I was having a discussion with someone who asked how I could find things to write about. I said a trip to the grocery store was worth at least an article or two. Since I am the Alphageek, and I know how to count, I want to point out that this is the third article on my trip to Global Mart. I am willing to let you decide if I can find interesting things to write about, but I love this detail stuff that you can only find here on my site.
In an
earlier post, I mentioned that I purchased hot peppers while at the Global Mart in Woodbridge, Virginia. These peppers had a label on them that said "pinger peppers". I made some peppers and onions to go with some sausages that we made. We found the peppers were some of the more flavorful ones that we have had lately. I decided that I wanted to preserve the peppers. I was going to just toss them into the freezer, but I realized I already have a lot of frozen hot peppers of all sorts in there. I then thought about just drying the peppers, but I already have a lot of dried peppers, and one can get a large variety of dried peppers at just about any grocery store.
That is why I decided to try something new. I would dry the peppers, and then grind them up into a powder. Grinding up hot peppers offers one distinct advantage: the heat becomes much more consistent and predictable when used in cooking.
The process starts easily enough. Simply start with some sort of peppers, preferably ones that have superior taste and flavor. The pinger peppers below fit the bill nicely.
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| Pinger Peppers (click to enlarge) |
I simply cleaned the peppers with a quick wash, and placed them into the food dehydrator that we have, because I am the Alphageek. I like to spread them around, so that the air has plenty of room to circulate.
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| Pinger Peppers in the dehydrator (click to enlarge) |
After many hours, I finally had some dried peppers. I think they looked great as is, and many people stop with the step below.
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| Dried Pinger Peppers (click to enlarge) |
Finally, I ground the pinger peppers using the one of those Magic Bullets that you see on tv. I like it because I can shove all of the pinger peppers right in there, and grind them into a fine powder, seeds and all. I did pull of the green tops, but that was about all. You can see the final results below.
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| Ground Pinger Pepper (click to enlarge) |
Well, there you have it. Yet another article on one trip to the grocery store. The pinger peppers make a great addition to anything I have tried them in so far, and I highly recommend them.
