Mesh Size and Dried Peppers

Dried peppers are measured by their output size. The actual size of the powder that is produced is measured using the micrometer, or the mesh. The mesh count is the number of threads in each inch or centimeter. Larger mesh size indicates smaller particles, while smaller mesh indicates a larger sized particle in the final product. If a mesh size is shown by a negative number,  it indicates the powder is smaller than mesh size. This means the particles are so small they can pass through the screen. Positive mesh numbers indicate particles too large to pass through the screen. For instance, “-100 mesh to +200 mesh” tells the reader the particles are small enough to pass through the 100 mesh screen, but too large to pass through a 200 mesh screen. This also indicates a +200 mesh screen was placed below the 100 mesh screen so the particles can fall through the 100 mesh screen and land on the +200 mesh screen.

Interpreting Terms used for Peppers and Powders

The term “micron” refers to the size of the powder particle. Then a micron is converted into mesh a simple mesh-micron conversion table would look like this: