Dried Hot Peppers

 I don’t know about you but it seems like September here. The weather is in the mid 80’s, the humidity has dropped along with the first set of leaves and the vegetable garden seems to be coming to an end. Even though it’s only the beginning of August, all of these are signs of September.  Now I’m not complaining because Fall is my favorite time of year. I just wasn’t ready to can. I have already put up tomatoes and this weekend I started drying the chili peppers.  Here are a few still on the vine.

 

Last year I found a Magic Chef Food Dehydrator at the thrift store for $10, a steal. 

Apparently, this dehydrator is no longer sold but I found enough information online and was able to figure it out.  For those interested, I have posted the instructions at the end of this post as well as a link to them here.  Enjoy!

 

BEFORE AND AFTER

 

Instructions

·         1. Wash the cover and trays of the 470 dehydrator with warm, soapy water and a sponge and allow them to dry before you use the unit.

·         2. Slice the foods you want to dry. Keep the thickness between 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch. If your food is extremely moist, you can pat it dry with paper towels to help the drying process.

·         3. Plug in the power cord. Turn on the unit at the base and preheat the dehydrator for 5 to 10 minutes before loading the trays with food.

·         4. Place your sliced food onto the trays in a single layer.

·         5. Allow the food to dry; to check to see if it is dry, remove a few pieces and cut into the middle. The outsides should be slightly crisp and the insides should be leathery but dried. Drying times vary from four to 18 hours, depending on slice thickness, the type of food and how many trays you use.

·         6. Turn off and unplug the dehydrator when the food has dried. Store food in plastic bags or storage containers and refrigerate.

 

 Thanks for visiting,