I have not tried canning yet, but my nod towards lengthening the “local” season consisted of drying my own chilis. I had some poblano peppers (which are renamed ancho chilis), cayenne peppers, and small, red hot peppers.
To dry them, heat oven to 170F. Place the peppers on a stone or tray in the oven. The small peppers dried out overnight, but the poblanos took all night and all the next day. I flipped the poblanos halfway through.
Washed and dried before oven
Partially dried
Smaller peppers done; gave the poblanos more time
Do you say chili or chilli or chile? Ah the mysteries of the universe…
Love the photos and the little baby chilis all lined up in a row!
In the south and Mexico they say- Chiles…
Also there is a great chef in Texas named Stephen Pyles, and he write great books on cooking the chiles, and a friend of mine.
this is such a helpful post. i actually never considered drying my own since we can get packs of all different types of chiles i our local store for about $1 per pack. but this technique will be remembered for years to come!
chile is the fruit and chili is the dish….and or country….