Topic: Chilli flakes

[elhuerto]

Been a good year for chillis so thought I'd make up some chilli flakes for pizzas, marinades etc. Quick question though, are they best roasted after drying?

Cheers!

[RenishawPhil]

I never did
Just dried them out for about 3 months hanging up in the back bedroom.   It has been a fantastic year for chilli's, we are freezing all ours whole this year as dried some two years and go and still got half a large pot which will keep going for another 2 years and they dont loose their strengh/flavour

[goodlife]

Some varieties are said have more intense/better flavour after little 'toasting' on dry pan. Usually this is done just before grinding the coarsely broken dry chilli pieces for immediate use.
I suppose you just have to experiment what suits your chilli varieties and taste buds.
I've 'roasted/toasted' some..very limited experience though..and when I've done so it is for Mexican type STRONG chilli-paprika flavour. Some chillies and peppers don't dry 'crispy' dry, but turn more of sticky-chewy texture and those need that little extra 'toasting' for you to able to grind them...or you have to soak them and turn them into mushy pulp for smooth sauce.

[elhuerto]

Thanks for the replies. They're mainly cayenne but the Mexican and Peruvian chillis are just starting to ripen now. I'll dry them and see how they turn out.

[hartybeast]

When I worked in the food ingredients industry I visited a number of dried chilli producers. They just sun or mechanically dried the chillies and then just crushed or ground them. They didn't use high heat except when making US Tex Mex style chili powder when they were blended with cumin, garlic ,oregano, salt.