Give your meals a zingy kick of flavour.

If you love your food on the spicier side, drying jalapeno peppers is must! Dehydrating preserves the nutrients and colour, concentrates the flavour and if dried properly they store for months, even years.

One of the greatest things about dehydrating jalapeno is that you can turn them into powder. Flavoured finishing salts can be quite expensive to buy but making your own is simple, cost effective and a great way to add a burst of flavour to your cooking with very little work. All you need is dried jalapenos and a good quality salt. Remove the seeds for a mild, family friendly salt or keep them intact for a fiery version. 

If a dish is calling for jalapenos, simply add a few dried jalapenos or sprinkle with jalapeno salt instead.

If you're preparing a lot of peppers, wear gloves to avoid burning hands and be careful not to rub your eyes or breath in the powder! If possible, dehydrate your jalapenos outside, in the garage or near an open window to vent some of the fumes.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT HERE 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh jalapeno peppers
1 cup good quality salt

METHOD

1.   Choose fresh and firm jalapenos. Any dark spots or rotten peppers should be either discarded or cut away.
2.   If necessary, clean the jalapenos in cool water. Be sure to thoroughly dry them before slicing.
3.   Cut the stems off, then decide how you'd like them prepared.
4.   If you would like to leave the seeds in, cut into rounds (cross-section) exposing the white membrane and seeds. Note: when jalapenos are dried the seeds may fall off.

5.   If you want milder jalapeno, start by slicing the jalapenos in half, then remove the seeds. (wear disposable gloves).
6.   Chop into even slices. To improve the drying results, keep the size of your slices consistent.
7.   Arrange chopped jalapeno in a single layer on the Breeze Food Dehydrator trays lined with silicon mesh liners.

8.   Set the temperature to 60ºC / 140ºF for 8-10 hours. Pick over the jalapeno carefully, any that aren't completely brittle need to be dried longer, especially if you plan on turning the dried peppers into powder.
9.   Properly dehydrated jalapeno peppers will feel dry and brittle and will ‘click’ when dropped on a table.
10.  Store dried jalapeno in an airtight jar. See how to condition dehydrated foods here.

11.  To make jalapeno salt. Add ½ cup of dried jalapeno and 1 cup of good quality salt into the Vibe Blender jug. Blend on nut mode for approx. 30 seconds or until you have a fine powder consistency. Do not breath in the powder when you open the lid!  
12.  Transfer the salt to an airtight container for storage and add to a shaker as required.

If you make this, or any of our recipes, we would love to see your creations. Leave us a comment, or tag a photo using #luvelelife on Instagram.

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