You did grind them outside, didn't you? Running them through a grinder or blender outside avoids some of the overpowering fumes and powder. A swim mask can help, too :) Looks like you have some great seasonings now.

I use my coffee grinder for peppers and depending on the amount of heat, I drape a damp cloth over it when grinding to help cut down on dust and fumes. Grinding on the stove with the hood fan running also helps it from drifting.
Your powder looks really good!

thanks no

I used a coffee grinder also, just didn't use any other precautions. Plus for some reason I wanted to smell it. I knew better, but it just happened. I sneezed forever. This was just a test batch for me. I'm gonna do the rest do more in a few days.

Yep, been there, done that.

I grinded four founds of smoked and dried jalapeno, cayenne and habanero earlier this year (smoked and dried them last fall).

Definitely grind them outside on a calm day if possible. Also, as naturegirl suggested, wear protection!

HereÂs a post I submitted a couple of years ago relating my first experience grinding peppers.

OK, IÂll relate a real bonehead experience from a few years agoÂ

I have a smoker and stumbled across Chipotles on the Internet. Well, being a pepper and smoked food lover I thought hey, what better than smoke dried Jalapenos!
I smoked the babies for five hours using wood lump charcoal and hickory chunks. They were still pretty moist at 10PM when I took them off the smoker. Here is where my story splits into two parts.

I figure overnight in the oven at 150F should dry these out. When the GF smelled smoke in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen she walked into the equivalent of a pepper spray environment. When I got there I could not believe how strong the heat in the air was. Suffice it to say, I did not sleep well the rest of the night. Until we got the house aired out it smelled like it had burned down. It took five days! Suffice it to say I did not sleep well for five more days!

Part two two days later I find some time to grind the dried smoked Jalapenos into a powder. I used a coffee grinder and it created a fine powder. Ground the first batch, lifted the lid and took a smell. The following was a reflex reaction.

1) eyes squeeze shut and a huge sneeze into the powder in the grinder;
2) eyes open up and I take a deep breath through my mouth.
As a result of the cloud of fine Chipotle powder and my stupidity I coughed for 45 minutes and my eyes watered for an hour.

I still make the powder but use a mask and eye protection.

HereÂs a shot of the respirator I use (in addition to goggles).

Bill

ottawapepper: LOL, do you really wear all that? Did you buy it just for pepper grinding or is it something you had for other purposes? Looks like it would protect you well.

naturegirl,

I actually bought it (when on sale) for pepper grinding. I grind "many" pounds of pepper every year for sale at local farmers markets. Without it and the goggles I'd be either blind or on a respirator by now ;-))..

Bill