Drying chillies

[burnie]

I have quite a lot of Cayennes and am thinking of drying some, do I just pick a few and hang them up in the conservatory? Or is there some alchemy to be done first? I intend to dry green and red ones if that's ok.

[SelkirkAlex]

I've always just strung them up and hung them to dry, might risk mould in the humidity of the uk though, I know you can dry them in a low oven, but I would be tempted just to mince them in a blender and store them as a paste in a jar.

[Jay22]

I freeze mine.

[roitelet]

Green ones won't dry so freeze them. The red ones, leave on the plant as long as possible then I use t darning needle and thread fine string through the stalk and hang them up to dry. Or you could wear them as a necklace!

[68lbs]

Last year I just threaded all mine on cotton and hung them either in the kitchen or the greenhouse depending on the weather. Can't remember exactly how long for, but then I blitzed them in a mini food processor, spread them on some parchment, turned the oven on and as soon as it felt warm, turned it off and left them in there overnight.

Seemed to dry them out nicely and I just popped them in a kilner jar after that.

I was using them on everything from salads to boiled tatties and decided it's definitely the way forward. This year I grew five plants hoping to get enough to last me 18 months (at which point the next batch would be ready), but have had a pitiful crop. They're just starting to turn red now, but I'll be lucky to even get as many as I did from one plant last year.

[Scarlet]

Cayennes, I just leave on the plant for as long as possible and then place on a dish and leave to air dry. I've an Aga so the kitchen is warm and dry but stringing above a cooker would also work. Though ive found dried peppers lose their heat so freezing is best...especially as they don't take up much space.