Author Topic: Preserving Peppers  (Read 1765 times)

Ben

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Preserving Peppers
« on: August 05, 2021, 03:22:43 PM »
I have banana peppers coming out of my ears and would like to preserve some. My preferred would be freezing. I have read some articles that say just to freeze them whole, while others say to cut them into strips, remove seeds, and freeze on a baking sheet, then store in ziplocks.

Have any of you preserved peppers? What is your preferred method?

EDIT: Oh, I'd be up for possibly pickling the peppers. Whole would be preferred to sliced or diced.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2021, 05:47:05 PM »
My preferred way is to slice into thick rings and dehydrate them.  (that works especially well with serrano peppers)  Freezing works, but you might need to blanch them first.
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Kingcreek

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2021, 07:49:33 PM »
Pickled banana peppers are my favorite but you can split in half and freeze them. Vacuum seal is always best. And yeah, freeze briefly on baking sheet before bagging.
We have done stuffed green peppers with cooked and cooled stuffing and raw fresh peppers and then froze them for later with good results.
Jalapeño peppers will freeze whole just fine.
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Ben

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2021, 08:48:32 PM »
I've been researching and am now leaning more towards more pickling based on some tasty recipes I've found. The freezing idea is because I like to throw fresh diced pepper and onion into my scrambled eggs. These banana peppers have been awesome in eggs. However I think I might now pickle 2/3 of them and freeze 1/3.

I guess peppers are supposed to keep on producing until the weather kills them, so I should still have some fresh ones going for a couple of months.

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zxcvbob

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2021, 10:36:00 PM »
I've been researching and am now leaning more towards more pickling based on some tasty recipes I've found. The freezing idea is because I like to throw fresh diced pepper and onion into my scrambled eggs. These banana peppers have been awesome in eggs. However I think I might now pickle 2/3 of them and freeze 1/3.

I guess peppers are supposed to keep on producing until the weather kills them, so I should still have some fresh ones going for a couple of months.

In my experience, they step up production in the fall here in the north.  I think it has something to do with the day length.
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Ben

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2021, 08:08:00 AM »
In my experience, they step up production in the fall here in the north.  I think it has something to do with the day length.

Interesting. This is my first year with peppers, so no experience.
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Ron

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2021, 09:10:15 AM »
In the past I've had real good success freezing jalapenos.

I used to put them in everything and one big plant would get me through the winter usually.

Once, I pickled them and was pretty happy with the results but truth be told in Chicagoland our giardiniera options at the grocery store are overwhelming. Every hotdog/beef stand in the region markets their own.
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K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2021, 07:17:10 AM »
Why not get yourself a dehydrator and dry some of them, as well?
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Ben

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2021, 04:02:22 PM »
Why not get yourself a dehydrator and dry some of them, as well?

I might look at playing with a dehydrator in the Winter, when I have lots more free time. For right now, I'm looking at pickling and I just started a thread in the survival subforum because I spur of the moment decided to try canning as well.

If  I can somehow get a year with no emergencies, I'll be planting a much larger garden next year, and would like to look at some combination of freezing, canning, and dehydrating.
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T.O.M.

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2021, 09:50:58 PM »
What's the best way to dehydrate peppers?  Last year, I cut the peppers (jalepenos and habeneros) into rings and dried them on a food dehydrator.  Stored in ziplocs.  The habeneros were moldy within two weeks.  The jalepenos were fine.  This season, I also have tobacco peppers, which are tasty, and produced like crazy.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2021, 10:11:40 PM »
What's the best way to dehydrate peppers?  Last year, I cut the peppers (jalepenos and habeneros) into rings and dried them on a food dehydrator.  Stored in ziplocs.  The habeneros were moldy within two weeks.  The jalepenos were fine.  This season, I also have tobacco peppers, which are tasty, and produced like crazy.

That is strange.  You obviously didn't dry them enough, but usually it's the jalapenos that have that problem.  I cut some mild habaneros that my brother gave me into big chunks and dried them on a dehydrator last year and put them on a pint Mason jar with a lid and they are still doing just fine in the kitchen cupboard. (I'm not sure what to do with them now; they were good fresh but getting old and I didn't want them to rot)

What's a tobacco pepper? :)  I think dried ancho peppers have a hint of good chewing tobacco in the flavor an aroma.  I've never noticed it in any other variety.
ETA: Tabasco?  (I hate autocorrect)
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T.O.M.

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2021, 09:46:18 AM »
Yeah, that was supposed to be tobasco.  surfing on my phone without glasses is problematic in that way.
 
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Larry Ashcraft

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2021, 12:18:16 PM »
Here's another suggestion: freeze drying.

Big R has freeze dryers that aren't too terribly expensive.   I live right in the middle of several Pueblo Chile farms, a huge crop here.  Carl Musso Jr at Musso Farms has started freeze drying chiles after he roasts them.  He says they taste just like they came out the roaster.  I'm waiting to get some to send to some friends back east who haven't tried Pueblo Chiles. They weigh next to nothing so shipping is relatively cheap compared to shipping frozen.  If his experiment works, we are going to get a freeze dryer to save freezer space.

https://www.mussofarmschileroom.com/

K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2021, 01:32:47 PM »
Most freeze dryers for home use start around $2k and go up from there.

They're also noisy and put off a lot of heat and they take time to do their thing, so it's best to have them somewhere outside the home.

If I were seriously into prepping I might consider a freeze dryer...
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K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2021, 01:38:25 PM »
Here's a site I found on freeze drying without a freeze dryer. I'd be willing to give it a try...
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Jim147

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2021, 02:03:20 PM »
Here's a site I found on freeze drying without a freeze dryer. I'd be willing to give it a try...

I'm thinking this will be followed by an oops soon.
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K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2021, 02:07:54 PM »
I figure I'll try it with something simple, like thinly sliced apples or green peppers. Certainly not something I'm going to invest a lot of money in.
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Ben

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2021, 02:32:15 PM »
Do we need an active security clearance to get to that site?

 =D
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K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #18 on: August 11, 2021, 07:29:05 AM »
Damn it, I could have sworn that I copied it in...
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K Frame

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Re: Preserving Peppers
« Reply #19 on: August 11, 2021, 07:30:46 AM »
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.