Drying pepperoni intensifies their heat, flavor, and natural sugar content. Whole chili peppers can be used to season soups or stews, for example. You can also lightly toast these in a dry pan and then rehydrate and chop them up to flavor sauces or pasta. In addition, peppers can be dried in many ways and stored well to serve as a natural ingredient in numerous dishes. Here are some simple preservation methods you can use at home.
Before drying your own crop or store-bought hot peppers
Peppers or chili peppersare suitable for dryingin the oven at a very low temperature. However, you can also hang these natural products to dry in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in a dry place in your home. The latter is a popular method for pepperoni as it adds festive color to home decor in late summer and fall. Before drying, inspect each piece and discard if it is soft, mushy, or has spoiled or diseased-looking spots.
You also need to consider that capsaicin, the spicy ingredient in chili peppers, is an irritant. If possible, always wear gloves when handling hot peppers. Also make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after using themspicy foodshave touched. After handling, do not scratch your eyes, nose, face, or other sensitive areas of the body. Be especially careful around small children, pets, or people sensitive to spicy foods.
Good reasons for food storage of hot peppers
It is indeed a very rewarding experience to observe and care for an abundance of peppers or chili peppers in the garden. But how many pepperoni can you realistically eat at once? It all depends on how spicy they are and how much you love the peppery taste. Of course you always canAdd pepperonito spice up your winter dishes. However, if you're running out of shelf space or just don't have enough of it for a jar, then drying is definitely the way to go.
In addition, drying is the oldest and most widely used method of food preservation worldwide. Any type of pepper, whether hot or sweet, can be preserved by dehydration. As mentioned, the drying process intensifies the flavor, allowing you to use less of it in a recipe or dish. Dehydrating peppers also takes less hands-on time than canning, and it requires less storage space in your pantry.
Ways to dry chili peppers
Most types of peppers dry well. Chili peppers and long sweet peppers dry exceptionally well due to their thinner flesh. Once dried, these peppers can be ground or crushed and used as an all-purpose flavoring or spice. There are a few methods to dry peppers. The easiest way is to string them up and hang them in a dry environment. However, this method can take months depending on the humidity in your area. You can also dry pepperoni in your oven, which is quicker and easier to control temperature and humidity.
Hang the pepperoni and let it air dry
If you live in a dry climate with daytime temperatures above 20°C, air drying is the easiest method to dry peppers. First, choose thin-walled peppers to air dry. Thicker pods don't dry quickly enough and can start to mold.
Take freshly harvested pieces without insect damage or blemishes. Then string the peppers onto a string. Use a long needle and thread to thread the peppers through the stems. Leave plenty of space between the peppers to allow air to circulate.
Then hang your peppers to dry. It is best to do this in an area with good air circulation and sunshine. Depending on the humidity, this method may take 3-4 weeks for the peppers to dry completely. The peppers will dry completely when they are brittle. Once dry, store the peppers in airtight jars away from sunlight.
Dry pepperoni in the oven
Faster than air drying, but not as quick, convenient, or hassle-free as a dehydrator, you can also use your oven to dry pepperoni. Prepare your chili peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then set your oven to the lowest setting and let your peppers sit in the warmth for several hours. The time depends on how large/small and thick/thin skinned the peppers are. However, leaving them entirely is not an option this time. To dry evenly in the oven, cut the pods into smaller, similar sized pieces to ensure they dry all at once. To do this, wear gloves and make sure to place the pepper pieces with the flesh side up.
Use a dehydrator and dry pepperoni
This is the quickest and easiest way to dry hot chili peppers if you have a food dehydrator. For medium or larger peppers, it's best to cut them lengthwise and place them on the dehydrator tray, leaving plenty of space around each piece. This means that, as with the other methods, the air can circulate better. You can also let smaller peppers dry completely.
If your device has a temperature setting, place it between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius or according to the instructions. The time to dehydrate can take 4 to 12 hours depending on the thickness of the peppers. Check from time to time to see if the smaller or thinner pieces have dried out. Larger pieces of peppers may take a few extra hours to dehydrate. The peppers are ready when they become dry and brittle. Store your dehydrated peppers in jars away from direct light to preserve the color.
Storage tips after letting your pepperoni dry
- You can store whole dried peppers in a glass jar with a tightly closed lid to keep the flavors strong for a long time. In addition, dried peppers remain flavorful this way for 4 or 5 years.
- Likewise, store crushed or ground pepper flakes in the same manner, but plan to use them in a year for best flavor.
- Dehydrated chili peppers have more firepower and spiciness in food and hot sauce recipes than fresh peppers. If you grind or crush dried peppers, you can use this ingredient as an all-purpose flavoring and seasoning for any occasion and dish.
