Helpful tips on how to preserve hot peppers for the winter as long as possible

Hot pepper is a spicy addition to various dishes. It is relatively unpretentious when grown, and is well preserved in winter, prepared in various ways.

To delight your family with original recipes using hot peppers all winter, the vegetable must be selected and prepared correctly.

We'll tell you how to preserve hot peppers for the winter in this article.

Preparing for storage at home

Hot pepper has an extensive list of beneficial qualities. But only a high-quality vegetable, properly prepared, can bring benefits.

Bitter capsicum can be prepared in winter in various ways. For long-term storage, ripe fruits that do not have obvious defects or rot are selected.

Processing the harvested crop hot pepper includes:

1. Soak the collected fruits in warm water for half an hour.
2. Chili rinsing.
3. Inspect for damage.
4. For harvesting methods with further grinding, you can use fruits with damaged areas that need to be cut.

   For methods of harvesting whole peppers, only fruits without damage are selected.

The fruits of bitter pepper themselves contain preservative substances that contribute to good preservation of the crop. The best option is to use red fruits for preparations - they contain the maximum amount of these substances.

Methods

There are several ways to preserve chili peppers for the winter. If the harvest is large, then it is possible to use several options at once or choose the most convenient:

• dry;
• in frozen;
• in fresh condition;
• preserved.

Each method of preserving hot pepper requires following technology.

Fresh

Fresh hot peppers must be stored at a cool temperature. Such conditions can be provided in the refrigerator, in the cellar or on the balcony. at low air temperatures, but without the likelihood of frost.

In conditions where the vegetable can be placed in a cool place, you need to proceed as follows:

1. Wrap each pepper in paper.
2. Place the peppers in a container with a lid.
3. Place the container on the refrigerator shelf or other cool place.

This storage method allows you to keep the crop for up to a month without losing its appearance and taste. The downside is high humidity, which provokes the development of rotting processes.

If the task is to preserve the pepper for 1.5-2 weeks, then the fruits can be placed in a plastic bag, which is then placed on the refrigerator shelf. Details - in this article.

Freezing

Freezing hot pepper allows you to preserve the maximum amount of its beneficial substances, as well as its smell and taste. You can put the peppercorns in the freezer whole, but it is more practical to first cut the pods into rings.

Work order:

1. Remove the stems from washed and dried peppers.
2. Cut the fruits into rings.
3. Place in small ziplock bags, packing approximately 100 or 150 grams. You can also use containers with lids for freezing.
4. Place the bags compactly in the freezer.

The method of preserving the harvest by freezing can be adopted if you need to keep hot peppers until spring. Read more Here.

This video will tell you about freezing hot peppers:

Conservation

There are a lot of recipes for preserving hot peppers, which allows you to choose a convenient option for yourself.

Marinating with honey

For the preparation you will need the following ingredients:

• 3 kg of hot pepper;
• 2 l. vinegar;
• 4 tsp salt;
• 8 tbsp. honey

Procedure:

1. Prepare jars with lids.
2. Sterilize the jars.
3. Pack the peppers tightly into the jars.
4. Separately mix salt, vinegar and honey, bringing to a homogeneous consistency.
5. Pour the prepared marinade into jars.
6. Roll up.
7. Store refrigerated.

Preparation with oil and vinegar

If you want a softer and more interesting taste, you can cook the pepper with vinegar and oil. To prepare you will need:

• liter jars or 0.75 l volume;
• 3 kg of hot pepper;
• 4 tbsp salt;
• 2 tbsp. vinegar essence;
• 2 l. water;
• 2 tbsp. sunflower oil;
• 6 pcs. bay leaf;
• 1 tbsp. Sahara;
• 8 tsp. garlic squeezed through a garlic press.

Conservation procedure:

1. Wash the jars thoroughly.
2. Dry them on a towel.
3. Boil peppers with stems until soft. Don't throw away the water - it will come in handy later.
4. Place garlic in each jar.
5. Add cooked peppers.
6. Add bay leaves, sugar and salt to the water left over from the peppers.
7. Add sunflower oil.
8. Pour in vinegar.
9. Fill the jars with pepper. If there is not enough liquid, add boiling water.
10. Sterilize for a quarter of an hour.
11. Screw on the lids.
12. Place the jars on the lid and leave until cool.
13. Store in the dark.

Canned hot peppers, video recipe:

Drying

Drying hot peppers is a practical way to preserve your harvest without taking up much space. There are several ways to dry peppercorns:

• on open air;
• hanging by the stalks;
• using an oven and a dish or baking sheet;
• using an electric dryer.

In the oven

To dry in the oven, hot peppers must be divided into portions of up to 1 kg. The fruits themselves need to be prepared:

1. Wash.
2. Dry.
3. Remove seeds and stalks.
4. Cut into halves or finely.
5. Distribute the vegetables evenly on the baking sheet in one layer.
6. Set the oven heating temperature to 50? C.
7. Place the baking sheet in the oven.
8. Dry the pepper for 90-120 minutes, stirring it periodically on the baking sheet. The oven door should not be closed tightly.
9. Cool.
10. Place in jars or food containers with a lid. Store in a dark place.

After the oven, the vegetable will be well dried and can be stored for a long time. The disadvantage of this method is the cost of electricity or gas. Dried peppers can be stored for a long time - up to a year.

In limbo

Drying hot peppers in a suspended state is a traditional method of preparation. The room in which the bundles will be hung must have good air exchange and protection from direct sunlight.

You can string the pepper on twine (a strong thread in several folds), securing each pepper separately, or attach the fruit by the stalk with a clothespin to a stretched string. The crop remains in this state until it dries completely.

Dried peppers can be placed in a cloth bag or left hanging in a bunch.With this method, drying occurs with some loss of taste and takes a long time. The bottoms of dried hot peppers can be used as decoration in the kitchen and dining room.

You can clearly see the preparation for the drying process in the video:

Unfolded without oven

If it is not possible to use an oven, you can dry the peppers under a canopy. If the fruits are damaged, then before drying these areas must be removed and the remaining part must be cut.

To do this you need to do the following:

1. Prepare a place protected from the sun (for example, put up a canopy outside).
2. Wash, dry and remove membranes, seeds and stalks from the pepper.
3. Cut the fruits into strips or cubes.
4. Line a baking sheet or shield with white paper (newspaper will not work).
5. Arrange the peppers in one layer.
6. Cover the top of the fruit with gauze.
7. The paper used to line the baking sheet must be changed every couple of days.
8. The finished vegetable is transferred to jars with lids.

If the air temperature is high and the weather is dry, the vegetable will dry out in a week.

Electric dryer

Using an electric dryer can significantly save processing time. Depending on the variety and other qualities of the vegetable, the drying time can be on average up to two hours or even faster.

Procedure:

• Peppers are laid out evenly on the tiers of the dryer; they can be dried in pieces or whole;
• In order for drying to proceed evenly, the tiers must be rearranged every quarter of an hour;
• dried peppercorns can be immediately placed in jars or containers or further ground.

Long-term storage (more than a year) can lead to the loss of hot pepper.

5 recommendations

When preparing hot peppers for the winter The following expert advice will help:

1. After harvesting, it is recommended to harvest the fruits as soon as possible so that they do not begin to deteriorate.
2. If you preserve peppers with seeds, they will be more hot than those prepared without seeds and internal membranes.
3. It is most convenient to chop fruits for drying in the oven using kitchen scissors rather than a knife. Changing tools will allow you to work faster.
4. The finished dried vegetable can be chopped with a blender or passed through another chopper to make it easier to use when preparing dishes.
5. Thawed fruits should not be re-frozen.

When sunlight hits a vegetable, it loses its beneficial substances.

Video on the topic of the article

Options for preserving hot peppers for the winter can be seen in the video:

Conclusion

Hot peppers can be preserved for the winter in various ways. Depending on the quality of the fruit and the chosen harvesting method, peppers can be dried, frozen or canned.

When fresh, it is more demanding on conditions and will not be able to age all winter without losing its appearance and taste.