Pepper Palooza!
I recently got a bag of mixed peppers from a friend’s garden and they suggested making a pepper flakes out of them. I was so impressed with how it turned out that I decided to make another batch. I encourage you to get some mixed peppers so you can make your own pepper flakes with me! One essential tool you will need is a food dehydrator. Click HERE to see the one I use.
Prepping your Peppers
I like my pepper flakes pretty hot so I left all the veins and seeds in. If you want to make yours a bit milder, you can remove them. You might want to use gloves when handling the peppers especially if you are sensitive. Be careful not to touch your face or eyes.
Cut each pepper either in half or quarters dependent on how big they are. You want to make sure they’re small enough to dry completely in the food dehydrator. If you choose to remove the seeds and veins, you will want to do that before you dry them.
Once cut, place the peppers on your food dehydrator tray and spread them so there is plenty of space in between them.
Save your Pepper Seeds for Planting Later
Did you know that you can save the seeds from the pepper and plant them later? If you pull out any seeds, dry them completely at room temperature on a paper towel for a day or two. Once fully dry, put them in a seed pouch and label them. You can plant them when the season is right.
Drying your Peppers
You will want to dry the peppers overnight at 145ºF for about 12 hours. They need to be completely dry with no moisture so they can be easily crushed. You can’t really over dry them in this case.
I used a mortar and pestle to crush mine. You could also use a small food processor or mixer but the mortar and pestle is probably the easiest and cleanest route.
Crushing your Peppers
The last step is to crush and store your hot peppers. Don’t be surprised if the crushing and pouring into your storage container induces a few sneezes!
Now what do you do with these Pepper Flakes? I suggest that you add it to curries or soups to give them a little kick. The nice thing about the flakes, is that you can use a little or a lot. It allows you to control the heat level.
Final Product...
I hope you will try out this recipe and let me know how you like it. Enjoy the heat!!
