These crushed red peppers are so easy to make and taste much better than store-bought.
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| Photo credit: Crate and Barrel |
Spicy food is my jam. My sister, Deedee, also likes her food on the spicy side. Last summer while visiting my sister, she introduced me to her home-grown, homemade crushed red peppers. It was then I realized I needed these in my life. Homemade crushed red peppers are brighter in color and are fresh tasting. There is definitely a difference!
Beyond their use as a flavoring, crushed red pepper has health benefits as well. They can boost metabolism, decrease hunger and decrease pain.
We typically link red pepper flakes with pizza, but in other parts of the world, they are used to provide nice spice to a variety of cuisines and are used frequently in many African, Chinese and Mexican dishes. You can also use the flakes to add zest to chili, chowders, salads, sandwiches, soups, spaghetti sauce, stir-fries or vegetables.
Deedee grew the red peppers, dried and crushed them.
And, she convinced me to grow my own!
Looking forward to making my own, I started to plan my garden.
My 2019 summer garden included chili peppers. We have raised beds and I planted an entire raised bed of just peppers. Green peppers, red peppers, jalapenos.
The steps are simple, once the peppers turn red you can have jars full of crushed red peppers in a snap. Here’s my process.
When the peppers turned from green to red, I started picking them.
I picked two different times a few weeks apart.
After picking the red peppers, remove the stems.
Next, lay the peppers on a foil-lined, cookie sheet.
Set your oven to 160 degrees.
My oven doesn’t go lower than 170 degrees and it worked great.
The peppers will dry out in about 8-10 hours.
Once your peppers are dry, throw them in a food chopper or food processor.
Or you can use a coffee grinder – which is fast and easy.
(Note: I do NOT grind coffee beans in this grinder)
Continue chopping until all are chopped.
Store in your pantry in a tightly covered container.
My favorite jar is this one from Crate and Barrel. It reminds me of an old-fashioned milk jar.
It has a tight-sealing lid to keep the crushed red peppers fresh,
and it’s attractive enough to keep on your table.
You’ll want to pick up a few of these to fill so you can give these crushed red peppers as gifts!
We like to sprinkle the crushed red peppers on pizza, pasta, soup
