Useful information on how to store peppers in the refrigerator for the winter and for how long
The maximum benefit comes from fresh rather than canned vegetables, so it is important to ensure proper storage of the harvest.
Capsicum or vegetable peppers can be preserved in different ways, but the easiest way is to put them in a household refrigerator.
We'll tell you how to store peppers in the refrigerator in this article.
Content
Is it possible?
Ripe and undamaged vegetables keep well in a regular refrigerator for several weeks. You need to put it away in the vegetable drawer or bottom shelf., where the temperature does not drop below +4 degrees.
Is the taste and properties lost?
The duration of storage does not affect the taste of the vegetable; it remains sweet or spicy, depending on the variety.
If unripe pepper lies at a temperature above +10 degrees and ripens during the process, its taste improves.
The longer fresh vegetables are stored, the less vitamins remain in them.. The most unstable vitamin for storage is ascorbic acid. It is destroyed during storage of fresh vegetables, even at low temperatures (with the exception of freezing).
Pepper saves the increased content of this vitamin. In red fruits, its level reaches 209 mg per 100 g of product, so even after long-term storage the vegetable remains useful.
Vitamin C is destroyed by all types of heat treatment of vegetables, so it is useful to eat peppers fresh in salads.During storage, vegetables lose weight due to moisture evaporation and become flabby.
Preparation for storage
Place clean, healthy, dry, medium-sized fruits in the refrigerator. Ripe, thick-walled vegetables last longer, small peppers with thin walls are best processed.
After harvesting or purchasing a vegetable in a store, the fruits are inspected, rejecting soft and wrinkled ones with signs of rot. Clean the skin from soil and other contaminants with a dry cloth.
Conditions and ways to keep vegetables fresh longer
Optimal storage conditions for legumes pepper:
- air temperature +4 +8 degrees;
- humidity 80%.
Fluctuations in temperature and humidity negatively affect the shelf life, significantly reducing it. Depending on the planned shelf life, the vegetables are simply placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator or packed in a new plastic bag.
Housewives also practice other methods:
- packaging each fruit in parchment paper or cling film;
- sealing the pepper in a vacuum using a special device;
- filling whole fruits in a bottle with vegetable oil.
A vacuum extends the shelf life of vegetables, but after opening the package, the product must be used immediately.
Bulgarian (sweet) or capsicum (vegetable)
A small amount of pepper can be easily stored in a regular plastic bag. The bag is tied tightly, but a couple of holes are made in the walls an awl for ventilation.
Vegetables are placed on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature is maintained at +4 +6 degrees.In this package, sweet peppers will remain fresh for up to 3 weeks.
If during storage condensation begins to accumulate on the inner surface of the bag, the vegetables are transferred to a dry bag, making more holes in it.
6 ways to preserve bell peppers - in the video:
Black (polka dot)
A common spice, hot dry powder or peas, is obtained from black pepper. The product does not need to be stored in the refrigerator, just put the spice in a dry and dark place.
Chile
Hot peppers last longer than sweet peppers due to the content of capsaicin, a substance responsible for the spicy taste of the vegetable.
Capsaicin inhibits the growth of bacteria and putrefactive fungi, so even without special packaging, hot peppers will not spoil in the refrigerator for 2 months.
Chili is kept in regular plastic bags or plastic containers, similar to the Bulgarian variety.
You can preserve the hot vegetable for longer than 2 months by placing it in a bottle or glass jar. The container is filled to the top with vegetable oil boiled and cooled to room temperature. Oil does not allow air into the vegetable, so the product does not spoil. In this form, chili peppers can be stored for more than 6 months.
If you break the integrity of the pepper by cutting it into pieces, the oil will absorb the heat of the chili and can be used for dressing salads and marinating meat. For such purposes It is better to take refined oil, which has no odor of its own.
This video will show you how to preserve chili peppers for the winter:
How long is it stored, what does the period depend on?
At constant temperature and humidity in the refrigerator, capsicums do not wither for 10-60 days. This variation in terms is due to differences in the initial quality of the product.
The product with the following characteristics will last the longest:
- The fruit is removed from the bush at the stage of technical ripeness (the pepper has gained the required weight and juiciness, but has not turned into the color characteristic of the variety).
- During cultivation, the weather was favorable, and fertilizer application rates were observed (exceeding doses of nitrogen and rainy weather negatively affect shelf life).
- The vegetable has no traces of rot, wounds or cracks on the skin.
- After harvest, the fruits were not transported for a long time and were not kept in a room with high temperatures.
- The peppers were not exposed to freezing.
Is freezing allowed?
All types of peppers retain their nutritional value after freezing. Vitamin C in such a product is not destroyed, subject to rapid freezing.
Storage temperature from -18 to -27 degrees, period - more than 6 months. The vegetable can be frozen whole by removing the seeds from it, cutting it into pieces, or pureeing it.
Before freezing, experienced housewives make vegetable mixtures with peppers and stuff them, making further cooking easier.
The semi-finished product should be subjected to heat treatment without prior defrosting.
How to increase the shelf life?
If there are few fruits and it is important to preserve each pepper, You can treat vegetables with wax (medical paraffin). The impermeable shell of molten paraffin completely eliminates contact of the pepper with air, so the product does not spoil. It is easy to remove the wax film by dipping the fruit in hot water.
If a vegetable lying in the refrigerator begins to lose turgor (wither), it is better to process it or put it in the freezer.
Adviсe
It is better to store peppers for long-term storage immediately after picking them from the bush. The fruits should be medium in size, full-bodied, with strong, shiny skin. The stalk should be cut at a distance of 3-5 mm from the fruit.
Do not wash the fruits before putting them in the refrigerator! Dirt on the skin can be removed with a dry cloth by gently wiping the pepper.
Some housewives wipe vegetables before storing with a rag soaked in vodka or diluted alcohol. It is believed that this technique kills microbes on the surface of the fruit and contributes to better preservation of the crop.
Vegetables must be inspected during storage, selecting fruits with signs of spoilage for processing. If rotten pepper cannot be used immediately, it is removed from the spoiled parts, seeds and stems, and cut into pieces.
The semi-finished product is placed in a plastic container or glass jar under a tight lid. This product will last safely in the refrigerator for 3-5 days before use. The same is done with peeled peppers that remain unclaimed after cooking.
Conclusion
Capsicums are stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4 +6 degrees, while maintaining cleanliness and a constant level of humidity. If you choose strong and healthy fruits for storage, they will remain fresh and tasty for 3-5 weeks.
