Freezing Peppers For Winter

Remember all those peppers I posted about the other day - header shot– well, we did eat some for pepper sandwiches, we did pickle the pepperoncini’s, we gave away a few and put some in the fridge to use, and we froze the remainder.

To freeze the sweet peppers, I first cored them and removed the ribs and seeds then removed any bad spots.  Next I julienned them, 1/2' - 3/4" wide and cut some in half, depending upon their length.  I used to chop some but realized it took hours and it could be done at the time of need just as easily.  Using the various types of sweet peppers and trying to get a mixture of colors, I had this 11"x17" pan filled to this level four times.

The Jalapenos and Santa Fe’s went into separate bags whole and a few of the Santa Fe’s were chunked for kebabs.

I ended up with 11 bags of sweet peppers, about two quart size, weighing about 1 1/2 lbs each.

After freezing, they lose their crispness and don’t work well in salads, but they work great in the many dishes in which we use cooked peppers – chili, meatloaf, meatballs, soups, stews, marinara, pizza, eggs, casseroles, Mexican, stir fry, etc. Most of the things we cook start with peppers, onion, and garlic (the Almost Heaven South trinity) and now we have plenty of all three with the poblano and Anaheim chile peppers yet to come.  We’ll freeze a few more of these and make some roasted red peppers, but many will be offered to our friends.

This winter when you’re paying $3 for a ripe sweet pepper, remember these two photos and the one below and consider that peppers are easy to grow, they have few pests and disease problems, and they are as pretty a plant as many you’re now growing in your flower garden - they look like a nice shrub in my garden - give one a try next year.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Basic Steak And Taters

Larry