To dry a habanero pepper, chop it into thin slices and place evenly on a dehydrator tray. Dry the pepper for 10-12 hours at 125°F. Once they are dry to the touch, store them safely in an airtight container in a cool and dry place.
Habanero peppers are a delicious, incredibly spicy variety of capsicum. These delicious little peppers are great ingredients for spicing up soups, stews, and other recipes, and they work just as well when dried.
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What is the Difference Between Fresh and Dried Habanero Peppers?
Dried and fresh habanero peppers have the same heat level. According to the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) measurements, habanero chile peppers have a heat of between 100,000 and 350,000 SHU – in other words, they are incredibly spicy!
Dry and fresh peppers score the same on the Scoville scale; however, dried habanero chiles often seem hotter. This is because there is less capsicum body to counteract the heat of the chili pepper, giving a hotter taste.
How to Dry Habanero Peppers
Making dried habanero peppers is easy and rewarding! Get ready to create dehydrated habanero chilis with these 4 steps!
- First, rinse and dry the peppers. Safety disclaimer: habaneros are hot peppers, and by that, I mean really hot. When handling habaneros or red peppers of any kind, ensure you wear gloves, and – even more importantly – keep your hands away from your eyes!
- Once your peppers are washed and dried, cut them into slices roughly 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. It is possible to dry whole peppers, but it takes considerably longer.
- Spread the sliced peppers across your dehydrator tray and leave them at 125°F for 10-12 hours. To check if your slices are dry enough, try dropping them on the table – if they make a click sound, they are ready!
- Store them in an airtight container, and place them in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use them!
How to Make Habanero Powder
Habanero powder condenses the heat of the peppers even further than drying them, creating an incredibly potent and delicious spice.
To make habanero powder, simply take your dehydrated peppers and place them in a coffee grinder or spice grinder. Pulse them until you have a fine consistency, similar to chili powder. Alternatively, you can grind them less to create pepper flakes.
The heat and flavor of habanero peppers tends to linger, so thoroughly wash your grinder after use!
How Do You Use Dried Habanero Peppers?
Habanero Hot Sauce
Who doesn’t love a delicious hot sauce? Dried peppers are great for this easy recipe that can be used to spice up scrambled eggs, salads, or simply toss them into a soup or stew to bring variety to an old recipe.
Habanero Jam
Habanero jam is an incredible and rarely-seen accompaniment to cheese boards, charcuterie, sandwiches, and fish. If you want to bring flavor to the party, Habanero jam is a great addition!
Margaritas
Consider adding dried habanero peppers to your margaritas for a fruity, spicy Mexican treat you won’t find at Chipotle!
How Spicy is a Dried Habanero Pepper?
Habanero peppers, dried and fresh, score at about 100,000 to 350,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units) on the Scoville Scale.
This makes them roughly the same spice as a scotch bonnet pepper and about one hundred times spicier than a jalapeno! Habaneros are less spicy than specimens like the ghost pepper (one million SHU) and the Carolina reaper (1.4-2.2 million SHU), however.
What Does a Dried Habanero Pepper Taste Like?
Dried habaneros retain the unique flavor profile of the fresh version. Unlike many hot peppers, habaneros have a tropical flavor with fruity, floral notes.
What is the Shelf-Life of Dried Habanero Peppers?
Dehydrated peppers of all times have an extremely long shelf life. If you store dried habaneros properly (in an airtight container or vacuum-sealed container) they will last for several years.
How Long Does it Take to Dry Habanero Peppers?
It takes roughly 10-12 hours to dry cut-up peppers, including prep time. If drying whole peppers, it can take between 24 and 48 hours to get them right.
What are the Nutritional Benefits of Dried Habanero Peppers?
Habanero peppers have an incredible array of nutritional benefits for your body, and include capsaicin and capsaicinoid anti-oxidants. These have been linked with lowering blood pressure, reducing insulin dependency, improving pancreatic activity, and preventing blood sugar spikes.
Dried Habaneros also contain a high amount of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, potassium, folic acid, and calcium, all of which help the body to function optimally.
Is it Easy to Rehydrate Dried Habanero Peppers?
Dehydrating dried habanero peppers is easy. Simply place them in a bowl of lukewarm water, and pop a plate on top to ensure they stay submerged. Leave them for fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the size of the pepper, and voila!