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preservation Preservation thread

salsalady said:
re: freezing peppers-
 
When freezing peppers, I wash, trim, cut open every single pepper, and then freeze.  You can freeze whole or half, but that takes up a bunch of space in the freezer.  Take one more step and blitz the fresh chiles in a food processor to just get them down to small mince pieces.  Stuff 'em in flat zipper freezer bags. 
 
The flat bags freeze fast, stackable, defrost fairly quickly, and maximizes freezer space. 
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#pro tip:
If you already have a few "go to" recipes (that you make over and over again), throw the peppers on a scale really quick while you're slicing them, before you bag/freeze them. Labeling the bags with the weight comes in handy later on, especially in sauce making ;)

Boss pointed out that tip to me last year. BOOM! Changed my life :rofl:
Seriously though, it helps immensely
 
salsalady said:
When freezing peppers, I wash, trim, cut open every single pepper, and then freeze.  You can freeze whole or half, but that takes up a bunch of space in the freezer.  Take one more step and blitz the fresh chiles in a food processor to just get them down to small mince pieces.  Stuff 'em in flat zipper freezer bags. 
 
The flat bags freeze fast, stackable, defrost fairly quickly, and maximizes freezer space. 
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Won't this promote a lot of freezer burn? The waxy skin on peppers typically protects them quite well. My sliced frozen peppers will look terrible after a few months in the freezer....
 
Winegums said:
Won't this promote a lot of freezer burn? The waxy skin on peppers typically protects them quite well. My sliced frozen peppers will look terrible after a few months in the freezer....
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Vacuum pack them. I have fatali and lemon habs from 3 yrs ago that were cut and packed. Still look fantastic in the package.
 
MikeUSMC said:
#pro tip:
If you already have a few "go to" recipes (that you make over and over again), throw the peppers on a scale really quick while you're slicing them, before you bag/freeze them. Labeling the bags with the weight comes in handy later on, especially in sauce making ;)

Boss pointed out that tip to me last year. BOOM! Changed my life :rofl:
Seriously though, it helps immensely
Click to expand...
Maybe you meant this, but I measure out to the portion needed per batch. Just having the weight on the bag is a huge help, measuring for the batch is one better.
 
So I can freeze the halves to buy me time before I do all the other methods or am I reading this wrong? What about refrigerator, is it a no-no like it is for tomatoes? To hold and buy time that is..
salsalady said:
re: freezing peppers-
 
btw- congrats on having such a wonderful dilemma as too many peppers! 
 
When freezing peppers, I wash, trim, cut open every single pepper, and then freeze.  You can freeze whole or half, but that takes up a bunch of space in the freezer.  Take one more step and blitz the fresh chiles in a food processor to just get them down to small mince pieces.  Stuff 'em in flat zipper freezer bags. 
 
The flat bags freeze fast, stackable, defrost fairly quickly, and maximizes freezer space. 
 
 
The AlabamaJack's Puree recipe is really good for a base that can be used for sauces, used straight out of the jar, it could be dehydrated...it's a great way to make a concentrated product that can be used down the road for -whatever- strikes your fancy as you are stuck inside in the winter and drooling over the seed catalogues...
 
 
Dehydrating is fairly light on the time requirement aside from the pepper preparations.
 
Candying is the most time consuming.
 
Pickling is also easy.  Cold packing is the very easiest, but requires room in the fridge to just pack the pickles in brine and stick 'em in the fridge.  Boiling water bath pickling is a little more time consuming, but again, is a quick simple process and can go to the pantry.  Doesn't need reefer space.
 
Have Fun!!! Post Pics!!! we luuv pics~~  ;)
 
SL
 
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Wow you're the best thanks for all the in depth resources, and yeah I'm on cue with you about serious eats-those guys especially kenji are my go to for all my cooking approved stuff I'll rock with! Same with cooksillustrated!
nmlarson said:
First, a website that will answer most of your questions about canning & preserving and has hundreds of recipes:  http://www.sbcanning.com/
 
I will cook just about anything from SeriousEats.com or CooksIllustrated.com.  Canning on SeriousEats, here:  https://www.seriouseats.com/tags/canning
 
You don't need a subscription to do a search on CooksIllustrated.com, but will to actually get the recipe.  However, much of their content has already been republished in the web.
 
Recipes:  A few of my favorites:
 



Bloody Mary Mix:  http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/07/homemade-bloody-mary-mix.html?m=1
 
Canned, Marinated Peppers, for mild to medium peppers:  https://cookingupastory.com/how-to-can-marinated-red-peppers-video-recipe  (I never seem to make enough of these  :rolleyes: , they are that good)
 
Sweet & Sour Hot Peppers:  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252965/sweet-pickled-peppers/ (I've used this recipe to pickle green beans, sliced jalapenos, sliced carrots; I think you could pickle just about any veggie with it.)  To hot process it, just prep as stated and, instead of refrigerating, process it in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
 
Red Pepper Relish:  https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-sweet-bell-pepper-relish-3059161  (I used my Aleppo flakes instead of paprika.)
 
Fresh Tomato and Caramelized Onion Jam Recipe:  https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/09/fresh-tomato-caramelized-onion-jam-recipe.html
 
Pepper Vinegar, from Cooks Illustrated:
6 ounces tabasco, red Fresno or red jalapeno chiles, halved lengthwise
3 cups distilled white vinegar
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
 

Pepper vinegar is spicy. For a milder vinegar, remove the seeds and ribs from the chiles.
Pack chiles in clean 1-quart glass jar with tight-fitting lid. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and pepper flakes in medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Pour brine into jar, making sure chiles are fully submerged. Let cool completely. Affix jar lid and refrigerate for at least 3 weeks before serving. Pepper vinegar will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 months.
 
For the Freezer:
 


Roasted Tomato Soup:  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roasted-tomato-soup-recipe-1917339  (I prep it through roasting the tomatoes, then portion and freeze it for later use.)
 
Red Sauce:  halve any ripe tomato you have, put on a sheet pan cut side up, toss in some peeled garlic cloves and any fresh or dried herbs you have and like, salt and pepper the lot and drizzle with olive oil.  Slow roast at 225F until the tops of the tomatoes look dry but the meat is still moist.  Put through a food mill on the coarsest setting you can.  Portion and freeze.  To save space, I use FoodSaver bags and freeze them flat.  Same for the Roasted Tomato Soup.
 
If you have a Kitchenaid with the power port on it's front, invest in a KitchenAid FVSFGA Fruit/Vegetable Strainer with the Food Grinder Attachment for it.  If you sign up for Williams-Sonoma emails, they'll eventually send you a 25% off offer, with free shipping.  I have a few attachments for mine, but use this the most.
 
Finally, a couple of books I found that I enjoyed, in no particular order:


 
The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 200 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes
Jarden Home Brands  (The canning BIBLE)
 
Foolproof Preserving: A Guide to Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments & More
America's Test Kitchen  (I'll trust just about any recipe from Cooks Illustrated)
 

Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces from the author of Food in Jars
Marisa McClellan  (Love this for when there's not enough for a big project)
 
The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round
Ellie Topp, Margaret Howard
 
Preserving Italy: Canning, Curing, Infusing, and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions
Domenica Marchetti  (Some of the few tested recipes I've found for preserving in oil.  If you make anything from this book, make it the Passata di Pomodoro)
 
Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round Hardcover – May 22, 2012
by Marisa McClellan  (Author)  (More by Marisa;  she has an amazing blog:  http://foodinjars.com/)
 
 
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What type of dehydrator do I need? I have a cheap POS one without a fan just racks and a heating element/and bunch racks with not rheostat, but I see there are better ones with fans and such..
wrinklenuts said:
Powder all day long
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So I can freeze them whole-then figure out whether to dry/powder/can/pickle/candy/etc?
Edmick said:
Start making some hot sauce buddy! You can always freeze the pods til you figure out what you wanna do with them.
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Do you use a food saver machine to do this? Should I go ahead and purchase one at local Walmart or such?
Masher said:
Vacuum pack them. I have fatali and lemon habs from 3 yrs ago that were cut and packed. Still look fantastic in the package.
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YAMracer754 said:
So I can freeze the halves to buy me time before I do all the other methods or am I reading this wrong? What about refrigerator, is it a no-no like it is for tomatoes? To hold and buy time that is.. Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
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Refer is OK for a few days.  Those Veggie Fresh bags really do work!  You can throw fresh peppers in there as they are almost ripe and they will last in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.  After which you can dry, freeze, sauce, can, whatever.  It buys you a couple weeks of time to deal with the bounty.
 
YAMracer754 said:
Vac pack fresh or frozen?
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Vac-pack fresh chile then freeze.  To save space, you can give the chiles a quick blitze in the food processor, then vac-pak, or vackpack halves.  If you vac pack fresh chiles and then refrigerate, they will rot very quickly.  Vac-Pack and freeze will give you months in the freezer without the risk of freezer burn others have talked about.  I've never had a problem with using frozen peppers, with freezer burn or not, in cooked sauces.
 
YAMracer754 said:
So I can freeze them whole-then figure out whether to dry/powder/can/pickle/candy/etc?
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Yes, but as ^^^ said, cut in half to look for yuckies. 
 
Frozen peppers will work for- dehydrating, fermenting, cooked sauces and a cooked AJ's puree (can) type process,
Frozen peppers will NOT work for- pickling, candied. Only fresh peppers work for pickling and candying
 
Hope this helps.  It may seem a little overwhelming.  Just start with the simple stuff...like freezing... and as things progress and you have time, maybe look at some of the other process.  Most are pretty simple, just take a bit of time.
 
 
Did you see the Ghetto Dehydrator?  If you want to upgrade your dehydrator, I strongly suggest getting one with trays that stack and not just slide into a cabinet.  So many more options ~~~ ;)
 
SL
 
Thanks for that salsalady yes I realllllly need an upgraded dehydrator and I'm down for that ghetto shizzz! LOL! I'm looking at the link as we speak!

And you're right, yes it is extremely overwhelming right now, but then again so did all the in depth grow stuff at first and after all the hours and blood/sweat/tears/research spent its like second nature now to read and know what's going on with my plants so I assume this will be the same if I keep putting my good foot forward, not to mention it doesn't hurt that I'm an aspiring pro-chef by nature! And good at it if I don't mean to toot my own horn!

What about they freezer sealing? Should I drop down and get me a foodsaver vac seal machinecro freeze or what are you hobby pros doing?

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YAMracer754 said:
What about they freezer sealing? Should I drop down and get me a foodsaver vac seal machinecro freeze or what are you hobby pros doing?

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Mostly depends on how soon you think you will be using the peppers-
 
How many POUNDS of peppers are you expecting to harvest?
How much TIME do you have to spend processing said peppers?
Do you have room in an outside place (garage/balcony/frontyard/) for a dehydrator?
 
If you think you can process all the freezered chiles in regular zipper bags to some form of sauce/dry/cannedpuree at some time in the next 6 months.....then regular cheepcheep zipper freezer bags from the corner grocer is fine. Good quality zipper bags are better...! No freezer burn to worry about.
 
Thinking that the quick freeze is just to get the chiles on ice and figure out what to do with them later.  GREAT and very wise course of attack. 
 
If you feel that the frozen chiles will get used/processed in less than a year, I don't think taking the extra money/step it vac seal is necessary. 
 
YAMracer754 said:
Vac pack fresh or frozen?
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I washed lightly and then either placed whole or cut lengthwise fresh pods into bags and then vac'd them.

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