How to dry chillies - three easy ways

Three easy effective ways to dry chillies, with special expert tips from Italy that will work everywhere. The tastiest chillies come from your own garden!
Your own home-dried chillies taste so much better than any chilli you buy in the shops! If you grow chillies at home, you'll have a bumper harvest in September and October. Or you may find bargains in the farmers market or supermarket. Either way, drying your own chillies is easy, and will give you chillies you can use until the next crop is ready. And if you love growing vegetables, add chillies to your next planting plan.
I recently visited Southern Italy where drying chillies hang everywhere, inside and outside the houses. They look so beautiful!
So here are three easy ways to dry your chillies, brought to you from Italy.
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[@OfftoShambala]

When I’m looking for information on cactus, I end up on a UK channel... when I’m looking for info on ristras, I end up on a UK channel ... and I live in Arizona. Lol.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's the way the algorithm works!

[@monmohinikaur7958]

Many, many thanks Madam.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Great advice, thank you.

[@tictaktotiki]

they look so cute hanging on the string, i am going to try this method. thank you for lovely video.

[@MaybeDefinitelyAL]

Thank you so much for this video! By far the best, to-the-point and easy to understand video I've found online for drying chillies.. Going to be trying the string drying method now with my thai green chillie peppers!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vickyadams6265]

I'm planning on making my own schezwan sauce however in every single recipe it's told me I need dried chillis. Unfortunately I could only find fresh ones at the supermarket so this videos was super helpful to me as I now know I can pop them in the oven for a good few hours! Thank you!!

[@aaronnuffer4220]

Thank you so much for the video, will be hanging my Chile’s up tomorrow here in Michigan!

[@daisyfrost5347]

This video was lovely. Thank you, it was very helpful.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@eternal8364]

This was an amazingly crafted video I’m certainly going to try this now as I’m hoping for a bumper chilli harvest

[@IAmRickMagic]

great info thanks!

[@ravenology3551]

Thank you Mom!

[@bradrolling8637]

No pussiefooting around with the information needed to dry your chilies 3 different ways, easily and simple. Thank you, from a Alabama southern gentleman . I have 1 ristra hanging 20 minutes after watching your video! Thnx again!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you

[@mmc9828]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@offgridhomesteadingmcgarve1494]

Thank you for the tips I’m going to try one. Have a wonderful day..!!

[@tonialexo1051]

Thank you!! I found the the stringing to be the best method for me

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it helped!

[@AmandaReid0000]

Excellent video - has everything I need to know. Thank you so much.

[@scottn1019]

Very informative and concise . Well done

[@kavitababla1814]

Really cool!

[@qjarman7753]

Very interesting and useful thanks!

[@charanjitkaur6701]

good

[@EnYulie]

Thnk u

[@kennysherlock6534]

Thank you that was very helpful , all the best for 2020

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

And Happy New Year to you.

[@timothygill3698]

Thanks for sharing! Very simple and practical. Plus I like your grapevine shade cover :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you like it!

[@maghaggis2051]

Thank you that video is really simple to follow. This is my first year of trying so I am going to oven dry as the UK weather is too unpredictable at this time 🙄

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Mashkoor110]

thank you. it has been a great help.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it helped!

[@TheSeanachain]

Lovely, great advice.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@11111phil11111]

Great video. Thanks for the advice and I absolutely adore your voice.

[@andielliott7721]

Just what I needed to know today! Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nigelcadiz8635]

Tx. Lovely video and easy listening voice. Down here in Cadiz, Spain, no lack of sun so I'll try drying on a pizza tray.

[@madzen112]

Definitely helpful 🙂👍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@icyhotonmynuts]

Thanks. Just what I was looking for

[@siaspra9479]

very nice to the point. i will use the owen method since i live in sweden :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@JNDS.Creates]

I’m glad I found this! Now I know what to do with my 30 pepper plants

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

They should keep you going for a year!

[@LaviniaTNMan]

I am in that Tennessee weather

[@Itsdelaraw]

I’m a Mexican listening to a British woman on how to dry chili’s lol crazy

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's a crazy 🌎!

[@jtorres5381]

What types of peppers were these?

[@Southern-AT]

In Wisconsin USA, the growing season is near the end. I have literally thousands of green chillies (Thai Hot & Cayenne) that I don't think will turn red before the first freeze. Can I dry these and use them the same as if they had ripened to red? I generally have only dried red ripe hot peppers in the past. But in your video, it seems there is a mix of color. Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, you can dry any colour. If they haven't ripened enough, they probably won't be so hot, but that may not matter.

[@davidbrough2822]

We have 4m x 3m wooden gazebo. Would they dry if hung from the centre?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes they should do if there is a good flow of air. If any do start to rot, cut them off immediately to stop the rot spreading.

[@jeidelbergin]

In Spain it's also called ristra we do it with tomatoes too

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

sounds fab!

[@Ben-ky3yo]

Very informative. I only have 25 chillies so far but they are extremely hot so I only need about 2 per week. I will be trying the string method to dry them out in order to store them for later use. Is there any benefit to waiting until they turn red, or ripening them on the window sill? I heard green chillies are hotter; is that a specific variety or do they lose heat as they ripen? It would seem counterintuitive but I have no idea.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I think the heat is about which kind of chilli you have. They would probably ripen on the windowsill, if they needed to, then dry. Sorry that's a bit vague, but I hope it helps.

[@Ben-ky3yo]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden It helped a lot, thank you. I am now drying them on the windowsill.

[@catey62]

It can vary. I'm growing some 'firecracker' chiles, and they're only about 2-3 cm long at the most, but they have quite a bite to them, even hotter than the 'Cayenne' chiles which are fairly long that I also have. some will be mild while theyre green, and get hotter as they mature and turn red...others, like my firecracker ones, are hot even when they're only small and still green. thats what makes it fun to grow them and experiment with different varieties.

[@catey62]

How long would they keep using one of these methods? I'm guessing at least a year perhaps? thank you for an informative little video. 🙂 sundrying them would be good for me as living in Australia our summers can get very hot, (40+ celcius ), so it wouldnt take long.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I've kept the chillies I dried for this video for around a year. I think you could probably keep them longer, though they might not be as powerful

[@catey62]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thank you for that. 🙂

[@lookingglassmimzy]

My super red chili peppers are drying on the plant, brought in in for the winter. Are they still safe to use?? They are not red but mostly orange. Thanks

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

They should be fine. If they're drying they should be edible, just don't eat anything that looks or smells rotten, and if you're in any doubt, ask someone who can look at them, as it's difficult to tell unless you have them in front of you.

[@lookingglassmimzy]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thank you for replying to my questions, it was very helpful. Your video was very informative plus you have such a lovely voice. Have a fantastic day. Thanks for sharing your gardening experience.

[@sonalnagavade2167]

When we took out green chillies n started to dry , some chillies turned in white, why is it so please tell, whether we r doing in a right way ...

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I'm really sorry, I don't think I know why. Is it possible that it was mould, in which case maybe the air was too damp?

[@MsKala88]

My chili peppers havent turned red yet. I had to harvest them to overwinter the pepper plant. What should i do before they turn red so that i can then dry them...or does it matter that they are still green?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Many chili peppers never turn red. Some are naturally green, and others are yellow. So it's likely that your chili peppers are not going to go red. Dry them in the normal way and see what you think.

[@joshlockie9285]

Does nobody use a dehydrator?

[@kevinsmith6oh6]

I once tried the thread method with fresh chocolate bhutlah and they all molded =(

[@avaxboba]

the other way boil before drying in the sun. if you boil chilli before drying in the sun it will dry very soon and it will last long last

[@mesterpikken]

Is that you, Hyacinth?

[@Turritopsis-dohrnii]

I leave them in the fridge and they dry quickly

[@LaviniaTNMan]

Would my chili peppers dry simply sitting in a bowl in the sun

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

They will dry sitting in the sun, but they shouldn't be touching. So lie them flat, separate, on a windowsill. They are touching a bit when hanging, but there is air circulation around them and you won't have that in a bowl. If they're are in a pile or a bowl, they may be too damp where they touch and they could rot rather than dry.

[@rickylafleur9601]

I want to go to your house and then talk to you about the third amendment. (The quartering act).