How can red,yellow,green peppers be preserved

ynotdu

Got tonnes of the stuff!

I have seen frozen peppers on sale in supermarkets,they come in small diced pieces.

my question is can you dice them as is for freezing,or do you need to boil the diced pieces first?

thanks in advance.

Dizzyblonde

As far as I know you'd need to blanch them for around 3 minutes in boiling water then plunge into cold water to cool, then drain them and dry them before freezing. If you 'open freeze' them on baking trays before putting them into bags it will stop them from sticking together.

You could also roast some of them before freezing, they'd be very handy and taste different to the blanched ones.

rubadub

I am not certain but they might be flash/quick frozen, when you freeze many fruits & veg & meat the water expands the cells & "explodes" then altering the structure. This is why they recommend not refreezing meats and other foods (this lead to a myth about bacteria in meat), the makers want their food tasting its best.

If you freeze mushrooms and defrost them they turn to mush, yet I think I have seen them in frozen stirfry mixes, so they might be OK if quick frozen. Peppers are fairly high in water so I expect they might not do well.

If they are going to end up in stews all this would not really matter...

ynotdu

Thanks a million Dizzy and ruba,

we have had a guilt complex for some time now about throwing out food.
for moral and finance reasons.

we finally got more freezer space,but are lost as to what in-season fruit and veg can be frozen,and which cant,also we are lost as to the method of doing so.

will definatly try the methods you have suggested for the peppers Dizzy,the bake idea sounds tasty too!:)

ruba the only one i know for certain goes to mush besides yours is strawberries(from experiance:D)

obviously i cannot post item for item,the can you freeze if so how?for every item on boards,i,m wondering has anybody got a link to a site we could check as we go along?
thanks in advance.

rubadub

Just type it into google. I simply typed in
can you freeze peppers

and first hit was this http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqpeppers.shtml
has the tray method dizzyblonde mentioned.

ynotdu

rubadub wrote: »

Just type it into google. I simply typed in
can you freeze peppers

and first hit was this http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqpeppers.shtml
has the tray method dizzyblonde mentioned.

now why did,nt i think of that rubadub

was thinking of googling *freezing big melons* but would proably get a porn site:D

cheers and thanks again!

_blank_

I regularly chop peppers into strips and freeze them straight off, and use a handful of them whenever I need.

Never had a problem doing it like that.

Honey-ec

Des wrote: »

I regularly chop peppers into strips and freeze them straight off, and use a handful of them whenever I need.

Never had a problem doing it like that.

Me too. Dead handy to have in the freezer.

ynotdu

Honey-ec wrote: »

Me too. Dead handy to have in the freezer.

Please dont mention the word dead in a thread about preserving food:eek::)

tscul32

same here, we do it with chilli peppers, just throw them whole in a bag in the freezer

Carawaystick

ynotdu wrote: »

Please dont mention the word dead in a thread about preserving food:eek::)

Won't most of the food be dead before it goes in the freezer? apart from some shellfish...

ynotdu

Carawaystick wrote: »

Won't most of the food be dead before it goes in the freezer? apart from some shellfish...

I was thinking more of ME being dead if i preserved food in an incorrect way!:eek:

duploelabs

Roast them over a gas hob, slice up and de-core and stalk them, then put into a sterilised jar and fill with nice robust herbs (rosemary, thyme etc) and maybe some whole garlic cloves then fill the jar with good olive oil and seal.

the beer revolu

duploelabs wrote: »

Roast them over a gas hob, slice up and de-core and stalk them, then put into a sterilised jar and fill with nice robust herbs (rosemary, thyme etc) and maybe some whole garlic cloves then fill the jar with good olive oil and seal.

+1

ynotdu

duploelabs wrote: »

Roast them over a gas hob, slice up and de-core and stalk them, then put into a sterilised jar and fill with nice robust herbs (rosemary, thyme etc) and maybe some whole garlic cloves then fill the jar with good olive oil and seal.

Mmmmmmmmmm duploelabs sounds tasty,

how would you seal the jar,and how long would it preserve them for?
(sounds like a lot of food could be preserved this way?)

excuse my ignorance but i am a real newbie to methods of preserving food.

duploelabs

ynotdu wrote: »

Mmmmmmmmmm duploelabs sounds tasty,

how would you seal the jar,and how long would it preserve them for?
(sounds like a lot of food could be preserved this way?)

excuse my ignorance but i am a real newbie to methods of preserving food.

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have a clue how long it would last for. But it will get tastier the longer you leave it as the oil will infuse with the herbs and garlic and would be great to use as a dressing.
Just use a big jam jar and pop it and the lid in the oven for about 15 mins on a high heat, 190 or so. Then turn off the oven and allow to cool, as long as you don't touch the inside of the jar or the inside of the lid you should be grand.
FYI if you do store it in the fridge, the olive oil will go cloudy (normally when it drops below 5 degrees or so), it's fine and will go clear when it returns above that temp.

chillyvanilly

This is a method for preserving peppers-
in a jar.
Ingredients:
- 10 kg of peppers (sliced)
-3 litres of water
-1 glass of vinegar (10%) and half a glass of water
-6 tsp of salt
-6 tsp of sugar

Method:
Take the peppers, boil for around 3-4 minutes in
a saucepan, remove and leave to cool.
Take a jar and place a clove of garlic, 3 peppercorns
2 english herbs and one bay leaf.
Pack the peppers tightly into a jar.
In a seperate saucepan, boil water, vinegar, salt and
sugar. Use this liquid to fill the jar.
on top put 1 tsp of olive oil, close the jar and pasteurise
the jar by placing it in a saucepan 1/2 full with water and
boil for around 15 to 20 minutes.

Can be used for salads and sandwiches

Bye!