Is it possible to freeze hot peppers for the winter: how to preserve the hot vegetable correctly

Vegetables grown in your garden always taste better than store-bought ones. But not all crops remain fresh until winter. Most often, the harvest is stored in the basement, but the freezing method is becoming increasingly popular.

The more tender and juicy the fruit, the more difficult it is to preserve them. These include peppers, including bitter ones. Many housewives have questions: is it possible to freeze hot peppers for the winter, how healthy is it, and will it lose its taste? Read more about how to make such a blank in our article.

Is it possible to freeze hot peppers?

Many housewives prefer freezers to shelves with winter preparations. It is much faster to pack vegetables for storage without heat treatment or drying, while maintaining their beneficial properties. The advantages of freezing also include ease of preparation - just wash the fruit well and cut it into portions (you don’t even have to cut it). There is no need to stand at the stove for hours and sterilize dishes.

But not all garden crops can be stored in the freezer. Are red hot peppers frozen? Experience has shown that yes.

The advantages of this method:

• preservation of nutrients and vitamins;
• taste protection;
• unchanged appearance;
• Storage duration is one year.

Freeze the pepper whole or cut it into portions and package it in bags.. Whole peppers separate easily from each other.

What is the loss of beneficial properties

Some people prefer to dry whole peppers., hanging by the stalk in the kitchen or stringing on a thread. Drying, drying, and canning peppers changes their flavor. Beta-carotene and B vitamins are destroyed when exposed to room temperature and sunlight. Oxygen promotes the loss of fat-soluble vitamins A and E. Evaporation of moisture spoils the appearance of the fetus.

The freezer preserves beneficial vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Also, such storage does not change the shape and color of the fruit.

What happens to taste?

For freezing select fruits that have reached biological maturity. These pods are the sharpest. Their taste and pungency do not change at sub-zero temperatures.

How to properly freeze hot peppers

The pods are frozen both in small chambers and in special chests. Their shelf life largely depends on how correctly the fruits were prepared.

In any form

If the freezer capacity allows, bitter peppers are stored whole, straight with the stalk.. If there is not enough space, the pods are cut into strips or rings and placed in small bags. It is easy to break off the desired portion from such a frozen piece. Freezing or discarding the grains - the hottest part of the pepper - is at the discretion of the housewife.

About freezing other vegetables:

How to freeze green peas

How to freeze eggplants for the winter

How to freeze bell peppers

Processing and packaging

Pepper is one of the crops that do not require special preparations for storage.. It is enough to select whole fruits. Spoiled peppers are best used for canning or cooking. Then the pods are washed in cold water and dried well with a towel. You can use paper napkins instead of cloth.

Important! Before putting the pods in the refrigerator, cut off the tails.

Plastic and vacuum bags are used for packaging fruits., plastic containers. It is not recommended to use glass jars, as it is difficult to remove frozen cuts from them.

Precautionary measures:

• when working with burning pods, protect your hands with medical or household gloves;
• when cutting fruits, do not touch your face and eyes with your hands;
• After finishing work, wash your hands thoroughly with hot soapy water.

There are several ways to freeze peppers:

1. Instant. The pods are cut into strips and laid out in a thin layer on a food tray. The workpiece is placed in the freezing compartment. As soon as the pepper freezes, it is placed in a vacuum or plastic bag and placed in a storage compartment.
2. In a container. Peppers can be stored whole or chopped. The fruits are placed in a prepared container and then in the freezer.
3. In oil. Clean pods are placed in a glass jar, then refined oil is poured into the container. The workpiece is stored in a compartment with a temperature of 0°C. The oil can be used to dress salads.
4. With greens. The pepper is finely chopped and mixed with chopped celery or parsley. The workpiece is placed in a bag and stored in the freezer.
5. In ground form. The fruits are ground in a meat grinder and frozen in a container.

Read also:

How to freeze beans while preserving their beneficial properties

How to freeze zucchini and what to cook from them later

Storage conditions and periods

The choice of processing and packaging of pepper depends on the depth of freezing and temperature of the refrigerator compartment. The pods are 88% water, which turns into ice at a temperature of -5°C.Fruits stored in such conditions may lose their external qualities and become soft when defrosted.

For short-term storage, set the temperature from 0 to +2°C. This will preserve the appearance of the pods. Pepper stays fresh for 40 days.

For long-term storage, the pods are kept in the freezer at a temperature of -12…-18°C. Under these conditions, the pepper will remain fresh for 6 to 12 months.

Important! When defrosting and re-freezing, the appearance of the fruit deteriorates and the shelf life is reduced.

Using frozen hot peppers

Frozen chili peppers are used in many dishes.. It goes well with almost all foods and gives them a spicy kick. Recently, this product has found application even in cosmetology.

In terms of usefulness, hot peppers are on par with apples, carrots, blueberries and green tea. The pods contain an alkaloid that helps digest food faster.

But When eating chili, moderation is important. Although there are no uniform standards for the use of this product, a love of spicy food can cause gastrointestinal diseases. This pepper is contraindicated for people suffering from ulcers, gastritis and high stomach acidity.

Peculiarity. It is not necessary to defrost the halves of the pod; they cut well in their solid form.

Tips and tricks

Experienced housewives know a few tricks, thanks to which you can regulate the taste of hot pepper:

1. To wash the soil off the pods completely, place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
2. You can reduce the heat of pepper by dipping it in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. This technique will extend the shelf life during shallow freezing, and fat- and water-soluble vitamins will be preserved.
3. To reduce bitterness, the core with seeds and veins is removed. In addition, this allows you to stack the peppers more compactly.
4. It is better not to use a food processor to cut the fruits, as the equipment can turn the pods into a mushy mass.
5. If you have prepared an excess of pepper, you can get rid of the excess by preparing adjika with tomato paste or frozen tomatoes.

Conclusion

Having fresh vegetables on hand in winter is very convenient. Modern refrigerators allow you to store crops for a long time. Such preparations retain their taste and benefits without losing them when defrosted.

Even a novice housewife can prepare the pods for freezing. It is enough to wash the fruits well, dry and cut. Store vegetables in bags, containers and jars. Frozen peppers are used in the preparation of first courses, meat, fish and confectionery.