Pepper plants can keep producing surprisingly late into the season.
Then frost appears in the forecast and suddenly there are peppers everywhere.
Thankfully, peppers are incredibly versatile when it comes to preservation.
Freeze Them
For many cooked uses, freezing is the easiest option.
Wash and prepare the peppers appropriately, portion them and freeze them for future meals.
Frozen peppers won’t retain the crisp texture of fresh ones, but they’re great for cooked dishes.
Dehydrate Them
Peppers can be dried and later used whole, chopped or—when appropriate—ground into seasoning.
Always use care when handling hot peppers.
Capsaicin can irritate skin, eyes and airways. Gloves are a good idea when working with hot varieties.
Make Pepper Flakes
Properly dried hot peppers can be crushed into homemade pepper flakes.
Make sure they’re thoroughly dried first.
Make Freezer Meals
Slice peppers with onions and freeze portions specifically for future meals.
Sometimes preservation doesn’t need to be complicated.
Pickle Them
Pickled peppers are another great option.
If you’re making refrigerator pickles, keep them refrigerated.
If you’re canning peppers for shelf-stable storage, use a current tested recipe and don’t alter the acid proportions.
Save Some Seeds
If you’re growing an open-pollinated variety you love, you may also consider saving properly mature seed for next year.
Just remember that peppers can cross-pollinate, so saved seed doesn’t always produce exactly what you expect.
And honestly?
That’s part of the fun of gardening.
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