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storage Freezing/Dehydrating Question

patrick

patrick

Can I freeze my peppers before I run them through the dehydrator? I'm only getting one or two to become ripe at the same time and it could take a week or better to collect enough to run through the dehydrator. Hate to run it for only a dozen peppers.

Thanks.
 
This is a question i have as well!!!

And do you put the chilli in the dehydrator straight from the freezer? or do you let it defrost a bit first?

Good question Pat!!!
 
I wouldn't freeze them...if you just put them on a paper plate in a dry place with some air circulation, they should not rot/mildew on you even left whole...especially the thinner walled ones...JMO
 
You can( I haven't tried it yet) but probably should let them thaw a bit first so there's less water for the dehydrator to handle. I don't know if this affects the quality of the dried pepper or not but others seem to do it.
 
Thank you gentlemen.

I think I'm going to follow AJ's advice for as long as I can. The first sign of the oldest one going bad the rest are going into the freezer.

I would also agree with thawing them out prior to hitting the dehydrator.

OK moyboy, your turn!:)

I just have to add that I really like this place. Thanks to all involved with it.
 
We have some frozen ones & I dont think I would put them in the dehydrator now..too much moisture. We have another 5 trays in now & at least another 10 to go.
 
I'd thaw them out on some paper towel or ? to soak up the moisture before drying them (less electricity needed to dry them then IMO)

leaving them lay out only works if the conditions are right. for me here its not the best so I dont leave them layout to dry.
 
Ok i'm going to try this tonight with my orange habs!!!! :onfire: (I have 2 shopping bags full of them in the freezer).

I have a good quality 10 tray Dehydrator with the fan at the back and temperature controller, so how long does it usually take to dry the chillis?? (I know there are lots of variables, i'm just looking at a ball park figure - 8 hours, 24hours).

Cheers
 
cut them in half to speed up the drying.
timewise ? like you said to many factors to consider (moisture/temp/#'s of pods/leave it run nonstop/etc...) I'd say something like 12 - 15hrs
 
ive only dried fresh peppers, never tried to dry frozen ones, but ive had the most luck with a very old and simple method; I use a needle and thread, run it through the peppers, and string them up in a warm dry place, making sure to leave space between the peppers; i havent had any trouble with this method, and its a lot cheaper than a dehydrator
 
yes yes yes

I have done this many times. I did a kilo of red habs earlier in the year and they turned out great. when I removed them from the freezer I let them thaw enough to be able to cut them in half lengthways and then placed them in the dehydrator. I have an Ezi-dri Ultra 1000 (1000 watts). I dried them in the trays without a solid or mesh sheet under them at about 40-45 deg C for around 40 hours. once cooled I stuck them in the blender and within minutes I had perfect powder (some seeds still intact). you have to get it totally dry otherwise your powder will clump. the resultant powder is very hot, a nice fresh looking red colour and still smells great.
 
btw, I use kitchen shears to cut the pods not a knife

also, just because they have been frozen does not mean they have any extra moisture in them, they are just softer when they thaw but they dry in the same amount of time that fresh ones do, at least that is what I have experienced. dry them until you can gently squeeze them between your fingers and they crackle and split, then turn off the machine and allow them to cool for several hours. too easy!
 
Thanks Chilliman.

Great explaination!!!!

I am going to be using a hand held coffee grinder. Will take ages but it's all i have!!!
 
I use a stick blender, you can get them for about $15 at Woolies if you don't want to spend too much. you could then use it for blending sauces too. if you're going to be exposed to the hot dust for a long period wear eye coverage as well as a dust mask and some gloves and try to do it outside otherwise you may find you've turned your house into a hazardous waste dump.
 
I think mother nature is going to take care of this for me. I checked on the pods a few minutes ago and it appears all of them are going to be ripe in the next few days. One turned orange and the rest are coming on strong. I guess when it's time to ripen it's time to ripen!

Thanks for all of the help guys.
 
I have sadly never dehydrated peppers before. If you string them up to dry without using a dehydrator, does anyone have a ballpark figure for how long this takes? :?:
 
CapsaicinHigh said:
I have sadly never dehydrated peppers before. If you string them up to dry without using a dehydrator, does anyone have a ballpark figure for how long this takes? :?:
Click to expand...
It all depends upon the relative humidity and heat. Could be two days, could be never.
 
Use a dehydrator. I have an Excaliber brand and love it. 4 trays, variable heat setting. I can dry out about 5 LBS. of scotch bonnetts in about 20 hours. Can't beat that........my dos centavos
 
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