That's exactly what I do DD....Some I keep whole and some I grind to powder. I also smoke them first then dry...We also pickle them.

Jals are so fleshy I think they'd be hard to dry - do you have a dehydrator?

But they're great pickled.

I dehydrate the chile peppers ajs, but never thought to dry the Jalepenos before. dd

I store the peppers in canning jars after dehydrating them. Here's some of mine which includes the thick-walled types Jalapeno, Serrano, and Bell.

Man i love me some dried peppers! Nice pic Aowl:)

You want to keep those peppers nice and dry, don't use the white Ball storage lids. They're not air/water tight, as I found out when I sloshed some pickle juice on myself last year.

A 2-piece lid and the canning jar attachment from a Foodsaver works great from what I hear (I haven't bought the attachement yet). Even a lid from a Classico spaghetti sauce jar or a plastic peanut butter jar (the kind of thick plastic lid, not a metal lid) are the right size for a regular mouth canning jar and seal better (at least with liquids) than the white Ball lids (I've only used the widemouth storage lids b/c I can't find a different lid that fit the WM jars).

I use silica gel packets in well sealed plastic bags, myself...

I store them away from light/humidity. The silica gel lasts many years if you dry your peppers properly. Technically, they last forever if you're into microwaving the moisture they absorb out. Food/medical grade silica gel is pretty cheap.

I dry them all the time. Just cut in half and put on a dehydrator or dry them in the oven at its lowest setting (about 8 - 10 hours). Jalapenos are too thick to dry without splitting in half.

Depending on the type of dehydrator and/or temperature, once they are dry, you can safely store in ziplocks almost forever. But if they have any moisture left in them, they will mold.

I was wondering what to do with lots of jalapenos myself. I usually get a few, and I buy them to use in my dressing, but today, expecting our first frost tonight, I went out to harvest everything, and I have ended up with over twenty of them. Pickling sounds like a good idea. Grdengyrl, how do you pickle and can yours?

I just posted some pickling recipes on the Pepperonicini thread. DH likes the first one (Whole Pickled Peppers) with red and green jals in white wine vinegar, no oil. I've also done serranos that way - he says they're "pretty hot".

With only 20 you wouldn't even have to process them - you'll get 1 jar to stick in the fridge (unless they're huge, in which case I'd make poppers - yum!).

Thanks for the info Ajsmama. I am making small jars for stocking stuffers, so I think I'll slice them and process them so I don't have to clutter my fridge with them.

hey Northern, you could pickle yours right in the jars you give as presents, here is what we do, slice the jalapenos, we use a food processor, our measurements are for a 1/2 gallon jar so scale down appropriately. 1/4 cup garlic powder, we make our own, 1/8 cup black pepper, 1/4 cup sea salt, oregano and thyme and a sprig of dill. Put the herbs and seasonings in the bottom of the jar, pack in the sliced jalapenos and pour vinegar so everything is covered. We use apple cider vinegar, white wine works as does distilled white. Cap the jar and shake it up so the seasonings disperse. We keep them in the fridge where they are good for at least a year.

I think I'll try that one! Do you heat the vinegar up? dd

If you want garlic in your peppers try this recipe - you can add dried herbs (not fresh) whatever/how much you want, and you can slice the peppers, don't have to leave them whole, but don't exceed the amount given (2 cloves of garlic for 7 lbs of peppers, any kind of pepper you want), can put in half pints instead of pints, can scale down though it does get a little tricky measuring garlic (1/2 tsp minced = 1 clove) if you cut it down too far.

Process half pints for the same time given for pints in the recipe, then you can give as gifts and don't have to worry about refrigerating til opened.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Pickled Peppers