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Storing a large harvest for future use

capsaicin

capsaicin

Last year I saved some red habs by chopping them and then mixing in sea salt and just barely covering the mix with hot vinegar.I guess this is simply a pickling process, but the peppers still have good flavor(though a little mellower) and a low pH.

Can anyone see any disadvantage for using this method for a large quantity of peppers for future hot sauce making vs. the fermentation of a mash?

Thanks for any and all feedback.
 
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Hey Potawie, I tried freezing a bunch of peppers last year, actually vacuum packed them with the food processor then froze them but when I dethawed them, they became really mushy, is there a way to keep some crunchiness if I wanted to pickle them and try to keep them a little more crunchy and not mushy.. or am I SOL for that?
 
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alright, thanks, that's what I figured lol, at least i know, it won't be bad this year because I am actually going to attempt to make sauces.. last year I was just kind of set of salsa or pickling. .did make some good salsa though with little amount of fresh peppers I had last year with only about 20-30 plants! can't wait to get the harvest for this year lol.. up to 180 plants.. went a little pepper crazy :dance:
 
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well for me (if you were directing that towards me that is, which my list is in my profile) that is what I plan on doing for a bunch of mine, well kind of speed-drying/smoking, but for the OP's purposes.. actually that should work for sauces too, would probably give a different viscosity to it than using whole/fresh or pickled peppers.. man, I can't wait till summer, going to be busy :hell:
 
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Thanks for the replies. I am growing red habaneros (caribbean not savina) and a few others. I have a monstrous amount going into the ground with a local farmer and couldn't figure out the drawbacks to the pickling method I used before...although I think they may have lost a little heat in the last 8 months or so.

For a larger scale, I am just too chicken to try fermenting for the first time. And drying is as daunting though I do use dried pequins in in sauces.
 
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capsaicin said:
... I have a monstrous amount going into the ground with a local farmer and couldn't figure out the drawbacks to the pickling method I used before...although I think they may have lost a little heat in the last 8 months or so.
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One reason may be using the vinegar - you might not want to limit yourself to making only vinegar-based sauces. Freezing the pods keeps your options open.

Also, you may want to consider the "puree" approach (a la AJ (do a search)). Basically, you puree the peppers and pressure-can them, which kills all the nasties. Then, you can crack open a jar and use them straight up, or as a base for a new sauce.


capsaicin said:
For a larger scale, I am just too chicken to try fermenting for the first time. And drying is as daunting though I do use dried pequins in in sauces.
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Remember, you can do a small batch to test out fermenting – as small as a pint jar. Also, you don’t have to use superhots. Store bought jalapenos, habs, etc are fine. Give it a try. You might like it.

Best of luck to ya. ;)
 
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Those pressure caning things, I have a food saver thing for bags, and it has the attachments for cans, (w/o the actual attachment for the can, just the hoses and stuff) but do I need to heat them and everything for the can? or does the negative pressure in the can pretty much kill everything and prevent them from growing? although I would think anaerobic bacteria should still be able to grow maybe? I dono, if it would save me the time from having to boil all of the jars and stuff and just put them through the dishwasher, than I might go and get the attachment this summer
 
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All good points. I will likely experiment a little with drying and mash, and I will definitely look into the puree/pressure canning method.

That's why I started coming here: experienced, friendly advice.

Thanks.
 
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Maxsack331 said:
Those pressure caning things, I have a food saver thing for bags, and it has the attachments for cans, (w/o the actual attachment for the can, just the hoses and stuff) but do I need to heat them and everything for the can? or does the negative pressure in the can pretty much kill everything and prevent them from growing? although I would think anaerobic bacteria should still be able to grow maybe? I dono, if it would save me the time from having to boil all of the jars and stuff and just put them through the dishwasher, than I might go and get the attachment this summer
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Hi maxsack,

your food-saver attachment is creating a vacuum seal which is not the same as pressure canning. Using a full-on pressure canner raises the temp of the product in the jars higher than what can be achieved by simple boiling water bath and that will kill any nasties on the chiles without using vinegars/acids.

You're basically looking at a few options for preserving your fresh chiles without making them into sauces or fermenting-
dehydrate
freezer
add enough acid to lower the pH of the chiles, and they can then be left at room temp (pickling)
pressure can according to manufacturer's directions

It is not recommended to vacuum-seal fresh chiles and leave them out on the shelf. If the chiles don't have enough acid (usually vinegar) on them, the pH won't be low enough and the nasties will still grow. Chiles with very little acid(vinegar) can be safely pressure canned as long as the proper methods are followed, (see puree reference above)

Vacuum-bagged chiles can be safely stored in the freezer.

Here's the Ball canning website for the best information. It's always advisable to follow the manufacturer's recommendations when doing canning.
http://www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx

good luck!
 
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POTAWIE said:
Bagging peppers in any way without freezing will hold in ethylene gasses which are responsible for ripening and eventually rotting of the pod
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....which is also a good trick to know if it's the end of the season and frost is threatening. Pods can be picked green and then ripened in the house, usually in a paper bag.

Good point, POTOWIE.
 
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oook, so having a pressure caning attachment thing for a foodsaver is really just the same as using the bags but with jars then huh?

and if I wanted to actually can them, I would need to go through the pickling processes by cooking/heating and all that stuff with the vinegar or pickling solution.. which I want to do, but not for all of the peppers.. but OK, I guess I will just stick to the bags for any peppers I want to use for sauces and stuff, and dry/smoke the ones i want for powders, and pickle the ones I want for pickled peppers lol.. thanks for the info :D

and yeah, I have tried to let the pods ripen by bringing them in when they are still green, but last year I think I waited until it had frosted already and had them in a plastic bag, which for some it worked ok, but a good number of them rotted without ripening at all.. oh well, luckily it wasn't too many and i got to use most of them.. just wish I would have thought to use the ones I had in the freezer bags for a sauce instead of thinking they were rotten when I wanted to use them for pickling or salsa..lesson learned
 
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Maxsack331 said:
oook, so having a pressure caning attachment thing for a foodsaver is really just the same as using the bags but with jars then huh?
CORRECT

and if I wanted to actually can them, I would need to go through the pickling processes by cooking/heating and all that stuff with the vinegar or pickling solution.. which I want to do, but not for all of the peppers.. but OK, I guess I will just stick to the bags for any peppers I want to use for sauces and stuff, and dry/smoke the ones i want for powders, and pickle the ones I want for pickled peppers lol.. thanks for the info :D
Not Exactly-
pickling- heat up a vinegar/brine solution and completely cover the cut up or chopped chiles in a glass jar, cap it with a traditional canning metal lid and a metal ring. If the vinegar solution is strong enough, no further processing is required and the chiles are considered "PICKLED". Follow Ball recommendations for proper brine/vinegar solutions, sometimes it is recommended to hot water bath the jars to ensure a proper seal..

pressure canning- put heated/chopped up/pureed chiles in canning jars, no vinegar necessary, and process in a pressure canner/cooker following manufacturers recommendations for time/pressure. Pressure canning can safely process chiles (which have no natural acidity and are at a huge risk of growing nasties if not processed properly). When properly pressure canned, with or without vinegar, salt or anything else, the canned chiles are considered safe.

and yeah, I have tried to let the pods ripen by bringing them in when they are still green, but last year I think I waited until it had frosted already and had them in a plastic bag PAPER works better :), which for some it worked ok, but a good number of them rotted without ripening at all.. oh well, luckily it wasn't too many and i got to use most of them.. just wish I would have thought to use the ones I had in the freezer bags for a sauce instead of thinking they were rotten when I wanted to use them for pickling or salsa..lesson learned
Click to expand...

More Info if you haven't seen this yet-
http://thehotpepper....-hot-sauce-101/
 
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gotcha! I canned some salsa this year, and my mom use to do it with everything and I use to help her with the fresh/home made raspberry jam when she use to get my brother and I out picking raspberrys for a few weeks lol.... so for just canning whole/sliced peppers, ( I would at least make an incision in them to let the juice/brine in), I can just pour them over the peppers/into the jar (and making sure everything is covered and all that stuff) and they should be good, because when I first thought about doing this, I wasn't sure if I needed to cook them at all, or if pouring/covering them in hot brine was good enough..

but anyways thank you very much for the information! I have been tempted to check out the hot sauce making section, but I've been putting it off until I at least get some more pods coming because I know I would end up reading through tons of threads, which is good, but I need to do some studying and work around the house for now lol.

and I will make sure to try the paper bag instead, thanks!
 
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This Ball Pickle Recipe would be a good one to follow, just eliminate the spices and use the vinegar, salt (and sugar?) ratios the recipe calls for, substituting chiles, of course. This recipe does call for a hot water bath. If you use straight vinegar, I don't think you need to water bath the jars, but I'm not a process authority or food scientist person.
 
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