drying Whole Pod Dehydrating

sknxvll

sknxvll

Can you put whole peppers in a dehydrator without having to cut them? What does not cutting and or coring them do? I've never used a dehydrator and have a few that I want to do before they go bad. I've had a few whole dried pods sent to me in the past, not sure how they were dried though.

The unit we have is a $49 Oster from wally world with 4 layers and an on/off button...if that makes a difference? I know it's not top notch, but it's what we have.


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It looks like the pods you have are thin-walled varieties. Habaneros, cayennes, superhots, most of those thin-walled chiles will dry as whole pods OK, but will take a little longer.

Thick-walled chiles like jalapenos run the risk of getting moldy on the inside before they dry. The inner walls are in a really nice warm and moist environment and mold will just explode if it's not dried fast enough.

Unless you have an aesthetic reason for not cutting in half, or even slitting the pods, it's best to allow air to get to the insides of the pods. If you're careful you can slit a pod in the right spot, and when it's dry, you won't even be able to tell it was slit to allow the air to get inside. If you are going to flake or powder the dried chiles, then halve 'em for drying and save the time in the dryer. Maybe others will add something, but about the only reason I can think of for wanting whole dried chiles is for retail selling.

Also, for drying, I've noticed that pods retain their color best when dried at 105F or lower. Higher than that, the pods tended to turn a little darker.

Good luck and have fun!

SL
 
Hey salsalady, thank you!

The main reason was because the only dried peppers I've had were whole. If I cut them in half, do I need to place them face down?
That would be better to do it in halves because with this unit there is not enough space between the shelves to place whole pods...and hopefully in a month or so I will have peppers coming in on all my plants.

Thanks again for the great input! That helps a ton!
 
face down, face up, doesn't matter...

face down you may loose a few seeds falling out of the dry pieces as you handle them when dry. Face up, the seeds will stay in the shells a little better. That's about the only thing I can think of between face up or down.

You are right about trying to fit whole pods on a dehydrator shelf. Cut 'em and they'll dry nicely.

Also, just for reference, think about how other items are dehydrated using these types of dryers. Apples, peaches, bell peppers...they're all sliced fairly thin. Chiles are probably one of the few things that can be dried whole. Oh, and peas....

:cool:


peas out~
 
I dehydrate mine whole because I am lazy to cut them down! haha, takes about 34 hours to get full dry on whole pods, i've done tons from habs to brainstrains. All good, then i toss them in a quart jar, put my blender blades on it (blender blades fit most canning jars!) and blend with added dehydrated garlic! Makes great pizza shake! And using the jar I don't take a face full of pepper spray! lol!
 
I'm drying some too in a Wally world dehydrator. I kinda pop whole pods them just to open them up a bit to make the drying easier. No on/off switch, plug n play and 6 tiers. Usually takes 24 hours, depending on humidity here.

I then grind them. I need a coffee grinder, thanks for the reminder! OFF TO WALLY WORLD!

Good luck with the dryer.
 
Agreed Jamie!

I have the same dehydrator. It works pretty well... One suggestion - the bottom shelf will dry the fastest... If you are in a hurry, pull it out once those are dry, and lower the next tray.

I then re-fill the lowest tray, and put it back in on top...
 
Cookie sheets in the oven work pretty well too... I did that with the 400+ pods I picked the other day... I'll take a picture and get it up on my glog tonight...

They turned out pretty well, AND the dehydrator was already full.

Picking more tomorrow.

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Sometimes I smoke them dry.
 
USMC8411 said:
I'm drying some too in a Wally world dehydrator. I kinda pop whole pods them just to open them up a bit to make the drying easier. No on/off switch, plug n play and 6 tiers. Usually takes 24 hours, depending on humidity here.

I then grind them. I need a coffee grinder, thanks for the reminder! OFF TO WALLY WORLD!

Good luck with the dryer.
Click to expand...

If u weren't banned, I'd say thx for the 'good luck' wish :)

romy6 said:
Cut them up in small pieces and dehydrate at lowest temps to get the best powder IMO!
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I will do that, thx Jamie! I want powders and flakes :)

jsschrstrcks said:
Agreed Jamie!

I have the same dehydrator. It works pretty well... One suggestion - the bottom shelf will dry the fastest... If you are in a hurry, pull it out once those are dry, and lower the next tray.

I then re-fill the lowest tray, and put it back in on top...
Click to expand...

Yes, I only had the one shelf in and makes sense the closer to the bottom ( full of urs and Joshuap2000 awesome pods I bought), the faster it will dry. I still would like to check into one that I can adjust the temp since that seems to be 'the thing'. But right now, this is working well for my needs.

Wolfman0709 said:
I use a nesco FD-80 dehydrator. I always cut my pods in half to make it faster in the dryer. I would suggest the same for you.
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I'll google that unit, thx

jsschrstrcks said:
Cookie sheets in the oven work pretty well too... I did that with the 400+ pods I picked the other day... I'll take a picture and get it up on my glog tonight...

They turned out pretty well, AND the dehydrator was already full.

Picking more tomorrow.

2783ea09.jpg


Sometimes I smoke them dry.
Click to expand...

Times like this, I wish I still lived in Brandon!! That is a awesome pic! :drooling:
 
I slice the pods open part way to let the air out and to make sure the inside is clean.
To retain the color as much as possible do as Jamie says go with the lowest temp for a longer duration. As far as thicker walled "Red Jalapeno's" or similar, I cut those in half, same process but only about 10hrs in the dehydrator then they get finished for about 8 hrs in an upright smoker.
A friend of mine does his drying in a room that also has a dehumidifer running at the time. I would imagine that would wick Any moisture out of the air.
 
Thanks to this great thread on the forums I dehydrated my first chillies today. Cut them in half (a few quartered) and they came out perfectly on my new 50€ dehydrater, which looks a little like the one shown in the original post. Cheers everybody for the useful advice! :)
 
Got one like yers.

Only difference I noted with it is whole pods tend to cook a bit and turn darker due to the time needed in the dehydrator, and the seeds prolly no good for saving.
A big pair of scissors makes short work of halving pods, and it takes less than 1/2 the time, colors remain bright.

As a side note for seeds, I choose the ripest pods, remove the whole shebang---placenta and seeds---and place in a paper bag on the window sill.
When the placenta crumbles when squeezed, I deem them right for saving.
 
I usually dry my pods whole but i kinda flatten them a bit before they do in so they split on the sides and then I stab them with a fork a couple times.. .When they are dry its not really noticeable since they get shriveled anyway... I like the way the whole pods look as dried better than halves... .
 
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