Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Preserved Peppers

I have mentioned that no matter how many tacos we make, we cannot possibly use all the Anaheim and Jalapeño peppers that our two plants were producing.

I used this picture to illustrate my point…

And put all those peppers in the fridge to wait until the next batch was ready and figure out how to preserve all of them.

Well….

I think we won’t be planting these types of peppers next year.  Because we will have enough in the freezer to kick out the ice cream and popsicles.

This was just the second batch…

Since I don’t have a pressure cooker to can them….freezing was my main option.

I used a couple of approaches.

First the easy way….wash them , dry them and stick in a marked plastic bag before throwing it in the freezer.

Rocket science. 

But I have to admit this was my favorite way.

The most time intensive method included de-seeding and slicing them up before putting them into the cuisinart.  Then chop them into itty bitty bits.

And spread into an ice cube tray.

After a day in the freezer these cute pepper cubes popped right out.

In my mind, I will use my pepper cubes more frequently in recipes and stir fry's because all the work is already done.  At least that is what I was trying to convince myself of after chopping and deseeding for an hour.

And if I am being totally honest the bag of whole peppers going into the freezer got more friends in there as the chopping time marched on.

But the important thing is, they are all safely tucked in the freezer for our enjoyment…for a long time.

Actually the most important thing is that you wear gloves while you are chopping jalapeños.  I did.  And even then some of the hotness snuck in and the skin next to my fingernails was burning for a week.   Which was really difficult when I wanted to wear contacts. 

A random tip?  Know how you are supposed to drink milk when your mouth is on fire?  Well my fingers were burning so bad that a stuck them in  a bowl  of milk.  And it worked.  Not long term, but it provided relief for an hour or so before I dinked them again.

So be careful with the gloves.  Because that is a little weird to do when you are at work. 

Not that I know.