Dehydrating Temp for peppers

[richoso1]

For those of you that have experience dehydrating peppers/chiles, what temperature have you found to be the best? I've got some whole chiles in the unit that have been at 135* for about 3 hours now.

 

[richtee]

Werid, but it's been in the 80's with low low humidity round here. Put some out on my south exposed deck on foil friday. Just brought 'em in..perfect. Ummm maybe seen 100? with the foil...

Bet you could do the same out there?

PS: Did an ancho stuffed fatty today...with celery, onion, and garlic clove. Be ready in an hour, but I might just let it soak till tomarrow. Riggghhhttt...

 

[deejaydebi]

My Mama used to thread them by the stems and hang them up like Christmas lights and that worked too.

 

[smoked]

135 has worked for me for years........

 

[richoso1]

Smoked,thanks for the reply. I love the aroma that it creates. Hopefully I'll have some pics when the chiles have dried, as I already have some pics when they first started.

 

[richoso1]

Update:
Peppers have been the the dehydrator for 18 hrs. now and almost dry. I had only cut one slit down the side, I'll have to change that to improve drying time. Next batch I'll cut them the same way I cut the chiles in my ABTs, cutting them in half lenghwise, but leaving the top, seeds, and mebrane in place.

.

 

[sizzlnchef]

need to smoke some of those peppers. very good

 

[shellbellc]

Hubby did up a bunch at 135*, I'll bet it took him at least 14 hours...I lost track of time...even did up a bunch of the feared Bhut Jolokia...the ghost pepper, the chile king...BTW, he cut his in half. Some of his thin walled peppers dried faster, but he mixed a batch of thin and thick walled.

 

[richoso1]

Well they finally dried after 16 hours plus. I'll be doing a larger batch soon, and using a different slicing method. Pic #1 is before dehydrating, and pic #2 is after dehydrating. Another learnin curve, but enjoyable.

 

[pescadero]

Rich:

Need to bug you again on peppers.

First the background. . .

I know that many things in the garden arena are not really cost effective. I mean there is little or no economic advantage to doing them. It is just a hobby or just fun to preserve food that you grew, even if it actually costs more to grow than buy.

Several stores around me have large bags of dried peppers pf various kinds. They seem to be on sale fairly cheap. Probably the same for you. So, once again I assume you are doing it more for the fun of it than any other reason.

In the pictures of you dehydrating, what variety were these? And, what do you do with them? guessing you have found a way to grind them up and use them in rubs and dishes, instead of buying the actual preprocessed powders.

What brings all this up is that I was given a dehyderator as a gift. It has set on the shelf for over a year because I didn't know what to do with it. I am trying to learn something and figure out what to do with it, or I am going to put it in the next yard sale.

I am looking for some information, ideas, suggestions etc., that will make me want to keep and start using the darn thing. I don't even remember the brand name, but it sure looks a lot like yours. does American Harvester ring a bell?

Thanks, Skip

 

[craigfperry]

Pescadero,
I use my dried peppers in oil, or any liquid that you may want to add pepper flavor to.
2 or 3 peppers in each bottle will add great flavor.
Jalapeno or habanero peppers in a bottle of jose, let the peppers sit in there for a while.
You can use the tequila as a marinade or whatever.

 

[payson]

Bassman, Citric acid? Is that a necessity? I'm getting ready to do a bit of backpacking and wanted to dry a bunch of assorted vegiies for soup and whatnot. I was just going to dry/smoke some diced peppers, tomato slices, etc... What does the citric acid add? Better preservation? Also, any backpacking food drying tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to make a big batch of jerky. Other than jerky, is it possible to dry beef chunks for later rehydration in soups? I'm using a Bradley so my temp range is very adjustable.
Thanks for any help!!

 

[bigwheel]

Think maybe the young man was referring to ascorbic acid..aka vitamin C. Its a highly effective anti-oxidizer which helps keep light colored delicate flavored fruits and veggies  from turning dark and tasting funny. Sulfur fumes also works..that is what they use on dried apricots..peaches etc. Would prob help with tomatoes. Not sure why it would be needed for chiles. I dry them out on a sunny window sill laying on a paper towel. Citric acid is normally used to decrease the ph in canned tomatoes..swing them over to the more acidic side of the scale to prevent troubles from Mr. Botulism. Anything below 140..coupled with good air flow  works for us home folks for dehydrating much of anything. Kindly keep us updated.

 

[daveomak]

Bassman, Citric acid? Is that a necessity? I'm getting ready to do a bit of backpacking and wanted to dry a bunch of assorted vegiies for soup and whatnot. I was just going to dry/smoke some diced peppers, tomato slices, etc... What does the citric acid add? Better preservation? Also, any backpacking food drying tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to make a big batch of jerky. Other than jerky, is it possible to dry beef chunks for later rehydration in soups? I'm using a Bradley so my temp range is very adjustable.

Thanks for any help!!

Payson, evening..... below is a link for drying fruits, veggies and meats..... Some foods, when stored, can "grow" botulism and other pathogens so pay special attention to time temps etc...... Dave

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry.html