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storage Freezing peppers?

R

Rherman1

Ok, as I am new to the pepper growing world I need to find out if i freeze my freshly grown peppers how will they do when thawed out? will the seeds be any good? Or should i deseed them first? any help would be appreciated! Thanks
 
I disagree - there is no need to deseed them. Seeds of all kinds freeze in the winter, yet they manage to germinate and grow in the spring. A few years ago there was a rash of people insisting that frozen seeds would not sprout, so I tried a little experiment. I had pods that had been in my freezer for at least six months so I pulled some out and harvested the seeds. Yep, every last one of them germinated, and I ended up with 48 plants that year. So do what is most convenient for you. 
 
If you're not already aware, fresh pods that are frozen (regardless of whether they were frozen whole or cut open) will have a mushy texture when thawed. That's fine if you're planning on making sauce with them, or using them finely chopped. However, for me dried pods are a better alternative, as I prefer their texture when rehydrated (vs frozen and thawed) plus I can make them into powders. So consider your end goal in mind when decided whether to freeze or dry.
 
I grew mostly from seed this year and I am here to tell you that yes you can pull seed from frozen pods and yes they will germinate. Mine ALL did. Freezing peppers is a great way to have peppers all year long and as Geeme said, dried are a great alternative too. I do both.
 
One caveat - the frozen seeds will be as viable as they were before you put the pods into the freezer. Just like you risk little or no germination by harvesting seeds from a fresh unripe pod, seeds that are frozen in an unripe pod may not be viable, too. So make sure the pods you harvest from are ripe, regardless of fresh or frozen - simple enough.
 
geeme said:
I disagree - there is no need to deseed them. Seeds of all kinds freeze in the winter, yet they manage to germinate and grow in the spring. A few years ago there was a rash of people insisting that frozen seeds would not sprout, so I tried a little experiment. I had pods that had been in my freezer for at least six months so I pulled some out and harvested the seeds. Yep, every last one of them germinated, and I ended up with 48 plants that year. So do what is most convenient for you. 
 
If you're not already aware, fresh pods that are frozen (regardless of whether they were frozen whole or cut open) will have a mushy texture when thawed. That's fine if you're planning on making sauce with them, or using them finely chopped. However, for me dried pods are a better alternative, as I prefer their texture when rehydrated (vs frozen and thawed) plus I can make them into powders. So consider your end goal in mind when decided whether to freeze or dry.
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This is good news for me too. I have been freezing peppers for a long time, but have always been suspicious of using the frozen seed. This means I get to procrastinate even more! Thanks gemee
 
Not to get too far off topic, but can you take the seeds from frozen peppers, air dry them, and store them for future use?
 
I usually cut the pods in half and remove the seeds before freezing so that later when cooking there is less prep work.  To me it's more time effective (and fewer times washing my hands... though I wear gloves when doing a whole bag) to cut and deseed a bag full of peppers at once instead of doing a few at a time later, plus it's easier to deseed a fresh pod than a frozen one.
 
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