CHILLI FLAKES – SPRINKLES
Creating Pepper Flakes
Heat the oven to 170 degrees or a low setting. Although the easiest way is to dry the peppers in the oven, you could also sun dry them, especially if you live in an arid climate.
Using a knife, carefully cut the pepper stems off. Then, slice peppers by simply splitting the peppers in half. Don’t remove the seeds.
Line non-greased cookie sheets with peppers. Line peppers side by side and avoid clumping peppers together (otherwise they won’t dry properly).
Bake in oven for approximately six hours. To be sure you give them enough time to dry, set a timer. Once six hours have passed by, turn off the oven and allow the dried peppers to remain in the oven overnight so they will continue to dry and dehydrate.
The next day, place the dried peppers in a food processor or crush them by hand. Only crush peppers by hand if you are wearing gloves and are crushing the peppers while they are inside a plastic bag. Otherwise, stick with the food processor.
Once the dried peppers have been thoroughly crushed, carefully pour them in an airtight container. Serve the crushed peppers.[2]
Tips
Add a label to the bottle to identify the peppers.
Open windows or try to increase ventilation as the peppers cook.
Warnings
Never touch your face or eyes when working with peppers, as residual pepper juice can cause extreme pain upon contact.
Red peppers.
Cookie sheet(s).
A coarse grinder such as a food processor, blender or spice grinder. The more finely you grind your peppers, the hotter/more powerful the flavor.
Things You’ll Need
Red peppers.
Cookie sheet(s).
A coarse grinder such as a food processor, blender or spice grinder. The more finely you grind your peppers, the hotter/more powerful the flavor.
Photo: Carrie Segar Malan
