If I could only choose one spice (other than salt), it would be pepper flakes. We love them sprinkled into + onto most everything savory. From avocado toast to soups to grain bowls...we like them all a bit spicy. So last summer, after growing peppers for years + eating them all fresh, I was scared/inspired into trying to make pepper flakes out of some very spicy peppers that burned my hands when I cut them. :)
Those pepper flakes lasted all year + were so good! We are still using up the very last of them. So, of course, we're at it again with this year's spicy peppers. I've found the best way for me to dry the peppers is just to put them in the oven on low heat (I've been putting them in at about 270F) until they become brittle enough to crack. I check on them every hour or so + remove the dry ones from the pan. I'd rather hang dry them (to avoid the power used for the oven), but my attempts last year made me realize that it is just too humid here to avoid some going bad in the process. Oven drying lets me avoid losing any of my precious peppers!
Once all of the peppers are dried, I crush them with the bottom of a jar (to avoid getting stinging pepper hands) + put them into jars. (This step involves a little sneezing, no matter how hard I try to avoid it...but confirms that this is good stuff!) That's it + we have spicy, zero-waste goodness enough to last another year!
Love,
Jane
Love,
Jane
