Turn fresh chili peppers into chili powder.
The heat of chili peppers adds spice to foods from meats and vegetables to desserts. A touch of chili brings out the flavor of chocolate in a cheesecake or ice cream. The intensity of the heat of chili pepper powder depends on the types of chili used to make it. Poblanos are mildly hot while habaneros are scorching.
Instructions
1. Select an assortment of peppers. Jalapenos are somewhat hot, serranos are rather hot, scotch bonnets and habaneros are screaming hot. Wash the peppers and remove any stickers if you've bought them at the grocery store. Cut off the stems as close to the pepper as possible.
2. Place the peppers in a dehydrator for eight to 12 hours until they are crisp and dry. If you don't have a dehydrator, put the peppers on cookie racks placed on cookie sheets. Turn on the oven to low (200 degrees Fahrenheit). Put the peppers in the oven overnight or until they are completely dry.
3. Put the dried peppers into a freezer-strength zipper lock plastic bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and close shut. Whack the peppers with a rolling pin to break them into small pieces.
4. Put the pieces into a coffee grinder you keep solely for this purpose. Grind the small pieces of the dried peppers into a powder. Store the powder in an airtight jar or zipper locked plastic bag.
Tags: chili peppers, peppers into, dried peppers, dried peppers into, fresh chili
