Peppers!

[Pistolenschutze]

I kinda went bonkers this year planting peppers. I ended up with 22 separate plants split among 14 different varieties. They range from sweet (green bells and sweet bananas)), to mild (Anaheims and Big Jims) to some (like cowhorns and Cayennes) that are supposed to be hot enough to melt titanium on a cold day at the North Pole.

If the peppers produce as they appear they might, can anyone suggest the proper way to freeze some of the crop for later use? Before, we've always just used the peppers as they came off the vine, mostly for Mexican dishes, salads, and sauces. There may be too many for that this year and I would hate to waste them. How about canning? Do peppers can well? If so, what varieties are best?

Appreciate any input you might have, folks.

[45nut]

Pistol,

All of them will can well. If you're going to use the chili's for salsa and other Mexican dishes, you can roast and skin them (roast over an open flame, grill etc, place in a ziploc bag for 30 minutes and then scrape the skin off). Then you can dice them or leave them whole. When I buy large batches of Hatch Green Chili's I roast them, remove the seeds and stem and freeze them whole

They will freeze well in a vacuum sealer either roasted or fresh. If you blanch them I think they will freeze better whole.

Cayenne's aren't that hot. I love them with fresh purple hull peas, buttermilk cornbread, sliced tomatos, iced tea and Tomato Pemon.

Note:
Tomato Pemon (French for Tomato Pepper) is my Mamaw's recipe and is a great accompaniment to cornbread.

Saute some onion & bell pepper in bacon grease. Add 1 can of stewed tomatos and 2 cloves garlic chopped. Add a little salt and as much Cayenne pepper as you can stand. Reduce by half and add 1 beaten egg and stir the egg into the tomato mixture. Eat it on the cornbread. Yummy.

[Trouble 45-70]

I like to can sliced cucumbers and add jalapenos in vinegar. Sometimes I'll add a few pepercorns. I find the Jalapenos add a good flavor to many foods and are good eaten with Chow Mein or mashed potatoes and gravy and a few other foods. They seem to kick the flavor up a notch. I find the flavor of the hotter peppers are often bitter or not worth the discomfort of the heat. The exception to that is the nasty peppers. Realy great for canning. Havn't been able to get the seeds in years. Just planted jalapenos and bells this year.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by 45nut

Pistol,

All of them will can well. If you're going to use the chili's for salsa and other Mexican dishes, you can roast and skin them (roast over an open flame, grill etc, place in a ziploc bag for 30 minutes and then scrape the skin off). Then you can dice them or leave them whole. When I buy large batches of Hatch Green Chili's I roast them, remove the seeds and stem and freeze them whole

They will freeze well in a vacuum sealer either roasted or fresh. If you blanch them I think they will freeze better whole.

Cayenne's aren't that hot. I love them with fresh purple hull peas, buttermilk cornbread, sliced tomatos, iced tea and Tomato Pemon.

Note:
Tomato Pemon (French for Tomato Pepper) is my Mamaw's recipe and is a great accompaniment to cornbread.

Saute some onion & bell pepper in bacon grease. Add 1 can of stewed tomatos and 2 cloves garlic chopped. Add a little salt and as much Cayenne pepper as you can stand. Reduce by half and add 1 beaten egg and stir the egg into the tomato mixture. Eat it on the cornbread. Yummy.

Thank you for the input, 45. Much appreciated. Last year we did freeze some of the chopped peppers we made up, and that seemed to work quite well. We just chopped them, put the result in freezer bags, and then into the freezer. This year though, I may well end up with far more peppers and I would like to preserve some for use during the cold months. My wife and I both like peppers, and use them in many of the dishes we prepare. They can change an ordinary, bland dish into something special.

[45nut]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

They can change an ordinary, bland dish into something special.

Absolutely!!

[Maximilian II]

Anyone with the problem of "too many peppers" can have my help eating them!
I especially like the fresh taste of Jalapenos and habaneros. Mmm!

[Powderhorn]

I have a friend who makes the best habanero relish I have eaten. He puts it in everything... even his tequila. He grows his own habaneros, and smokes them himself. He makes a concoction of 98% peppers and some garlic, salt, and some olive oil. Very tasty, but hot enough to burn a hole in you. So hot that...

...and this is the truth...

One day we were sitting around the table on his patio. on the table were some beers were were drinking, a dish of the vile relish, and some chips. During a pause in our conversation, we watched a fly land on the rim on the relish bowl. He flew up, sputtered his wings a bit, and dropped dead. No joke. We laughed like crazy, and still reminisce that to this very day.

[artabr]

Originally Posted by Powderhorn

I have a friend who makes the best habanero relish I have eaten. He puts it in everything... even his tequila. He grows his own habaneros, and smokes them himself. He makes a concoction of 98% peppers and some garlic, salt, and some olive oil. Very tasty, but hot enough to burn a hole in you. So hot that...

...and this is the truth...

One day we were sitting around the table on his patio. on the table were some beers were were drinking, a dish of the vile relish, and some chips. During a pause in our conversation, we watched a fly land on the rim on the relish bowl. He flew up, sputtered his wings a bit, and dropped dead. No joke. We laughed like crazy, and still reminisce that to this very day.

Great mental picture.

-----------------------------

+1 on chopped peppers frozen in zip-loc bags.
I'm a fanatic about cooking with bell peppers, especially red bells. The problem is, at off season prices of as much as $3 to 4 bucks a piece it's almost painful.
I'll buy a couple of dozen in season for as low as $.50 cents a piece and cut & bag them up and throw them in the freezer.


Art

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Powderhorn

IDuring a pause in our conversation, we watched a fly land on the rim on the relish bowl. He flew up, sputtered his wings a bit, and dropped dead.

Must not have been a Texan fly.

[Bobitis]

Didn't know ya could grow peppers in NH.
They don't grow here.

[obxned]

Peppers cross-pollenate - you will get some very interesting produce.

[torpedoman]

i roast mine with a propane torch to burn all the skin than put in a ziplock and freeze burnt skin and all when i need a few just run water over them and seperate out what you need and the water will wash the skin off .(you want that skin black)

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by obxned

Peppers cross-pollenate - you will get some very interesting produce.

They can if different species are planted close enough together, but in most cases, the blended species peppers won't show up unless you save the seeds from some of the pods and plant them the following year. I don't plan to do that since the plants themselves are quite inexpensive. That's what my research on pepper plants said, anyway.

[Carne Frio]

Thousands of people in New Mexico put up 40 pound bags of roasted green chili every year, using the method in post #12, by TORPEDOMAN. Most families that I know there
roast and freeze 2 to 4 bags a year. Roasting brings out a better flavor. To use, just
put a frozen pepper under running water and the skin peels right off. Be sure to wash
hands prior to touching eyes or "other" important parts of your body.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Carne Frio

Thousands of people in New Mexico put up 40 pound bags of roasted green chili every year, using the method in post #12, by TORPEDOMAN. Most families that I know there
roast and freeze 2 to 4 bags a year. Roasting brings out a better flavor. To use, just
put a frozen pepper under running water and the skin peels right off. Be sure to wash
hands prior to touching eyes or "other" important parts of your body.

If the crop is sufficient, I may well try roasting some, Carne. I've heard others recommend that method, and it certainly sounds right to me. As for handling them, I will definitely wear rubber gloves! I have a friend in Texas who prepped a couple of bushels of very hot peppers for canning without any protection on her arms or hands. She ended up in the hospital for treatment of severe burns!