How to Dehydrate Jalapeño Peppers

I got a dehydrator for Christmas last year and it's basically been running non-stop all summer long. I've dehydrated most of my tomatoes this year because it's so much easier than canning and takes up way less space.

Anyways, I found Jalapeños on sale at Aldi for .99/lb so I bought 5 pounds which ended up filling my dehydrator to the brim.

The process of dehydrating is simple: put just enough heat and air on the food that it won't cook, but will remove the moisture. Since dehydrated food isn't cooked it retains most of the nutrients.

Dehydrated vegetables should be hard and crunchy whereas fruit should be leathery. Anyways, here we go!

How to Dehydrate Jalapeño Peppers

You will need:

Peppers

Cutting Board 

Knife

Strainer

Gloves

Dehydrator

1. Put on gloves 

(trust me you don't want to handle this many peppers without

 them unless you enjoy being in pain)

2. Rinse and dry peppers

3. Remove stem end and slice pepper in half lengthwise

4. Remove seeds and pith 

(you can leave this part in if you like things to be spicy)

5. Arrange on clean dehydrator trays

6. Set dehydrator on fruit & veggie setting (135-145 F)

7. Let dehydrator run until peppers are hard and crunchy

(My dehydrator took 48 hours but I think something is wrong with it because most instructions say it should only take 8-12 hrs??)

8. Store dehydrated peppers in an airtight container. I use a mason jar. You can also store in the freezer. If you see any condensation in your storage container your peppers are not dehydrated enough therefore will not store safely. 

My five pounds of fresh peppers fit into one quart mason jar once dehydrated. At this point you could grind them into a powder, but I plan on using them chopped in recipes. 

To rehydrate cover with water (hot will work faster) until soft.

What's your experience with dehydrating food? 

Do you have any tips? I'd love to know!

Be sure and follow my Canning & Preserving board on Pinterest for similar recipes!

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