How do I preserve fresh Hot Peppers

[harlee2]

I bought a bundle of Thai Peppers that I use in various dishes I make. Does any one have a suggestion on how to dry or preserve the peppers I have not used?

 

[Yakuta]

Harlee since you did not clarify how you use these peppers I will share how I preserve my hot peppers (if I have a lot of them) and if I don't want to lose them.

First, I like to grind the peppers together and add a tbsp of lime juice to the ground pepper mixture. You can then refrigerate or freeze this mixture and add a tsp to your thai dishes and stir fries as applicable.

Second is to dry them out. A lot of people use dehydrators but I have left peppers out in a dry cool spot in my house (unlike baking them in the sun) for several days until the water evaporates and the peppers are dry yet pliable. I then store them in an airtight container in my refrigerator or pantry. I however live in a cool climate but if it's hot where you are I would say refrigerating it would prevent them from going bad and moldy.

Finally another approach is to chop them into small peices and store them in some vinegar. This not only keeps the pepper intact but also gives you instant hot vinegar for your soups and stir frys. Once again you keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

[harlee2]

Thanks Yakuta
I will do one batch dried and the other in the vinegar.
Harlee

 

[choclatechef]

And you can pickle hot peppers!

 

[Constance]

Pickled Peppers

I pickled hot peppers one year when I got a mother-load of Big Jim Chili Peppers. I picked them when they were red, sliced them in little rings and canned them in a simple vinegar/salt/water solution that I got out of the Ball Canning Book.
They were fantastic, but I went through a lot of latex gloves getting them processed, as they ate right through the fingers, and I ended up having to use a surgical mask to filter out some of the fumes so I could breath (I have asthma).
My husband came home from work, took one look at me, and started rolling in the floor with laughter.
He called me Dr. Pepper for some time after that.

 

[middie]

I pickled hot peppers one year when I got a mother-load of Big Jim Chili Peppers. I picked them when they were red, sliced them in little rings and canned them in a simple vinegar/salt/water solution that I got out of the Ball Canning Book.
They were fantastic, but I went through a lot of latex gloves getting them processed, as they ate right through the fingers, and I ended up having to use a surgical mask to filter out some of the fumes so I could breath (I have asthma).
My husband came home from work, took one look at me, and started rolling in the floor with laughter.
He called me Dr. Pepper for some time after that.

constance please forgive me... i'm not laughing at you be any means but i think him calling you dr. pepper is kind of cute lol.

 

[HanArt]

You can freeze them too.

 

[Constance]

Dr. Pepper

No problem, Middie...I learned to laugh at myself long ago. It makes life a lot more bearable if you don't take yourself too seriously.

 

[Dina]

I have anaheim and banana peppers growing in my garden. Others might be Thai peppers but I'm not sure. They're about 2 inches long, slim, grow green and ripen into a red pepper (seen in Chinese dishes). Any idea what these little HOT peppers might be? Some have started to cover the ground so I need to get busy and preserve them. Any ideas on how to preserve these three different peppers? Should I make a mixture and pickle them? I've never preserved or pickled anything before so I need all the help I can get. Thanks in advance.

 

[kdonovan]

might be cayenne peppers...they are usually good when dried.

 

[BreezyCooking]

With very fleshy peppers like Anaheims, Bananas, Jalapenos, etc., I just rinse them off, dry them well, & pop them whole as is in a ziploc bag in the freezer. When I need some, I just take them out, give them another quick rinse under running water to "just" thaw them a little, & then while they're still partially frozen I can very easily seed, slice, dice, or whatever I need to do for the recipe.

With the very skinny thin-skinned peppers like Thai, Cayenne, etc., I rinse them, dry them, string them on thread, & hang them up to dry. When completely dry, I store them in air-tight plastic containers in the pantry.

For types that are sort of inbetween the above, like Tabasco, Serrano, etc., I use as many fresh as I can, & then "pickle" the rest in plain white vinegar in the refrigerator.

 

[Claire]

I dry cayennes, and my husband roasts and I freeze other, fleshier peppers.

 

[KatieFrank]

I love dried cayenne peppers.

 

[Wyogal]

i usually end up putting the chili peppers (small, long, narrow) in a bowl on the counter. Since I live in the arid west, they dry on their own without doing anything else to them. Sometimes I will dice up onion and jalapenos, have too much for one meal, put the rest in freezer bags and pop in the freezer. I then can take some out, a bit at a time, already diced.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I string thin peppers (like cayenne) on dental floss and hang them to dry. Dental floss (unflavored, of course!) is great for jobs like this, because it is very strong.