Tips for lovers of spicy dishes on how to properly store hot peppers in pods

Hot pepper is a popular seasoning that is used in various cuisines to add a spicy taste to dishes.

To be able to use pepper all year round, you can prepare it for future use using time-tested simple recipes.

We'll tell you how to store red and green hot peppers in pods below.

Preparing to store hot vegetables for the winter at home

Hot peppers keep quite well in pods. This is due to the fact that the product itself contains substances that prevent fruit spoilage.

The harvested capsicum crop must be reviewed and sorted, discarding damaged capsicums. With the rest, you need to immediately decide how exactly they will be stored. Their preparation will depend on this.

Vegetables must be cleaned of dirt, the stalks must be preserved. You need to work with the peppercorns themselves carefully so as not to damage them.

Peculiarities

Hot peppers in pods can be preserved in various ways. It can be left fresh, canned, frozen and even dried.

Fresh

Fresh storage allows you to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients in the fruit. At the same time, it is important to create the correct storage conditions - ensure a cool temperature from +7 to +10? C and protection from the sun.

Suitable places for storing fresh vegetables are:

• fridge;
• cellar (basement);
• equipped balcony.

Due to the demanding conditions of maintenance, it will be difficult to maintain large reserves in a city apartment. Details - in this article.

Fridge

Hot capsicum Can be stored directly on the refrigerator shelf. To do this, you need to fold it into a plastic bag, in which additional holes are made, and put it in the vegetable compartment.

The bag should not be sealed so that condensation does not begin to form in it. In this case, excess moisture can harm the pods and lead to their deterioration.

If you keep fresh peppers in pods in inappropriate conditions, their shelf life will be significantly reduced. Read more Here.

Cellar

When determining a place to store peppers, it is important to check that the cellar is not stuffy and there is air circulation. Light, even artificial light, should not fall on the fruit. It is most convenient to store peppercorns in wooden or plastic boxes with air access.

The pods are placed in each box in layers, between which you need to lay paper. You can also sprinkle the layers with sawdust or sand.

Balcony

If the balcony has insulation and there are drawers, you can store peppers in pods in them. Wherein It is important that the vegetables are not exposed to sunlight, and the storage space itself was protected from possible frost.

When kept in the warmth of an apartment, peppers in pods immediately begin to wither, so this storage option is completely unsuitable.

In frozen

Hot peppers tolerate freezing well. If you plan to freeze it directly in the pods, then you need to do the following:

1. Wash the vegetables.
2. Dry.
3. Divide into portions of several pieces, and you can even individually, pack in bags made of thick cellophane. Each of these bags should contain as many peppers as will need to be defrosted at one time. It is also possible to use plastic containers with lids.

Details - in this article. About freezing peppers - video:

Conservation

Hot peppers in pods can be preserved either whole or chopped. How to cook pickled peppers - on video:

Dried

Hot peppers in pods can be dried. By losing moisture, the vegetable becomes much lighter and can be stored compactly for up to a year. There are several ways to dry fruits.

The duration of drying pepper pods depends on the processing method. It can range from 1-2 hours in an electric dryer, to several days when dried under natural conditions in air.

Stringing bundles

Raw peppers can be easily strung on a strong thread or fishing line. To do this you need a needle. With its help, peppers are pierced in the area of ​​the stalk.

The resulting “garlands” can be hung in a warm, dry room. When the peppercorns become noticeably brittle, they can be removed and placed in canvas bags or containers. If desired, one or two bunches can be used to decorate the dining room.

In the oven

Hot peppers in pods can be dried in the oven. Washed dried fruits can be placed on a baking sheet or placed on a wire rack.

The temperature in the oven should be set low, approximately +50? C. Peppers laid out in one layer will dry evenly. Their readiness should be determined by the fragility of the fruit. After the dried peppers have cooled, they can be placed in a bag or container.

Drying flat

The harvested hot pepper in pods can be dried naturally in the air, simply by spreading it on a flat surface. If the weather is dry and warm, the fruits will dry quickly. It is best to dry them on a board with white paper underneath. The top of the pods is covered with gauze.

In an electric dryer

If you have an electric dryer for vegetables and fruits, you can use it by arranging the peppers evenly in tiers.

For uniform drying, the tiers can be swapped. Using an electric dryer significantly saves processing time.

Before using the electric dryer, it is recommended to read the instructions included with the appliance.

10 useful tips

Store hot peppers in pods for a long time The following recommendations will help:

1. Fresh peppers should not be kept together with apples, as this will cause the pods to quickly wither.
2. If there is free space in your garden plot, you can grow hot peppers yourself. This is an unpretentious plant that gives a good harvest.
3. The most useful substances are found in fully ripened fruits, less in unripe ones.
4. It is advisable to carry out work on harvesting and processing capsicums while wearing rubber gloves. This is necessary to protect the skin from the caustic baking juice.
5. You should not touch your face with your hands, much less your mucous membranes, unless they are thoroughly washed after contact with pepper.
6. The hottest part of the pepper pods is the seeds. If it is necessary to reduce the sharpness of the workpiece, they must be removed.
7. To add a slight spiciness to dishes prepared with peppers, it is better to use canned fruits rather than fresh or dried ones.
8. In order for the pods to be better saturated with marinade and brine when preserving, it is necessary to make a couple of cuts or several punctures with a toothpick in the vegetables before placing the vegetables in the jar.
9. When freezing a vegetable, it is important to remove the air from the bag as well as possible so that the packaging becomes more compact and takes up less space in the freezer.
10. Peppers in pods can be pickled together with other vegetables, but you need to take into account that the entire contents of the jar will become hot.

Video on the topic of the article

This video will tell you how to store hot peppers:

Conclusion

You can preserve hot peppers directly from the pods using simple recipes. Depending on how you plan to use the vegetable and at what time, canning, freezing or drying is chosen. More limited in terms of time, you can store pepper pods raw.

For lovers of spicy dishes, It would be better to try different preparation methodsto prepare a variety of dishes for your family all year round.