I generally dry at low heat (e.g.: 110°F) until brittle. Some peppers remain a bit flexible, even when totally dry. If stored frozen, flexible is ok for most types. But, if flexible means moisture is present, the dried pods aren’t completely dry and can grow mold at room temperature. That’s why I shoot for brittle. I also vacuum-seal the mason jars with oxygen absorbers, for extra long-term storage without loss of quality.
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Overwintered pepper plants June 5th; Aji Amarillo on the right in front and rear . I hope I get some peppers from it! I didn’t start new plants. Fresno on the left, second from the front (Scotch Bonnet) was already making peppers last week .
FYI- One of the Sugar Rush Peach plants I planted a year or two back is alive and fruiting. We’ve had a run of really hot weather this summer, mostly over 100, it was 114 last week, and dry- talking a lot of single-digit humidity. The one that survived was in a pot with moisture control potting soil, but of course needed watering daily. So they can survive extreme weather if they’ve got a good lot of root structure, the only thing is that they’re unbelievably hot. I’ve been drying and storing them, but neither of us can eat them, and we both have a lot of tolerance for capsaicin heat, especially my husband. I’m guessing that the weather has played a part in that.
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Sugar Rush Peach are typically very hot. However, you should be able to remove the white septa “veins”, which if done carefully, will lower the punch. Many Capsicum baccatum varieties concentrate their heat in the core and septa. If you make slices between the septa, they are often mild, with a little heat coming from the knife.
And yes, the hot weather likely increased the amount of capsaicinoids!
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