Drying Chillies

sassyblue

Hi all, l have a silly question....

We've got a glut of chillies to dry and l read a thread here recently where some posters said they threaded the chillies on string and hung up to dry out.

My question is where to you thread the string, through the chilli itself or through the stalk? My stalks aren't too big though and l'm not sure l could pass string through it, l thought about tying them on the string but that would look horrible and l was going to hang them in the kitchen.

TIA

toni_

hiya, i use fishing line and a needle and just thread them on, because the needles so small i can thread the line throught the stalks hope thats helps

parsonswife8

http://flavoursomedelights.com/ET/Techniques/DryChilli/

lolarentt

Just leave 'em on trays in the sun, sunny windowsill etc. Other suggestions: pickle in white wine vinegar (don't let them dry out too much if you do this as the skins will tend to delaminate) and off course just freeze them as they are

sassyblue

thanks all, you're all fountains of knowledge, l never considered freezing...

darkblue_2

Thanks for asking this - I had wondered myself. I suppose you're just essentially letting them go off on a string.

It could look artistic. I think I'll just freeze them though. Do you have to deseed before freezing or freeze them whole? Will it increase the intensity, as it does with herbs?

Primrose

Freeze your chillies whole. They're easier to cut up afterwards if you deal with them when still frozen. If you're short of storage space, the other alternative is to turn some of them into a Sweet chilli sauce. Another way of drying them is to put them into a brown paper bag and dry them out in a warm airing cupboard if you have one.

darkblue_2

Thank you, they shall be frozen.

paddypaws101

You could also make a bottle or jar of chilli oil...looks decorative and a drizzle of the oil is very easy to add when cooking. Just put the whole chillis in olive oil, easy!

sassyblue

paddypaws101 wrote: »

You could also make a bottle or jar of chilli oil...looks decorative and a drizzle of the oil is very easy to add when cooking. Just put the whole chillis in olive oil, easy!

Does the oil really get hot from the chillis? I thought that was just for decoration :rotfl:

garthdp

oh yes! the oil will get hot, great for marinades and dressings