Drying Thai Chillies on a String
thai chilies are the best
A rope strung across a shelf and the whole crop hanging off it, drying from green to deep red over a couple of weeks. It costs nothing, it needs no equipment, and it turns a glut you cannot use into a year's supply.
A Thai chilli is small and thin-walled, which is why this works at all. Anything fleshy — a jalapeño, a bell pepper — will rot on a string before it dries; those need a dehydrator or an oven. Thin-skinned chillies dry faster than mould can get started.
Upside down, stems up, because the stem is the thickest part and it dries last. Hung the other way, moisture runs down into the pod.
- Makes
- A year's supply
- Hands-on
- 20 minutes
- Drying
- 2–4 weeks
- Only for
- Thin-walled chillies
What you need
What you need
- Thai chillies, picked with 2 inches of stem left on (from my garden)
- Cotton string or garden twine
- A dry airy spot out of direct sun
- Airtight jars, for afterwards
How it goes
1 — Pick them with the stems on
Two inches of stem each. It is what you tie, and it keeps the pod sealed while it dries so nothing gets in at the seeds.
2 — Only pick perfect ones
Any chilli with a soft spot, a split or a bruise will mould on the string and the mould will spread to its neighbours. Those get used fresh this week.
3 — Do not wash them
If they are dusty, wipe them with a dry cloth. Water on the skin is the one thing that turns a drying chilli into a rotting one, and they take days to lose it.
4 — Tie them in small bunches, stems up
Four or five per bunch, no more, tied at the stems and hung upside down. Big bunches trap humidity in the middle and that centre rots.
5 — Space them so air moves between them
A hand's width along the rope. Airflow is doing all the work here; chillies touching each other dry on one side only.
6 — Out of direct sun
Sunlight bleaches the colour and breaks down capsaicin, so the chillies end up pale and milder. A warm dry room with air moving is better than a windowsill.
pro tip — If the air is humid where you live, this will not work — run them through an oven at 150°F with the door propped open for six to eight hours instead.
7 — Done when they rattle and snap
Two to four weeks. A finished chilli is brittle, snaps rather than bends, and the seeds rattle when you shake it. Anything still leathery goes back on the rope.
8 — Jar them whole, crush as you need them
Whole chillies keep their oil far longer than crushed ones. Airtight, out of the light, a year easily. Crush a handful into flakes when a recipe wants them.
Thai chilies are the best. And a rope and two weeks costs nothing. LFG.