Holiday Decor for Chili Lovers

Celebrate the Harvest & the Holidays with Decorative Chile Ristras

Drying Chilies for Decorative Ristras and Eating

Whether you grow your own chile peppers or purchase them from the store, there are many ways to prepare and preserve them. One of the easiest ways to do this is by making a ristra. Just dry your peppers with a string. In only a few minutes, and it makes the perfect holiday decoration that you can actually use over the winter months! It's the perfect way to dry peppers for long-term storage and use.

What You'll Need

• Chiles (any color)
• Sting
• Weaving Needle
• Scissors

Step 1:

Thread your string through the needle. Be sure to pull enough string through that you can work without it coming back out of the needle again. 

Step 2:

Thread your chiles. You will want to thread through the base of the stem since this is the hardest part of the fruit to split. As you thread each chili, slide it down the string to join its friends. Prepare for a few of your chiles to split or fall off the thread at some point during this process.

Step 3:

Grab a hold of the string beside your first and last chilies and pull them together to form a ring. Tie the two ends together in a quick double knot.

Step 4:

Hold onto the end with the needle still attached and thread it under the opposite side of the ring, leaving enough slack in the center for hanging. Tie another knot and you should be able to pick up the chili bundle with its new little handle.

Step 5:

Snip off the excess string on either side of the ring. 

Step 6:

Repeat steps 1-5, leaving a slightly longer length of string for the handle. Take the handle of your second bundle and poke it through the middle of the first bundle so you can gather the two string together for hanging. Tie a knot near the base of the string.

Step 7:

If you have used up all your chilies, skip to step 10. If you still have a chile mountain, either add a third ring to your chile bundle, start the process over again or try out step 9.

Step 8:

Line your remaining chilies up against your string. Guesstimate how many chilies you will need on the string so that you still have half remaining, then thread them.

Step 9:

When you think you have reached the halfway mark, leave a gap in the string. This will be used for hanging, so make it about 4 inches long. Continue threading the remaining chiles.

Step 10:

Tie a knot at both ends of your string to avoid escapees. Trim off the excess.

Step 11:

Find a dry, well ventilated area to hang your chilies. We hang ours from the sunlight in our kitchen, which admittedly is not ideal, but the sunlight helped to keep them dry in the winter, plus it looks great and they're right there when we need them for cooking. I have used S hooks for hanging.

Step 12:

Have FUN and DECORATE!

Original post via Offbeat Home & Life.

Photos via H-E-B.