Preserving peppers

[Terry Coombs]

  By freezing them , that is . I read about chopping/freezing them , just how do you do it ? Is it portioned out for whatever selected purpose ? Frozen in a chunk and you hack off what you need ? Cut into chunks that you freeze on a cookie sheet ? I have some that I want to freeze , just ain't sure about the best way - we usually use them in small quantities , though some of these should be good in stuff like fajitas or stir fry .

[adule]

I've tried freezing peppers (jalapenos, bells, bananas, Charlestons,etc) and it worked out okay by putting about 3/4 to a cup full, chopped into

1/4" or so pieces, in a small freezer zip-loc bag with as much air removed as possible. And now for the bad news. As long as the peppers are going into something where texture isn't of great importance or they are going to be finely chopped (chili, salsa, etc.) they're okay. But in something like stir-fry, where you might want to retain some fresh-from-the-garden tender/crisp texture, I've found them a little too soft and mushy. Of course, the usual IMO and YMMV disclaimers apply here.

FrankV

[songbird]

i oven roast them and then pack them into pint jars in their own juice as i pack them down getting as much air out as i can.

i cut them in chunky strips and put them on a large cookie sheet to roast. then i roast them about an hour until they start getting some burn on them. i don't bother peeling the skin off. i eat it all a little extra chewyness and fiber isn't going to kill me.

they're so sweet they're like candy. i thaw them out in the microwave and then put them in soups or on top of other things or in sammiches, but more often than anything i just stand there and eat them out of jar. :)

songbird