[CH] Why Dry?

Steve Voorhees (spacehog@mindspring.com)
Tue, 18 Aug 1998 09:34:49 -0400

Last fall, knowing nothing about chiles, I took a bite out of
a red habanero.  You can imagine the comedy that unfolded
in my kitchen that day.  Since then I've been reading everything
I can about chiles.  I picked my first chile off the plant
last week.  However, I'm still unsure of one thing.
Why dry?  I live in the North East US....not the dryest area.
I'm hesitant when it comes to making a ristra...suspecting I'll end
up with a string of mold.  I expect to buy a dehydrator this week,
however, what is wrong with freezing the chiles...and not drying
them at all?  Thank you for accepting my ingnorance as excessive
adulation for this new world I stumbled upon.