So as a gardener, part of the joy of gardening is sharing the harvest. And no, I’m not referring to only that harvest that is “coming out of your ears” because you grew too much of it (though someone has to eat it, so you might as well dole out the goodies!). I’m talking the “shop talk” kind of sharing where one gardener shares their seeds with another. You know, to spread the sustainable wealth, so to speak. I have one such friend who shared his hot peppers with me.
Diablo Hot Peppers
He calls them Diablo hot peppers, but a quick search of the internet will reveal several types of hot peppers that fit the “Diablo” profile. Red and hot. Scorching hot. I’m talking 1,500,000 Scoville Heat Units hot. At least to me. I can hardly eat them. Even my husband, who favors hot peppers, can barely eat them, they’re so hot. But rather than Diablo, I think these are Carolina Reapers, though all I care about is the heat. Or too much of it.
But what’s a gardener to do when presented with such a dilemma? Abandon growing the little red beauties? When they’re so EASY to grow? Sure, I always advise people to “grow what they’ll eat” when planning a new vegetable garden. Otherwise, as stated above, you’ll end up feeding the neighborhood. Which isn’t a bad thing. But what about when what you grow in excess is too hot to share?
Ground it up to a tolerable level for consumption! Yep. It’s the easy solution for the easy-to-grow fruit. Besides, hot pepper seasoning makes a great flavoring for pizza and pasta, and a dozen peppers will go a long way when it comes to serving them in grounded form. How does one make their own pepper seasoning?
Step-by-Step Instructions
It’s easier than you think. Simply preheat your oven to 200°F and lay your peppers out on a baking sheet. I like the perforated type for better air flow and more even drying. No need to slice your peppers ahead of time. Just place them in whole, stem and all, then watch them dry out over the next few hours.
When you see they’ve become dry and crispy, remove them from the oven. Next, don your gloves and crumble the crispy-dried gems over a bowl or jar, discarding the stems to the compost bin. CAUTION: Please wear gloves for this process. Capsaicin will burn your skin and remain with you for hours. Also, avoid inhaling the peppers directly. The aroma will burn your lungs–or at least feel like it’s burning them! Seriously. Take precautions when handling extremely hot peppers. My kids have problems with jalapenos, let alone reapers!
You can crumble your peppers into flake form, or use a mortar and pestle to ground them into a fine powder, similar to a cayenne spice. Next, store them in a cool dry place. I like to reuse old spice jars that I’ve purchased from the store relabeling them for my new ingredient. Or you can purchase jars for this purpose.
That’s it. You now have your very own hot pepper seasoning!
Oven-dry Tomatoes and Herbs
This process works the same for tomatoes and herbs, too. Check out my previous post on Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Awesome!
Is the temperature mentioned in Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit