Homemade mixed pepper flakes/Photo byGin Lee

Homemade mixed pepper flakes

Today, I am dehydrating a mix of different colored bell peppers to create mixed pepper flakes for seasoning. To prepare this seasoning mix you can use any type of peppers that you have on hand. However, if you prefer spicy red pepper flakes, use mostly cayenne peppers. Bell, chili, habanero, jalapeño, serrano, and Thai peppers are some of the other peppers that can be used to create homemade pepper flakes. Mixed pepper flakes can be used in various ways, in many recipes, sprinkled on pizzas, tacos, and salads to add an additional peppy flavor.

To dehydrate peppers, there's no need to blanch them first. Just wash them well, cut off the stems, de-seed them, and slice them into thin strips.

If you want flavor, but don't want the heat, use bell peppers only. For mild heat, use jalapeño peppers mixed with bell peppers. To make spicier pepper flakes use cayenne, or opt for a mixture of chili, habanero, jalapeño, serrano, and Thai peppers.

And if you'd like to prepare an all green pepper flake mix, there are seven different types of green chiles that you can use together: anaheim, chilaca, jalapeño, habanero, hatch, poblano, and serrano.

Today, I am using a mixture of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers because that's what I have on hand.

Ingredients:

• Mixed peppers, any type will do (The amount depends on how many peppers you have. I am using 5 bell peppers in total today.)

Instructions:

First, wash and slice each pepper. Take the seeds out and save them for planting.

Slicing bell peppers into strips/Photo byGin Lee

Now, slice the peppers in half and then into thin strips.

Place your prepared peppers onto your dehydrating trays, leaving space in between each strip.

Dehydrating the peppers/Photo byGin Lee

Set your dehydrator temperature to 130 degrees F. Dehydrating times may vary. I usually allow about twelve hours to dehydrate mine.

Your dehydrated peppers should be completely dry and brittle-like when they are done. The pepper strips should not bend once they're cool. If they do bend, dehydrate them longer.

Dehydrated bell pepper strips/Photo byGin Lee

Once your peppers are done, transfer them to a grinder, food processor, or blender and grind them into flakes. Pulse the machine several times to get them to the preferred size.

Transfer your pepper flakes to airtight containers such as jars, spice containers, or Ziploc bags.

Note:

Measuring the dried peppers after chopping them coarsely/Photo byGin Lee

The five bell peppers I used today were what I consider as being large. They weighed over a pound and a half. I coarsely chopped mine after the strips dehydrated and I ended up with about three fourths of a cup of dehydrated peppers.