chilli powder

[the big lebowski]

hi all im still picking chillis but im looking into making chilli powder so i know what to do when the plants stop producing them

at the mo i am putting all my chillis in the freezer and i was thinking of defrosting them all in 1 go ,cutting them in half to get all the moister out while drying ,putting them in the oven for 4 ish hours on about 20 degrees to dry them out then put them in a blender to make them into powder ,would 4 hours be enough ?

also i will be taking the seeds out of about 2-3 of each type of chilli to use next year but do i leave all the seeds and membrains in the others and blitz the lot ?

anythoughts welcome,cheers

[roitelet]

I would let the chilies dry on the plant. The green ones can be frozen and then the ripe ones, red, will go leathery and can then be dried. I have only managed chilli flakes in a liquidiser, the seeds are quite tough. Be careful when you take the top of the machine the dust/ vapor is lethal.

[4Shoes]

I left mine next to the stove last year and blitzed the lot when dry. Have a high powered blender that can make stock from a cooked chicken (bones and all ) so not a problem.

Quick Mr Google and here is a quick summary
Wash and slice. Try to get consistent size to make them all dry at same rate. Put in seeds and all.

Set them into your dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 130 degrees for 12 hours or longer depending on the air conditions.

If oven drying, you need to keep the heat at the lowest setting possible. Spread the peppers out on baking sheets - crack the oven door to keep the temps down and some air flow moving.


Once brittle.

Flakes - Put into a Ziplock bag and smash with rolling pin.

Powder - Blend

Expect H&S - dust mask . Just take care, even if you let it settle for a few minutes.

Keeps indefinite (so they say) but colour and flavour reduced after a year.

[Jay22]

SP just made some, maybe she could give you some tips? I’d be interested too!

[Small pumpkin]

Look at that a chilli powder thread
I cut tops off and cut them down the middle. Lay them all cut side down ( don't know why, I just do ) in the dehydrator. Temp is at 55c. Time is anywhere from 12 to 48 hours.
When they crumble like a dried leaf, they are really. I store them in an airtight plastic tub until I have enough to make a batch of power.
I do exactly the same weather they are ripe, green or frozen. When using frozen I don't defrost first. Cutting them is a bit tricky and you get very cold fingers .
To powder I use a coffee grinder. It works brilliantly ( it was only £10 from one of those cheap supermarkets)

The more you handle your dried Chillies the less convinced you're going to be that they are actually dry. That will be the oil build up on your hands. Don't worry about it. As long as they crumble like a leaf it's all good.
Also don't worry that your chilli powder is clumping together. Again it's the oil in the chilli.

Have you ever read the ingredients on a brought chilli powder?
Taken from the back of a very well know brand of chilli powder.
Ingredients chilli pepper, cumin, salt, oregano, garlic, anti-caking agent, cayenne pepper (10%).

[Jay22]

Thanks SP, appreciated. Didn’t know bought chilli powder wasn’t chillli powder!!

[Mitzi]

4 hours is nowhere near enough. Low and slow is the way to go. Definitely no need to defrost before drying. Personally I remove all the seeds (or as many as I reasonably can) if I'm making powder but leave them in if I'm making flakes.

Here are some of the powders I have made (along with some fresh peppers):



Powders (L-R): Aleppo, Paper Lantern, Superchilli+Cayenne, Aji Pineapple, Scotch Bonnet, Sugar Rush Peach.

[the big lebowski]

yes your right mitzi ,i did my 1st tray full in the oven and it took about 24 hours ,2nd batch just gone in the oven ,great picture btw love how you seperated them all into dif types of powders

[Ognen09]

Sweet pepper powder?

Hi all, can you do the same to sweet peppers? Has anyone done that? I know it won't be hot but I don't like hot chillies wondered whether the sweet would have a strong enough flavour?