Cayenne peppers and jalapeno peppers. When do I harvest them?

Question

I also would like to know what is the best method to dry them to be crushed or ground for cooking.

Answer 1

They can be harvested at any size desired.
Hot peppers are usually harvested at the red-ripe stage; but "green chiles," the immature fruits, are also required for some recipes.
Here's a guide:
Cayenne, large thick (70 days to harvest)
Cayenne, long, slim (73 days)
Jalapeno (70 days)
Red Chili (84 days)

To dry chiles, individual fruits can be picked and strung in a "ristras" or entire plants can be pulled in the fall before frost and hung in an outbuilding or basement to dry.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/peppers1.html

Let the cayenne dry as much as they will on the plant. To prevent mold: After harvest, remove them from the plant by cutting them so that a short portion of stem remains on the fruit. Dip the peppers into a bath of 1 part Chlorox and 9 parts of water. Lay the peppers so they don't touch each other. Dry for 3 to 4 weeks inspecting and discarding any that start to spoil.

The oldest & most popular way to dry cayenne peppers in chile producing countries is to tie them to a chile string, called the "ristra" & hang them up to dry. Pick the pods when the color has developed fully. Dry in a location where the air circulates freely. If hung inside a home in a damp climate, there is a good chance that some of the chiles will rot, so it's best to dry outside.

The smaller chile varieties can be used to create wreaths and other shapes & can be used as decorations.
Here's a look at the decorative way it's done:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/drying.asp

BTW...Jalapeños and several other chiles simply will not air dry, & the only ways to dry some of these thick fleshed chiles, is to use a food dehydrator. Simply place them in a single layer on the racks and follow the instructions for your model. Cutting the thick fleshed chiles in half, or into several pieces helps to speed up the process.
Here's chile pepper Q & A:
http://www.apinchof.com/chilesqanda.htm

Good luck & get creative while you string them up;) After your peppers dry, you can use a $10 electric coffee bean grinder to make the chili powder. Hope this helped.

Answer 2

Cayennes when they turn red.
Jalapeno when they are dark green. Another way to tell with jalapenos is to twist them slightly, if they come off the plant easily they are ready. If not give it another day or two and try again. Since this is the first week of Sept. both kinds should be really close to being ripe.
Drying, if you have a dehydrator that is the easiest way, just pull the stems off first.
Cayennes can be strung together and hung up also. Jalapenos will air dry, just cut the stems off and poke a couple of holes in the side with a fork. They are very thick skinned so it will take a few weeks or longer depending on where you put them.
Once everything is dry just use a coffee grinder...works great and is really quick. I just bought a cheap one and made sure it was a different color than the one I use for grinding coffee.

Answer 3

What I have done is just lay them out in a single layer on paper,in a dry not humid area.An extra bedroom or whatever works for you. When dry,store in jars or zip loc bags.Besure they are completely dry before storing.When dry you may also grind them whole in a coffee grinder to make powder. Have fun.... and make some Jalapeno pepper jelly.It's so nice at Christmas. Spread cream cheese on a Ritz cracker then top with a little hot jelly.Red or Green and both look equally nice on an appetizer try.

Answer 4

As long as are mature looking pick them.I hung mine upside down from the roots in a dry spot.I picked one as I needed it.