How to Make Chili Flakes
Chili flakes is the key ingredient in many spicy dishes. Though off-the-shelf chili flakes are readily available in the market, they can also be made at home with limited ingredients and time. Making your own chili flakes at home will give you the opportunity to experiment with different types of chili peppers, as each type has its own particular flavor. You may consider growing chili peppers in your home garden, or buy some from the grocery store. Homemade chili flakes retain their smell, taste and flavor for longer than store-bought flakes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Gloves
- Chili peppers
- Knife
- Dehydrator or oven
- Food processor
- Airtight container
Instructions
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1
Wear gloves to avoid getting chili flakes on the hand or anywhere else you may touch.
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2
Wash the peppers and pat them dry.
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3
Split the peppers along their length and cut their stems. De-seed chili peppers and remove internal membranes.
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4
Dry the chili peppers by warming them in a dehydrator or roasting them in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees F for about six hours. Alternatively, on a warm, sunny day, place them on a tray in direct sunlight.
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5
Allow the peppers to cool down before grinding them in a food processor. Start by grinding just a little to see the flake size. In fact, the less you grind, the more flaky the output will be, and the more you grind, the more powdered they will be.
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Tips & Warnings
Once dried, chili peppers will turn deep red and will lose all moisture.
Chili flakes can be stored in an airtight container for months.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Martin Poole/Digital Vision/Getty Images
