How to dry Tianzhu chili peppers? Remember these key points

Tianzhu chili peppers are grown on a fairly large area in our province. Throughout the entire production process, field management cannot be neglected, and likewise, scientific drying is also a very important step. Right now, Tianzhu chili peppers are about to be harvested. Below is a brief introduction to the drying methods, for the reference of the vast number of pepper growers.

Timely harvesting requires that the fruits all turn deep red before harvesting. In North China, harvesting generally takes place from Cold Dew to Frost's Descent. If grown in small arched sheds or with plastic film mulching, harvesting can be done appropriately earlier; if planted later, the harvest period can be slightly postponed, but harvesting must be completed before Frost's Descent arrives. Otherwise, after being hit by frost, dried chili products will have uneven coloring, reducing product quality. For harvesting Tianzhu chili peppers, either pulling up the whole plant or cutting the plant can be used. After harvesting, the pepper plants should be laid flat in the field to dry for 3-4 days. If rain occurs during the drying process, they must be dried again for 1-2 days before transport.

Whole-plant drying. Whole-plant drying means drying the pepper plants together with the peppers, reducing the moisture content of the peppers from about 50% at harvest to 18%-20%. During the drying process, they must not become moldy, deteriorate, fade, or break. The advantages of whole-plant drying are: the pepper fruits remain connected to the plant's stems, branches, and pepper stalks, and the pepper stems, branches, and stalks do not have the cuticle membrane on the surface of the pepper fruits, so the moisture in the pepper fruits can be released through the vascular tissue to the pepper plant, thereby speeding up the dehydration rate of the pepper fruits; in addition, it can also avoid the harm of heat generated by respiration being difficult to dissipate when pepper fruits are directly piled up for drying, which leads to mold and blackening of the pepper fruits. The specific drying method can use the hanging-plant drying method, that is, using houses and courtyard walls, firmly tying iron wire or rope, or stretching iron wire or rope between large trees and wooden posts. Tie the peppers in bundles of about 10 plants each at the base with rope, and drape them over the iron wire or rope to dry. The drying spot should be chosen far from highways to avoid pollution from dust and exhaust gas. Generally, drying for 15-25 days is enough. When shaking the pepper plant by hand, if you can hear the sound of pepper seeds hitting the pepper wall, whole-plant drying should be ended, and the peppers should be picked promptly according to the buyer's requirements, entering the pepper-fruit drying stage.

Drying the pepper fruits. Place the picked pepper fruits promptly on reed mats, tarpaulins, or non-toxic plastic film to dry. The thickness of the spread peppers should not exceed 10 cm. During drying, use a wooden stick to stir them 4-5 times a day (once every 2 hours). In the evening, pile them up and cover them with plastic sheeting to prevent dew. Drying this way for 5-7 days can meet the requirements. When the moisture content of the dried fruits drops to 12%, stop drying immediately; otherwise, if too dry, they will break during packaging, weighing, loading, and transportation, affecting their commercial value.

Sorting fruits by grade. When picking peppers and drying pepper fruits, peppers should be picked and dried according to product specifications and quality classifications. At the time of sale, a final careful grading and selection should also be carried out, so as to achieve high quality at a high price and improve returns.