by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Summer was glorious. We have had bumper crops of cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, and, one of our favourite crops, peppers! Now that it’s late September (and evidently so), it’s important to consider ways to preserve such bounty, whether that be filling up the freezer, jarring jams, making pestos, fermenting pickles, or drying.

If you have pepper plants, you may not know what to do with your crop. A little goes a long way with peppers in the culinary department, after all. If you don’t grow peppers, we suggest that you get a bunch of peppers from the farmer’s market to preserve and have local pepper hotness over the winter months. If you’re not pickling your hot peppers, or want to try a couple of different preservation methods, consider drying them. If you don’t have a dehydrator, don’t fret! You can sun dry them or even dry them in the oven. Find out how after the jump…

First, a couple of pre-drying tips: Wash and dry peppers before drying them with any of these methods. Discard any peppers that are damaged or soft. Instead of hanging peppers to air dry, it’s cool to also leave them in a dish by a sunny window. Turn them frequently to provide even drying and air circulation.

Air or Sun Dry:

Air drying is a great method, as the peppers retain their colour and spiciness. The seeds stay intact this way, too.

1. Leave peppers whole, with stems attached.

2. Use a long, sharp needle and strong thread to string together by the stems, with enough room between each pepper for air to circulate – you can hang horizontally or vertically.

3. Air dry, in a warm, dry place and preferably in direct sunlight.

4. Peppers may take a few weeks to dry completely.

5. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Oven-Dry:

1. Cut peppers length-wise in half. Keep seeds in if you want ‘em, or remove. Put them on a baking sheet.

2. Put the peppers in the oven and heat to 100 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the oven door open a bit to provide air circulation.

3. Turn the peppers frequently to provide even drying.

4. Allow the peppers to dry well, with no discernible moisture left over. Time varies depending on pepper variety and size – Thai chilies will take less time than a larger type like Hungarian Hot Wax, so if you can, dry them separately for even drying.

5. Store the same way as per air-drying method.

PS. You can soak them to re-hydrate if you want to use in soups and sauces. Dry some peppers for your vitamin C intake over the cold months.

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