Freezing chiles

[Jon Shemitz]

The hot chiles that survived the winter are fruiting like crazy right now, and I have to freeze ripe chiles every few days. That still leaves me plenty to eat fresh, but the frozen chiles make a perfectly decent substitute, come winter. I generally run out of frozen chiles just as I can get a pretty decent stream of fresh chiles from the greenhouse. I cook something with garlic and chiles maybe six nights a week.

I rinse the chiles pretty thoroughly in cold water in a colander, and let them drain briefly before plopping them in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the air I can, then sealing and freezing the bag. Today, I froze a large bag with six varieties.

Fwiw.

[Jane Doe]

I was just wondering what to do with ours. We're practically drowning in peppers. Anything you want but Bells. Ranging from very hot to sweet banana. I have to find room in the freezer!

-M

[Aluckyguess]

Same here. Just picked an ice chest full of yellow and red tomaotos I have bell peppers that are the size of a peanut butter jar.

[Jon Shemitz]

I waited to let someone else answer, because I only freeze hot chiles, so am just guessing, but:

Freezing is hard on texture. That's OK if you're just looking for heat and color, and are going to slice a still-frozen chile into tiny pieces, but probably isn't so great for bell peppers. You might lose all the crunch.

I think I'd roast them before I freeze them. They might hold the roasted flavor when thawed, and you won't expect any significant crunch.

[Jim Ferguson]

We always roast a batch of New Mexico chiles every year. This causes the skin to bubble and it can be taken off and the seeds discarded. We freeze them in small batches and they are wonderful to add flavor to any dish, burgers, etc. JF

[valvejob]

I've had good luck with just covering them with ice water after blanching and then placing them in freezer bags with just enough water to cover and surround them. That way I never get freezer burns and you can just cook with the water as it melts.

[Jon Shemitz]

But then you have to thaw the whole bag at once, right? By wetting them before I freeze them, I get enough ice glaze to prevent freezer burn, but the chiles stay separate and I can take out as many or as few as I like.

[Aluckyguess]

I think I will try this.