How to preserve hot peppers for the winter at home, frozen, dried or canned

During the harvesting season, there is an increased demand among housewives for recipes that can be used to prepare dishes from crops grown directly in the garden. Today we'll talk about hot peppers.

Let's look at how to preserve hot peppers for the winter at home and give proven recipes for preparing dishes from this vegetable.

How to choose peppers for storage

Hot peppers can be stored fresh in a cool place for up to several months.. To preserve this vegetable at home for a longer period, use the following storage methods:

• freezing;
• drying;
• canning.

Regardless of which option for preserving the beneficial properties of the product is chosen, the fruits for storage are selected in the same way. They must be ripe and without external defects (dents, cracks, rot).

It is preferable to take a mid- or late-ripening vegetable variety for preparations.. Fleshy, thick-walled pepper varieties are more suitable for freezing and canning, while thin-walled varieties are more suitable for drying.

For example, the fruits of the varieties Burning Bouquet, Dragon's Tongue, Indian Elephant, Astrakhan 147, Chili are recommended for drying, and the varieties Miracle of Moscow, Ogonyok, Vizier and Double Abundance are recommended for freezing and canning.

Read also:

Pickled hot peppers without sterilization

How to salt hot peppers according to the best recipes from around the world

Marinated with honey for the winter: the most delicious recipes

Fruit preparation

Fruits selected for storage may be red or green, but must be clean. To achieve this, the peppers are washed in warm running water and wiped dry.

Attention! It is not recommended to keep fruits in water for longer than 3-5 minutes. While in water, they absorb liquid, which can interfere with their further processing (for example, drying).

Drying

Dried pepper does not lose its pungency and pungency. Dried fruits can be stored for up to several years.

On air

You can air dry hot peppers either in pieces or whole.. Housewives often prefer to dry peppers without damaging the integrity of the fruit. Peppers are collected in bunches, tied with twine or threads by the stalk and hung to dry in a cool, dry, ventilated place.

Drying takes about 1-2 weeks. Bundles are subsequently used not only for culinary purposes, but also as interior decoration for the kitchen or home.

Attention! When drying, the fruits should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Their intensity is difficult to control; they can “wither” the pulp too quickly and spoil the product.

In the oven

Hot peppers dry faster in the oven than in air. The whole process takes from 2.5 to 5 hours.

To dry the pepper, preheat the oven to 40-50°C. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper and place clean fruits (whole or cut) on top. They are turned over every 30 minutes to ensure even drying.

Attention! When working with hot peppers, it is advisable to use gloves. To avoid getting pepper on your mucous membranes, do not touch them with your hands. After handling fruits, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.

In an electric dryer

In an electric dryer, peppers will dry out faster than in an oven.Depending on the drying power and the thickness of the fruit walls, a product ready for storage can be obtained within 1-2 hours.

Peppercorns whole or in pieces are laid out on drying tiers, then the device is plugged into the mains. The tiers are swapped every 15 minutes. Dry pods are placed in a glass jar.

One common way to store dried pepper is to grind it into powder. (twist in a meat grinder), place the ground mass in a sterile glass jar and place in a dry place (optionally in the refrigerator).

Attention! The ground mixture will retain its pungency for about a year, and after that the burning taste will begin to disappear. It is not advisable to store the mixture longer - the taste will deteriorate.

Freezing

Unlike drying, in which the pungent pods are often processed whole, when freezing the fruits are usually crushed. They are cut so that the size and shape are suitable for cooking.

Some housewives remove the seeds from the fruit when freezing hot peppers.

Reference. The hotness of hot peppers comes from the alkaloid capsaicin contained in the fruit. Most of it is in the seeds, inner walls and peel of the fruit - these parts are the hottest.

But there are those who prefer to preserve the sources of pungent taste and freeze the vegetable, cutting it along with the seeds.

Place the sliced ​​fruits on the tray in a loose layer, avoiding touching the slices. After a few hours, when the vegetable is frozen, the slices are transferred to a plastic bag or containers and stored in the freezer. Before freezing, shake the bag(s) to separate the pieces from each other.

At a storage temperature of minus 18-22°C (optimal mode), the vegetable can be stored for up to six months without any problems.

Uses frozen product when cooking soups (borscht, kharcho), stews, goulash, stewing and for preparing savory sauces.

It can be useful:

The benefits of cayenne pepper and how to grow it correctly

What is good about the Ogonyok pepper variety and how to grow it

Preserving

There are many ways to preserve hot peppers. Pepper rolls can be stored for up to one to two years in a cool place. Let's dwell on the most favorite recipes among gourmets.

With vinegar and honey

Hot peppers are washed and placed tightly in a sterile liter jar.. Fill with boiling marinade to the top, roll under a metal lid, turn upside down and cover with a “fur coat” until it cools.

Composition of the marinade:

• 5 tbsp. l. honey;
• 3 tbsp. l. salt;
• 400 g vinegar (9%);
• 1 bay leaf;
• 5 black peppercorns.

With oil and vinegar

Cooking technology is standard: clean, dried fruits are compacted into a sterile glass jar. A few cloves of garlic are also added there. Everything is poured with boiling marinade and rolled under the lid.

Mix for marinade:

• 200 g vegetable oil (refined, deodorized);
• 250 g water;
• 200 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. (with top) salt;
• 200 g vinegar (9%).

Advice. As additional ingredients for marinating, you can add dry spices, coriander, fresh parsley or celery to the recipe at your discretion.

In Georgian

To prepare the dish you will need:

• 5 kg of hot pepper;
• 300 g garlic cloves;
• one large bunch each of parsley and cilantro;
• 500 g vegetable oil (refined, deodorized);
• 1 liter of vinegar (9%);
• 7 tbsp. l. salt;
• 6 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 8 bay leaves.

A marinade is made from oil, water, sugar, salt and vinegar.. Boil the peppercorns in it for 5-7 minutes, then take them out and let the brine drain.

The fruits are placed in jars. Garlic and herbs are minced in a meat grinder, the mixture is added to the marinade and brought to a boil. Jars with fruits are poured with boiling marinade and sterilized in a water bath (0.5 liter jars - 9-10 minutes, 1 liter jars - 18-20 minutes). Then the jars are rolled under the lids. Store the snack in a cool place.

In Armenian

Scald clean fruits in boiling water for about one minute., remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into cold water. As a result of a sharp temperature change, the top skin will begin to separate from the fruit - remove it. Then the pepper is boiled for 1-2 minutes in the marinade and placed in sterile jars mixed with garlic cloves.

Next, pour boiling brine, roll up under metal covers. The jars are turned upside down and wrapped until completely cool. Store the workpiece in a cool place.

Composition of the marinade:

• 1 liter of water;
• 70 g vinegar (9%);
• 350 g vegetable oil (refined, deodorized);
• 70 g sugar;
• 3 tbsp. l. salt.

Secrets and tips

Experienced housewives share the secrets of preparing hot pepper preparations and give useful advice:

• to give the prepared dish a slight spicy spiciness, add not raw or dried chili to the dish, but canned one - the heat of the dish will be softened;
• so that when canning the pepper is better saturated with the marinade and there are no air voids left in the jar, prick each pepper with a toothpick or knife in several places;
• When freezing fruits, it is advisable to release all excess air from the bag. This will save valuable space in the freezer;
• peppers can be pickled together with other vegetables (for example, cucumbers, tomatoes).But keep in mind that the heat of the pepper will spread to the entire contents of the jar.

Let's sum it up

Hot pepper has many fans. So that you can enjoy its taste not only in summer or autumn, when it ripens in the garden beds, the vegetable is prepared for long-term storage. To do this, culinary experts have come up with several ways - dry, marinate, pickle or freeze the vegetable.

Try preparing hot peppers according to our recipes. It will take a little effort, but the result will please you and your loved ones. Bon appetit!