Drying Wangtian peppers takes some know-how: master the right method to sun-dry good dried chilies

I. Harvest at the right time. Criteria for harvesting the fruit. The fruit must all turn deep red. In North China, harvesting is generally done from Cold Dew to Frost's Descent. If grown in small arch sheds or with plastic film mulching, harvesting can be done somewhat earlier; if planted late, the harvest period can be slightly postponed, but it must be completed before Frost's Descent arrives. Otherwise, after frost damage, the dried chili products will color unevenly and their quality will be reduced. Wangtian peppers are generally harvested by pulling up the whole plant or cutting the plant. After harvest, lay the pepper plants flat in the field to sun-dry for 3-4 days. During drying, if rain occurs, they must be sun-dried again for 1-2 days before transport.

II. Drying method. Drying Wangtian peppers is carried out in two stages: drying the whole plant and drying the pepper fruits. Drying the whole plant means drying the pepper plant together with the peppers, reducing the moisture content of the peppers from about 50% at harvest to 18-20%. During drying, they must not become moldy, deteriorate, fade, or break. The advantage of drying the whole plant is that the pepper fruits remain connected to the stems, branches, and stalks of the plant, and the stems, branches, and stalks lack the cuticle membrane found on the surface of the pepper fruits. In this way, the moisture in the pepper fruits can be released through the vascular tissue to the pepper plant, thus speeding up the dehydration of the pepper fruits. In addition, it can also avoid the situation that often occurs when pepper fruits are piled directly for drying, where the heat generated by respiration is hard to dissipate, causing the fruits to become moldy and black. The specific drying method can use the hanging-plant drying method, that is, using houses and courtyard walls, tie wire or rope securely, or string wire or rope between large trees and wooden posts, tie the peppers in bundles of about 10 plants each at the base, and drape them over the wire or rope to dry. The drying spot should be chosen far from highways to avoid contamination by dust and exhaust fumes. Generally, 15-25 days of drying is enough. When you shake the pepper plant by hand and can hear the pepper seeds hitting the walls of the peppers, the whole-plant drying should be ended, and the peppers should be picked promptly according to the buyer's purchasing requirements, entering the pepper fruit drying stage. 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 two hours). In the evening, pile them up and cover 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 transport, affecting their commercial value.

III. Sort the fruits by grade. When picking peppers and drying the pepper fruits, pick and dry them by category according to product specifications and quality. At the time of sale, a final careful grading must also be carried out, so as to achieve good prices for good quality and improve returns. Generally, the average yield of dried peppers is 200 kg per mu, and high-yielding plots can reach 300 kg, with returns of about 2,000 yuan per mu. Dingzhou City Agriculture Bureau, Baoding