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Q: Dave,
I just received a ristra via mail order. It is not fully dry, and on brief examination I found that some of the peppers have mold growing on them. All this may have happened in transit (according to the seller, it has been in transit for 9 days after preparing the order for 6 days), but is this right or is my ristra destined to be ruined?
Thanks,
Travis
A: Hello Travis:
If the chile pods have mold, don’t eat them. However, if you hang the ristra in a warm, dry place, preferably in the sun, the mold will stop growing. Of course, mold spores are in the atmosphere, so if the conditions are right, it will grow. It takes a long time for red chile pods to dry completely, so the supplier has no choice but to ship them when they are not fully dry. When fully dry, the pods break during shipping.
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