Preserving the Bounty: Peppers

Reader Contribution by Allan Douglas
Published on September 25, 2011
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This year I planted a whole passel of peppers: bell peppers that can be harvested as green peppers or allowed to ripen and become red, yellow or orange bell peppers, jalapeno peppers that can be harvested green as standard jalapenos or allowed to ripen to bright red and become hot chilies, cayenne peppers, hot banana peppers, sweet banana peppers, and chocolate bell peppers.  But, we can eat only so many peppers as they come in from the garden; especially the hot peppers – a little of those goes a long way!  So I needed to find ways to preserve the excess for use later in the year.  Here’s what I came up with.

NOTE: When working with hot peppers, wear rubber gloves and be careful not to touch your eyes, mouth or other sensitive parts of your body.  The capsaicin in the peppers that gives them their hot flavor is an oily substance that does not wash off your hands and will cause serious discomfort if rubbed into a sensitive area.  Even regular skin like your arm or leg can become irritated if you scratch an itch while working with hot peppers.  Take care in cleaning up your counters and utensils because the oil can transfer from one item to another or back onto your hands.

When washing your peppers for processing and storage, using a bath of 3 parts water and 1 part white vinegar to soak peppers (or most any vegetable for that matter) for ten minutes will kill 98% of the bacteria on them.  Rinse with tap water before processing.  This will also extend the time fresh vegetables can be stored in the fridge before they begin getting that slimy feel as a result of bacteria growing on them.

Red vs Green Jalapenos

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