[CH] Drying question; frosty chiles?
F. Eugene (dunnam@phys.ufl.edu)
Wed, 23 Oct 2002 12:25:36 -0400
Greetings, all-
In sunny Florida, attempting to air-dry chiles usually results in a
mildewed mess due to our moisture-laden air. Oven-drying adds to the
heat in the kitchen [& also the air conditioning bill] and requires
fairly constant attention. Here's a 'natural' lazy-man's method that
seems to work well for us. The chiles are spread out about 1/2" apart
on a horizontal window screen in the [poorly ventilated!] attic of
our house. The screen is supported at the corners about 2' off the
floor so that air freely circulates around it. In sunny weather the
chiles are nicely dried in about a week. One glitch that we had:
something was disturbing the chiles & apparently eating portions of
'em [bugs, as yet unidentified, we think]. A close-fitting screen
wire cover took care of that problem.
As to limp chiles that have been hit by frost: I've never tried
drying them. We rinse them off, pat dry, put in Zip-lok bags, and
freeze. To save space, slice off the sides & freeze these flat
pieces. The frozen pieces go well in anything that's cooked. They
flavor salsas fine but most of the crunch is missing.
To avoid wasting any of that good 'hottnin' I throw the seeds, veins
& end pieces into a jar of dilute vinegar & brine & let it ferment [a
la dill pickles] for a few weeks, then simmer a few minutes, strain
and bottle as my own "Fiasco" sauce. No two batches are the same but
we like it.
Gene
****************************************************
* F. Eugene (Gene) Dunnam *
* Professor of Physics <dunnam@phys.ufl.edu> *
* University of Florida (352) 392-1444 *
* P. O. Box 118440 *
* Gainesville, FL 32611-8440 *
* <http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~dunnam/Welcome.html> *
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