Using fresh bitter chilli is not always possible, therefore, to replace the scarlet bitter pod, many cooks prefer to use it in the form of dried powder, slices or even whole. About how to cook this spice at home, and about the features of its use, you can learn from this article.

Selection and preparation of pepper

Harvesting a red, burning vegetable at home is easy. Start your preparation by choosing the right pods.

They should be:

• painted evenly, without light and dark spots on the surface;
• without mechanical damage and traces of disease.

Important! It is necessary to work with hot pepper correctly, observing safety rules: when cutting pepper, you should wear kitchen gloves, it is important to ensure that the juice does not splash into the eyes and thoroughly wash the kitchen equipment after working with this roasting product.

After choosing the right fruits, they are washed and then a little moisture is removed from them with a towel. If the pepper is dried whole, then it is sent to dry for a couple of days in a warm room. If the chilli is not planned to be dried whole, then it is cut, seeds and stalk are removed, and then crushed to the required size of pieces.

How to dry hot pepper at home: the main methods

It is possible to prepare sharp vegetables for the winter in various forms:

• whole pods;
• circles or half rings;
• cubes or cubes, if it is further subjected to grinding into powder.

For drying, you can use various technologies. The most interesting and simple recipes for preparing spices at home are presented below.

In the oven

Duration of preparation: 3-5 hours.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Wash and dry the chili with a towel to remove excess moisture.
2. Turn on and preheat the oven to 50 ° C.
3. Cover the deco with baking parchment and spread the pods evenly in one layer on the surface.
4. Put to dry in the oven, while it is necessary to leave it ajar, at least the size of a matchbox, because with the door closed, the pepper will just bake, not dry.
5. Monitor the degree of readiness. On average, the process can take from 3-5 hours.

Also read the difference between cayenne pepper and chili.

On air

Whole peppers

Duration of preparation: 9-10 days.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Prepare hot peppers, after washing them.
2. Prepare a needle with a large eye and a thick, strong thread.
3. String pods by piercing them with a needle and thread below the stem. The result should be a “necklace” of red peppers, which should be at a distance from each other, without touching.
4. Hang the beads in a room with good ventilation. Dry until tender.

Chopped peppers

Duration of preparation: 8-10 days.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Rinse and dry the pods with a towel.
2. Wear gloves and cut them on a glass board with a sharp knife.
3. Cut the stem and clean the seeds. Cut the peppers into circles or halves of ringlets 0.5 cm thick.
4. Put the pieces on a newspaper or sieve. Newsprint absorbs moisture from chopped vegetables very well.
5. Leave the pepper to dry in a dry and well-ventilated area. You can send a newspaper to a wide windowsill or battery. Every 2 days you should change the newspaper, because the paper will already be wet and you need to change it to dry. Continue until the product is completely dry.

Important! Peppers should not touch each other, they should be suspended at a distance, then they will not rot and they will evenly dry.

On the grill for vegetables

In order to dry hot chilli, you can use a grid with a fine mesh, which is intended for drying vegetables, mushrooms and peppers. It has high legs that are mounted on the stove.

Duration of preparation: 3 hours

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Vegetables are washed and rid of excess moisture.
2. It is necessary to cut each pepper, clean it, removing seeds and partitions and cut into pieces.
3. Put the crushed product on the dryer grid.
4. Turn on the stove at medium burner power.
5. Dry until tender.
6. The pepper is dried until tender, if it is very wrinkled and crumbles in the hands.
7. Did you know? A drink of water after tasting hot, hot peppers will cause a “fire” in your mouth to glow even brighter. In order to extinguish the flame, it is better to use yogurt or milk, sour lemon or lime are also suitable.

Also learn how to grow chili peppers at home on a window sill from seeds.

In the electric dryer

Duration of preparation: 8-10 hours

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Prepare peppers for drying, for which they need to be washed.
2. Put the sharp pods on the wire rack in one layer.
3. Turn on the dryer at full capacity and dry until tender, occasionally turning the vegetables so that they do not stick.

Dates and basic rules for storing dried pepper

If the hot chili was dried in pieces, it is usually further crushed in a coffee grinder or blender and the resulting powder is sent for storage in a tightly closed glass container. A jar of spice can be left in a dry, dark, cool place.

Also, a jar of dried seasoning can be sent to the freezer, which will increase the piquancy of seasoning, according to some housewives. If bitter chili was dried whole, then it is placed in a glass jar, and gauze folded in several layers is used as a lid.

Whole pepper should not be tightly closed with a lid, since ventilation in this form is necessary for spices. Or you can hang a string of peppers as a decor in the kitchen, and cut off the necessary amount as necessary. You can store the dried product for a year.

Application features

Dried peppers are most often used in cooking, where it is part of spicy mixtures, used for pickling, cooking meat and vegetable dishes, sauces and dressings. You should know: 1 pod of chili pepper corresponds to 1 teaspoon of dried, ground.

Did you know? Capsaicin, which irritates human receptors so much that it feels a burning effect, gives the burning spiciness of chili. In the dried red pod it is almost 2%.

In large pods, they have a harder and denser peel, which will take more time to dry well, therefore it is better to interrupt such peppers after drying on a blender until finely ground. Drying hot chili at home is not difficult, but you should remember about precautions that will help protect yourself from the negative effects of this burning spice.