Posted: 9/12/2008 5:50:28 AM EDT
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I have quite a few Cayenne & Habanero peppers that I would like to dry by hanging them. I have a dehydrator, & used it on one batch, but I think I over dried them & now would just like to do it the old fashioned way. Where should I hang the threaded peppers? I've read to hang them in a dark cool room & also to hang them in a sunny window. Which has worked best for you? |
I've done it both ways with no issues. I think humidity levels play more of a role than dark/cool vs. sunny. Make sure when you thread them that you go through the stem and not the meaty part of the fruit. |
+1 that is the way I have done it in the past. I usually just hang them in the sunroom or laundry room. They will keep forever but I usually put them in a half gal mason jar with a loose lid. |
Clostridium botulinum, the causative agent in botulism, is an anaerobic bug--it really likes oxygen depleted environments. Pulling a partial vacuum will give you a food storage environment that is a setup for the growth of this bug, IMO. Gotta keep in mind here that the goal is simply to preserve your peppers until you have another crop next year.....you're not shooting for storing them for time immemorial.  You can get a year's worth of storage out of peppers that are dried down nicely without resorting to vacuum sealing. |
You know a whole lot more than folks who have never done it. Please keep at it--you'll find you learn something new constantly. I know I do. 
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It is all interesting to me as of lately, with the higher food prices & all. I was just reading the "The other white meat." thread & would like to try that (canning meat) someday too, but need to pick up a pressure canner first |
I don't want to hijack this thread but after reading it i think i need some answers as well.We bought some sun dried tomatoes a week ago and using the foodsaver we put them in plastic bags and vacuumed the air out to make them air tight for storage.After reading about possible botulism did we mess up with the tomatoes ?, or should we store them in jars with loose lids. Thank's for all answers. |
Let me clarify my post...... My objection is to drying whole peppers (such as cayennes) or any other whole fruit/vegetable where the inside hasn't been inspected and then vac packing it. I've found some really funky things on the inside of peppers.....stuff you definitely wouldn't want to be drying and storing.  If you're cutting the fruit and inspecting the insides you can discard anything that looks suspect. If you got a bunch of commercially dried tomatoes and vac packed them, you're at pretty low risk I think. (They were dry, right? Not packed in oil?) How much you gain, if anything, in terms of storage life is another question...... 
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Feral,we got these at a health food store and they were in plastic bags not in oil,they were cut in half and in bags folded over and stapled.When we got home we repackaged them putting 20 to a package and vacuum sealing for later use.After reading this thread i panicked at the word botulism but after doing a little research i think the only thing i did wrong,according to some,was put them in a dry place instead of the freezer.They are in the freezer now and we hope to enjoy them this winter. |
Sorry for causing a panic.  You have zero issues storing them in the freezer.....they'll last a good while vac packed and in the freezer. I think you'd be OK at room temp as well here. |
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I agree with Feral, peppers (except for less meaty thin skinned like cayenne) should be a season to season storage item. I've not bothered with drying meaty peppers I always slice into stir fry size strips, wash and dry them, them freeze in zip locks. I've got some cayennes still hanging that I dried 2 years ago and they just keep getting hotter. Also like Feral said I would not dry whole meaty peppers because I like to see what's inside that needs to be cut out. |