The sharpness of the chili pepper makes it a great addition to almost any vegetable preservation, especially if the house loves savory preparations. At the same time, independent spinning of a vegetable is rarely mentioned, because many consider it to be excessively sharp and not suitable for eating. In fact, this is not entirely true, so we offer you some interesting recipes with chili peppers in the title role.

Selection and preparation of chili peppers

Both for cooking and for preserving, fresh pepper fruits are ideal, even if they are distinguished by increased hotness. When choosing the main ingredient, it is worth paying attention to a number of nuances confirming the freshness of the product.

First of all, they include:

• the presence of a dense, green tail, without any defects (a dried tip indicates the freshness and insufficient juiciness of the pod);
• the appearance of fluid when a leg is broken;
• lack of cracking of the surface when bending the pod;
• rich red color of the skin, characterized by uniformity over the entire surface;
• the absence of any dark spots, dents or cuts.

The size of the fruit does not play any strategically important role, except that a big difference in length will spoil the appearance of the finished workpiece. As for the taste, often a long pod is more burning than a short one.

Important! No matter how sharp the fruit is, in the process of cooking, the taste always becomes softer, so you should not worry about this.

Preparing the selected instances for further processing involves the following steps:

1. Each pod needs to be washed well, paying attention to all bends and folds.
2. During further preservation, along with the tail in the upper part of the pod, be sure to puncture, thereby releasing excess air.
3. When preserving without stalks or in parts from the fruit, it is worth removing all seeds.

Hot pepper juice should not get on the skin or mucous membranes, therefore, in order to avoid the unpleasant consequences of contact with it, it is better to use gloves.

The best recipes for preparing chili peppers for the winter

If in the case of tomatoes or cucumbers there are a lot of recipes for the winter, then there are much fewer options for creating delicious preservation from chili peppers. Hostesses usually pickle it, but harvesting pepper in oil, as well as jam or pickling from this vegetable, will be no less useful.

In addition, like other types of vegetables, chili can be prepared for the winter by drying or freezing, so let's take a closer look at all of these methods.

Did you know? People knew about hot pepper long before our era and used its sharpness for a variety of purposes. For example, Maya Indians got rid of toothache by simply rubbing with gum fruits.

Important! It is recommended to take a sample from blanks no earlier than a week after preservation. During this time, the pepper will have time to soak well in the marinade and acquire a pleasant taste.

Important! So that garbage does not get into the workpiece during salting, it is advisable to cover the pepper with gauze and only then place the weighting agent on top.

Additional ways to save chili peppers for the winter

If, while deciding how best to prepare chili for the winter, you still haven’t come up with the solution that is most suitable for you, then you should consider the option of freezing, drying or, in extreme cases, keeping the product fresh. Each of them has its own characteristics, so it’s worth telling about it separately.

Freezing

In order to prevent chili from spilling out after defrosting and not losing its attractive appearance, the procurement process can take place at temperatures ranging from 0 ... + 2 ° С with further storage in the corresponding area of ​​the refrigerator.

True, the maximum shelf life of such hot peppers is 40-50 days, so if you plan to stock them for the whole winter, you will have to use deep freezing with further storage in a freezer with a temperature of -12 ... -18 ° С.

In this form, the frozen product will retain its quality for 6 or even 12 months (provided that the pods will not be defrosted). There are also other ways to freeze chili peppers for the winter, and each of them is characterized by its own appearance of the finished product:

1. Instant freeze - provides for preliminary cleaning and slicing of fruit into strips with further unfolding on a deck with a thin layer. In this form, the chillies are sent to the quick freeze chamber, and after a certain time (usually several hours is enough) they are transferred to plastic bags.
2. Using container. Peeled whole pods are placed in a food container or in a fastening bag for freezing and sent to the freezer.
3. Using olive or sunflower oil. Prepared peppers are placed in glass jars, filled with oil, and then sent for storage in a refrigerator or other place with a temperature of at least 0 degrees. You can use pepper as well as liquid from cans, however, do not forget that oil can change its taste.
4. Frost with greens. In this case, finely chopped, pre-peeled vegetable is mixed with parsley or celery before freezing and only after that it is laid out in bags for freezing. The advantage of this solution is the ability to accurately dose the product: you can always take exactly as much as required and not defrost a large amount of the product.

If desired, you can include the prepared chili in the composition of the vegetable mixture, only in this case it is important to correctly calculate the proportions so that the workpiece does not turn out too sharp.

Drying

When dried, chili peppers can be called an ideal preparation for almost any dish, because the pods can be eaten dried or return to their original form, briefly placed in water.

The process technology depends on a number of factors, therefore, in order to choose the most optimal method for performing the procedure, it is worth taking into account weather conditions, air flow in the drying room and humidity level (for example, drying in an open area is suitable only for areas with a dry climate, and in other cases, the pods will be soft and may become moldy).Consider each possible drying method:

1. In the sun. When preparing chili for the process, rinse each pod with clean water, cut lengthwise into two halves and clear of seeds. Lay the finished halves on paper and place on a well-lit area with a sun, making sure that it stays that way for the whole day. In good weather, you can dry pepper in this way in 8 hours, during which you need to turn the halves several times. The readiness of the pepper can be determined by the ease of breaking: if cracks appear when pressed with a finger, then the halves can already be transferred to glass jars and moved to a permanent storage location.
2. In the oven (at a temperature of about 80 ° C or not more than 40 ° C, if the oven is equipped with a fan). Pods, peeled and halved, are laid out on paper in one layer (with slices down) and, together with the deck, are placed in a preheated oven. The preparation time for such a workpiece is 6–8 hours (depending on the size of the selected pods). To evenly dry the peppers, you need to turn them over several times, and as soon as the crust is browned, immediately transfer them to a bag or glass jar for long-term storage.
3. Hanging drying. For this method, you should have a dry and clean room with good ventilation, otherwise the chili will become moldy and the workpiece will be damaged. The essence of this option is to bind the stem part of the pepper with a strong thread or stringing it with a large needle. The finished “necklace” is hung in a ventilated room and dried for 3-4 weeks.

Did you know? The pungent taste of chili peppers is explained by the presence of capsaicin, a colorless crystalline component.

Fresh

Keeping fresh vegetables is a short process, because they quickly lose their attractive appearance, and with it some of the beneficial properties. This also applies to chili peppers, but if you plan to use it for cooking in the near future, then you should consider the following storage methods:

1. In fridge. Before placing on a shelf, the pods should be washed, gently patted with a paper towel and folded into a plastic bag. Make holes in the bag to prevent condensation from accumulating on the inner surface of the walls.The shelf life of such pepper is no more than two weeks.
2. Tincture on vinegar. This option cannot be called a full-fledged storage of fresh vegetables, but at the same time, thanks to this method, you can get an excellent ingredient for various dishes. The fact is that with the help of chili peppers it is possible to flavor vinegar quite well, for which it is enough to put several fresh parts of the pod in a container with it. In addition, this liquid is perfect for preserving a fresh vegetable, so it will retain its properties for several months. All you need to do is wash and clean the pods, then put the chili in a jar and, pouring vinegar, close it with a screw cap. To make the workpiece more piquant, you can add bay leaf, pepper or greens to it.

Useful Tips

Chili pepper is not a capricious vegetable in terms of harvesting, but at the same time it is worth knowing about some features of working with it. So, the following recommendations will be useful to each hostess:

• chili is great for freezing, so if there is a place in the freezer, it can be harvested in this way in any quantity;
• if the pods are dried in the oven, then it is worth leaving the door ajar;
• seeds taken from fruits can be used to make hot pasta, you just need to grind them in a coffee grinder;
• drying of pods on a thread should be carried out only in a well-ventilated area, where fresh air freely penetrates;
• when drying fruits in the fresh air, try to arrange them on trays as early as possible, so that with the first sunshine they are ready to dry;
• When choosing a specific drying time, always take into account the size of the pods, because large specimens need more time for complete readiness;
• chili peppers can also be dried in an electric dryer, for example, choosing the mode intended for the preparation of bell pepper;
• baking paper will help speed up the drying process in an oven or electric dryer, which needs to be covered with the surface of a tray or trays (the reflecting surface of such an addition helps to warm the pepper on both sides at once);
• when salting the pods, be sure to use gauze or a thin cloth, which will protect the workpiece from debris and insects;
• if during pickling the brine became very muddy, then before rolling the cans it is better to replace it with a new one prepared according to the recipe already used.

In general, any option for preparing chili peppers has its own advantages, so you can choose the most suitable method for yourself only by trying each of the described recipes, of course, taking into account the above recommendations.

Having shown patience and endurance during processing, each housewife will be rewarded with a tasty and healthy harvest of chili peppers.