited until good and brown, this dehydrator is a little old so some of the little slices dried already. I went ahead and chopped them up in the coffee grinder and it worked pretty slick. I tasted some on my finger, good stuff, will be great for pizza or any mexican of course.

I was surprised there is little waste, doesnt take very many to make a nice amount of powder.

 

[chilehunter]

IMO I'd say just go buy one anyways because you'll like it & you'll use it ! it can be used for many other things other than chiles!

I leave the seeds in when grinding for powder.

I'd also like to add onto AJ post about them cracking then they're done. well thats not 100% true to judge as if they're all done or not. because you can have a mixture of pod slices that are fully dried & some not dried yet all next to each other.
best to check each peice one by one to make sure its dried, & leave the others in until fully dried. time consuming yes! but trust me if you think all of'em are dried because of a couple you checked, I bet you'll still have some that are soft.

 

[Chiliac]

Agreed! There are always a few that need more time! It is necessary to check them one by one as Chilehunter said.

 

[NatGreenMeds]

Part of dehydrating food in a home type dehydrator is rearranging the food, (or turning the trays), and turning it over. By doing both several times during the drying cycle, you're ensuring that they dry as evenly as possible. It's a little work, but worth it.

To properly judge when the items are dry, you should weigh the items before drying on a scale that measures grams. Then weigh again after drying. The weight after drying should be about 10% for fruit and 5% for veggies.

So, if you start with 5 pounds, (2268 g), of veggies (peppers), then when dry, they should weigh no more than 5% of that weight, (113 g), or roughly, 4 ounces.

If you have rearranged and turned over each item during the drying process, then they should have dried fairly evenly and the 5% weight will show that they are as dry as they should be to prevent molding.

This process is well documented in many books that instruct on drying foods. I own several and that is where I got the information from, tried it many times on my own "Garden Harvest" dryer and confirmed the accuracy of the information.

 

[talas]

Part of dehydrating food in a home type dehydrator is rearranging the food, (or turning the trays), and turning it over. By doing both several times during the drying cycle, you're ensuring that they dry as evenly as possible. It's a little work, but worth it.

To properly judge when the items are dry, you should weigh the items before drying on a scale that measures grams. Then weigh again after drying. The weight after drying should be about 10% for fruit and 5% for veggies.

So, if you start with 5 pounds, (2268 g), of veggies (peppers), then when dry, they should weigh no more than 5% of that weight, (113 g), or roughly, 4 ounces.

If you have rearranged and turned over each item during the drying process, then they should have dried fairly evenly and the 5% weight will show that they are as dry as they should be to prevent molding.

This process is well documented in many books that instruct on drying foods. I own several and that is where I got the information from, tried it many times on my own "Garden Harvest" dryer and confirmed the accuracy of the information.

Useful information for us `Virgins` Nat

 

[CaLoR]

IMO I'd say just go buy one anyways because you'll like it & you'll use it ! it can be used for many other things other than chiles!

I leave the seeds in when grinding for powder.

I'd also like to add onto AJ post about them cracking then they're done. well thats not 100% true to judge as if they're all done or not. because you can have a mixture of pod slices that are fully dried & some not dried yet all next to each other.
best to check each peice one by one to make sure its dried, & leave the others in until fully dried. time consuming yes! but trust me if you think all of'em are dried because of a couple you checked, I bet you'll still have some that are soft.

Your correct on that. I have ground up almost all of them, but there were a dozen or so pieces that were still a little soft in spots so they are still drying.