[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

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*  F. Eugene (Gene) Dunnam			   *
*  Professor of Physics	    <dunnam@phys.ufl.edu>  *
*  University of Florida     (352) 392-1444	   *
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*  Gainesville, FL 32611-8440			   *
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