this past summer I was luck enough to grow sweet and hot peppers for the first time in my own garden! my partner and I had a blast planning, selecting young plants, and caring for our pepper gardens over the summer. although our yield(particularly the sweet pepper yield) was a bit smaller than expected, we were excited to preserve our goods for the months to come.
most of the hot peppers were either diced and dried for the spice rack, or pickled for later. besides the handful used to bulk up my canned tomato sauce, I was left with only a few pounds of sweet peppers. so in lieu of the salsa I anticipated making(next year!) I opted for the easiest option I know, dicing and freezing. freezing veggies is one of the easiest and fastest way to store your garden bounty! and even better, this same method can be used for tomato, greens, peas, corn, carrots, berries, and more! just be sure to look up the blanching time for your veggies of choice.
freezing fresh peppers
- fill large pot with water and bring to boil
- fill large bowl with ample ice water
- after water boils, drop peppers in a few at a time and allow to boil(blanch) for 2 minutes
- immediately transfer to ice water to stop from cooking
- pat dry, core, deseed, and destem peppers
- cut peppers into pieces as desired(I cut half into pepper rings and the other half into thin spears)
- lay flat on cookie sheet with a small space between every piece
- freeze flat for at least 20min, up to 45min, or until peppers no longer feel moist and begin to harden(it helps to have your freezer on the lowest setting or closest to 0°F)
- bag peppers in airtight freezer bags and keep for 18mos or longer
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