• If you can't find a "Hot" category that fits, post it here!

Freezing peppers

K

KBlev

What are the rules about freezing peppers? How does everyone store their fresh peppers to make them last the longest?
 
you can keep peppers frozen in a ziplock for a long time...longer if you vacuum pack them....but.......they will not be firm when you thaw them...they will be mushy but should not have lost any of their heat or flavor (especially if vacuum packed)...then when you use them, cook with them, make sauces out of them, salsas if you aren't hard over on crispy peppers for your salsa...lots of uses
 
Ahh, that explains it. I froze around 5lbs of habs in 2010 and I thought I ruined them. I threw them out, DOHT!

Could you do a home version of flash freezing with some dry ice to keep them crisp? I'm thinking along the line of bagging them up, them boxing them in a bunch of dry ice. Then storing in the deep freeze.
 
i freeze mine all the time, usually sees me the year through.. just in ziplock bags- but yes you need to use straight away.
 
The cells in the pod have very rigid cell walls that don't like to budge. This ridgidity holds the plant together and upright, unlike animals who need a skeletal system to properly hold up their mushy flesh. They are filled with cytoplasm, a substance that is almost entirely water. The problem is, when you freeze water, unlike most other substances, it expands. This fills up the cells to the point of breaking, and the cell walls burst like a balloon, regardless of how quickly you froze it. All of the water then fills the space outside of the cells when you finally thaw them, and the rigidity that the cell walls supported dissapears. This makes our poor pods all limp and mushy. Of course, everything is still there, just not held up all pretty anymore. They're still great for making sauces and things and that's usually what I use frozen pods for.
 
I freeze mine for winter use in chili's and anthing I cook. Just run em under hot water for about 10 sec. then cut while still a little hard
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top