Hi all. So before the time really comes, I would like to ask a few questions. As you all know, pods ripen while others are growing. I get the best mileage from dehydrated peppers, then ground. I would also like to do them all in one batch if possible. So would it be alright to pick my peppers and freeze them while waiting for the end of the season before dehydrating in one batch? Or would it be best to dehydrate them as they get picked? If it is ok to freeze them, a paper bag would be good, or would plastic bags be ok? If I was to freeze the pods, could I cut them in half to get seeds before ruining the seeds by freezing? Lastly, is there any ill effect to a dried pod in the freezer? Sorry for the many questions, but I would like to better prepare myself for this season. Thank you.
-
If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.
What To Do With Pods?
- Thread starter obchili
- Start date
I plan to save some like that. I am halving and deseeding and freezing for drying later. Some I am doing that so I can have one bigger batch of the same pepper. Also the humidity where I live is very high usually until mid - late september so drying is more difficult. I still do it but since have to outside takes forever for pods to dry and have to use more temperature than I would like. This will be my first year drying previously frozen pods, but from what I have been told and read it will be fine and in some cases better as the water vessels in the pods will have frozen and busted allowing it to dry quicker and more thoroughly. At least I hope all that is true.
Yeah you can freeze them just takes a little longer in the dehydrator...I've done it too ..I also smoked frozen ones and then put them in the dehydrator with success
Take seeds out if you wish, put in plastic freezer ziplock, and freeze.
You can definitely dehydrate from frozen.
You can definitely dehydrate from frozen.
Freezing Deffinately speeds up the drying process,especially with stuff like manzano's.
If you cold smoke dry your pods,I get the a more even smoke with pre frozen pods too.
If you cold smoke dry your pods,I get the a more even smoke with pre frozen pods too.
I have no idea why, but it seems like if you put frozen pods in the dehydrator you wind up with deeper color and a more crisp finished product.
Have you considered making things like relish, jam, and other items then using home canning techniques as a way of preserving your food? The huge issue I have with freezing things is that we live in the middle of no where. When a bad storm takes down electric lines, we are the last to get it restored because so few people live in our area.
Have you considered making things like relish, jam, and other items then using home canning techniques as a way of preserving your food? The huge issue I have with freezing things is that we live in the middle of no where. When a bad storm takes down electric lines, we are the last to get it restored because so few people live in our area.
thats exactly true with us being out n the stick !ajdrew said:
drying is the way to go.. ahh the benefits of living in the desert.. mine dry in the sun in 1 day usually... i use a specific coffee grinder to powder the pods then seal them in ziplock bags proportional for easy use.. another way to do it is to puree the pods and them freeze them in ice cube trays.. once frozen, ziplock freezer bags.. with kind of pepper and the date written on the outside... this is really handy for soups or even making sauces latter. just my 2 cents...
steve
steve
I was hoping smoking pre frozen pods was also good. Plan on doing a lot of that. Do you let them thaw first. I do a cold smoke also and if don't get to it until October or November might be fairly cold here and they might not completely thaw during the 2 to 4 hour cold smoke I normally do.smokemaster said:
Last year for my frozen pods, I washed and dried them, then vacuum sealed. That worked well. This year though, I'm going to add another step, and pre-freeze them loose, then vacuum seal and see if that makes them easier to separate later. The powders I've made from my frozen pods were great, also smoked frozen pods too with good results.
I call cold smoke as temps. at about 100 degrees +/-.
A lot of people use a hot plate set on low in a BBQ or even a cardboard box to smoke dry their pods.
In general,a cool dry heat with a few handfulls of wood chips (I like Hickory) work best.
Thick fleshed stuff,like manzanos that were frozen put out a LOT of water real fast in a dehydrator of any kind.
When I used a dehydrator I had to put it on a drip pan for the first few hours because water dripped out faster than it evaporated.
It ended up being REALLY cool.
The drip pan liquid ended up drying out to be like fruit strips.
Really cool to use for additions to cooking stuff.
In my smoker I used a water Pan that I eventuall dried out to do the same thing,Though it was very smokey in taste-VERY concentrated.
Not frozen stuff works great too,But frozen stuff is more mushy and after the first hour of smoke you can add 2X the pods than if you used frozen pods.
As posted,freezing messes up the cells in a pod.
My opinion is fresh pods still have natures stuff in them.They try and keep the natural protection going on.
I freeze pods after de seeding most times.
Works for me even if My ideas about the science is wrong...
A lot of people use a hot plate set on low in a BBQ or even a cardboard box to smoke dry their pods.
In general,a cool dry heat with a few handfulls of wood chips (I like Hickory) work best.
Thick fleshed stuff,like manzanos that were frozen put out a LOT of water real fast in a dehydrator of any kind.
When I used a dehydrator I had to put it on a drip pan for the first few hours because water dripped out faster than it evaporated.
It ended up being REALLY cool.
The drip pan liquid ended up drying out to be like fruit strips.
Really cool to use for additions to cooking stuff.
In my smoker I used a water Pan that I eventuall dried out to do the same thing,Though it was very smokey in taste-VERY concentrated.
Not frozen stuff works great too,But frozen stuff is more mushy and after the first hour of smoke you can add 2X the pods than if you used frozen pods.
As posted,freezing messes up the cells in a pod.
My opinion is fresh pods still have natures stuff in them.They try and keep the natural protection going on.
I freeze pods after de seeding most times.
Works for me even if My ideas about the science is wrong...
After thought. Someone mentioned seed saving. If that is the plan, cut seeds out before freezing. While some time in the freezer is often a way to speed up germination by tricking the seeds into thinking they have wintered, it only works with dry seeds. If there is moisture in seeds, the freezing can cause that water to form ice crystals which rip the seeds apart on the inside.
After thought. Someone mentioned seed saving. If that is the plan, cut seeds out before freezing. While some time in the freezer is often a way to speed up germination by tricking the seeds into thinking they have wintered, it only works with dry seeds. If there is moisture in seeds, the freezing can cause that water to form ice crystals which rip the seeds apart on the inside.
After thought. Someone mentioned seed saving. If that is the plan, cut seeds out before freezing. While some time in the freezer is often a way to speed up germination by tricking the seeds into thinking they have wintered, it only works with dry seeds. If there is moisture in seeds, the freezing can cause that water to form ice crystals which rip the seeds apart on the inside.
