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bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 12:36 pm Post subject: chillis
Well after a slow start it looks like I am going to be inundated by chillis. I ahve two Hungarian hot wax plants with approx 50 chillis on each So what do you chilli growers do with all of yours

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:10 pm Post subject:
I dry them and have been self sufficient in chillis for at least 3 years now.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:22 pm Post subject:
Find a recipe for some kind of chilli jam/chutney/preserve with onions, sugar, vinegar, maybe toms but not much else; use this for a quick base for chillis, curries, stir fries etc. But drying is very easy...maybe Tahir will do us an article on it

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:26 pm Post subject:
sorry to sound thick but where do you dry them and how long approx do they take

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:29 pm Post subject:
An article Yer avin a larf luv. All I do is get a thick(ish) needle and some thickish thread and string up my chillis and hang em up in an sunny window, takes about 4-5 weeks to dry completely. Hot Wax is quite big so I'd prick them all over with the needle to ensure that they don't go mouldy inside, most of my chillies are quite small varieties so they don't need that.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:33 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

An article

Yer avin a larf luv. All I do is get a thick(ish) needle and some thickish thread and string up my chillis and hang em up in an sunny window, takes about 4-5 weeks to dry completely. Hot Wax is quite big so I'd prick them all over with the needle to ensure that they don't go mouldy inside, most of my chillies are quite small varieties so they don't need that.

thanks Tahir - i would never have thought to prick them with a needle -

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:34 pm Post subject:

bernie wrote:

i would never have thought to prick them with a needle -

Learnt that through experience

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 1:50 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

An article

Yer avin a larf luv

What do you use the dried chillis in?

Do you grind or crush them for spices?

Do you just thread them all on in a row or do you knot inbetween to keep them separate?

Do you just keep them on the string or do you put them in a tub once they are dry (if so how do you know when they're dry enough!)

The ones that you just string up, didn't you say you thread them through the fruit, not through the stalk or calyx?

Which varieties do you grow that are so small they can just be threaded without pricking; any others you can think of need treating like HHW (not HWH...she doesn't want pricking all over with a needle).

Answer these questions (and I bet you have been asked others!) and do me a pic of the strung up chillis and *I'll* do you an article, dearie

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 2:24 pm Post subject:

Remove the calyx, not only does this ensures quicker drying, it's a lot harder to do when dry.

I thread my chillis quite close together through the fattest part as and when they're ready, sometimes just a couple a day, remember they don't have to be red to be ripe, as long as they're big and fat enough (i.e. look as though the seeds inside have formed) then they'll ripen in the sun.

Most of the varieties I grow are similar to the Thai or Indian "Cayenne" varieties, if you're growing larger fatter chillis then you really need to prick each chilli in a few places to make sure that they dry out without the insides going mouldy.

They're ready for storage once they're dry and crispy, they should be quite brittle if you snap one. If they don't get quite dry enough then spread them out on a tray and place on top of a radiator, near a fire or in an oven set on it's lowest temparature for however long it takes.

I use my chillis roughly ground, depending on how much time I've got on my hands I'll do this either in a pestle and mortar or a blender thingy, if you're using a blender then try and do it when there's noone else about and if possible near an open external window or door, they will make you cough REALLY badly and possibly sting your eyes too (depending on how hot they are)

You could obviously store them whole in jars but that takes up a lot more space.

Anyfink else???

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 3:12 pm Post subject:
Chilli chutney is very nice, coincidentally I posted a recipe for it earlier on the preserving forum

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 3:16 pm Post subject:
So is chilli achar which is made to the same method as Garlic Achar except you blanch and then thoroughly dry the chillies (on a tea towel in the sun is ideal): https://www.learningindustries.com/nrk/recipes/index.asp?rid=153

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 05 3:55 pm Post subject:
As an aside to sewing them up and drying them in the window or other warm place, I found this: https://www.solarengineering.co.za/Update%20-%20Dec%2012,03/solardriers_htm1.htm

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 05 9:45 am Post subject:
Chillis drying and pestle ground chillis, the ground chillis don't look very red that's because it was the last of last season's crop so didn't really go that red.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 05 9:52 am Post subject:

Worth doing just for decoration!

I was going to have a go at pickling them - basically like those lazy chillies you get in supermarkets - a couple of jars will probably do us, as I don't use that many, although judging by the state of my plants, I'm going to have to find a use for a lot more (or just decorate the house with them!)

I've got cayenne, cheyenne and a pepper of some kind - but none are ripe yet - how long should I give them, and is it worth bringing the plants into a porch to overwinter? They're in an open plastic growhouse - is there anything I should be doing to encorage them to ripen? - the fist of my tomatoes are only just starting to ripen though.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 05 9:56 am Post subject:

Pick one that you think looks mature even if it's totally green, if you're that kind of girl chomp into it, if it's good and hot it'll ripen quite nicely strung up like mine, most of the ones in that picture were picked green.

Mum's got a conservatory and she's gott some 3 year old chilli plants that are still producing so yes protrection will help, and over wintered plants can start bearing in April given enough warmth and light.

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