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preservation Smell of dehydrated peppers

I've been drying my peppers in a Nesco FD80 at 95F and after smelling a lot of the dehydrated pods in ziplock bags they seem to have sort of a cheese smell rather than a typical dehydrated pepper smell. The peppers look perfect, perfect color, very dry and crunchy, no sign of any mold or spoilage whatsoever, etc. but the smell is a lot different than store-bought dehydrated peppers and not really what I was expecting. It sort of smells like peppers that are fermenting. I did make one batch of jerky when I first got the dehydrator and it was all put on a layer of parchment paper and the trays cleaned afterwards even though nothing actually touched the trays, so maybe that's where the smell is coming from? What do you guys think, or is this a normal type of smell or is there something insidious going on? Maybe the pods will smell different when ground but my coffee grinder is broken. Maybe I'll try to make some flakes in the blender and see what the smell/taste is like...
 
what kind of peppers are you drying? My dehydrated habaneros have a tomato-ish smell to them. Cheesy flavored chilli should be good with pizza :dance:
 
I dried a batch of mixed peppers and they smell funny too. But it kinda smells like a REALLY CONCENTRATED HEAT. Definitely different then fresh, but still burn my face off. I think what you are smelling is the normal smell of peppers once the water has been removed.
 
Your peppers are perfectly still good to eat. My guess would be the nutrients that went into them. In hydro, my peppers smell more earthy from the Nitrogen of a 3-1-2 fertilizer versus a more dry raspy smell when I use a 1-2-3 NPK fert.
 
They smell and taste like normal chinenses when fresh though. Granted, I don't have a lot of experience with dehydrated chinenses, but I have bought dehydrated habaneros and they don't smell like the ones I dehydrated myself. Granted those are dried at higher temps or even sun dried. I'm just hoping it's not bacteria that is producing the smell, since they've been dried at a low temperature over a period of about 4-5 days.

Maybe they need to age or cure for a while, or maybe my olfactory senses aren't functioning properly right now, or maybe I'm just being paranoid. :crazy:
 
The one thing that amazes me the most after a fresh grind of dried superhots and when you crack open the grinder container to empty the contents is how fast the particles reach your nose. It seems to happen within a few milli seconds!!
 
I know the smell your talking about drying lots of C. Chinense peppers and saying it smells like cheese is being nice but rest assured all is perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about like being rotten fruit. Cheese is not exactly how I describe the the smell more of a vomit right after you throw-up sort of smell. Peppers are fresh and drying at 110F I start to notice this smell this about midway thru the drying cycle many times. Dried pods turn out perfect for many uses in the kitchen just a part of the drying process. :eh:
 
I know the smell your talking about drying lots of C. Chinense peppers and saying it smells like cheese is being nice but rest assured all is perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about like being rotten fruit. Cheese is not exactly how I describe the the smell more of a vomit right after you throw-up sort of smell. Peppers are fresh and drying at 110F I start to notice this smell this about midway thru the drying cycle many times. Dried pods turn out perfect for many uses in the kitchen just a part of the drying process. :eh:

Well, that's reassuring, thanks Cappy. :D
 
The one thing that amazes me the most after a fresh grind of dried superhots and when you crack open the grinder container to empty the contents is how fast the particles reach your nose. It seems to happen within a few milli seconds!!

Yeah, I ground up a few yellow bhuts in the blender and after a few seconds took a nice smell. Instant nasal cavity burn. :eek: I kind of liked it.
 
i have never noticed the "cheese" smell but in comparison to store bought dehydrated peppers, i love the fresh, juicy, freshness of freshly ground dehydrated peppers. perhaps it was the type of pepper used.

i have noticed the blandness of store bought dehydrated peppers. I think you are just getting a whif of what freshness is all about.

it reminds me the first time i made homemade beer and the slight applely flavour from it, a good friend, neighbour, rest his soul, when i commented on how the beer tasted, not like store bought, said "NO!", in his strong Italian accent. "this is how fresh beer is suppose to taste!". after that, I knew i was doing everything right. he was a great mentor, amazing how we get trained on what "fresh" is suppose to taste like.

i think Pepper's input is very good on this. I found i have to dehydrate at 125 - 135F, any lower and it takes days and days and the pods keep a soft moisture texture.

good luck.
 
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