Freezing Pickled Peppers -- Would This Work?

15 years ago

Hello, I need advice/opinions on something.

I grew a whole bunch of 'Sweet Pickle' and 'Mini-Belle' peppers, and I have a bumper crop. My original intention was to can a number of jars of them, which I did.

Well, I covered the plants the other night against frost, and now, there is no more frost predicted for at least a week. So, I have at least a bushel of these little peppers out there, most of them perfectly ripe, either red or yellow/orange, depending upon the variety.

I have run completely out of jars, and there are essentially none to be had in the Detroit suburbs except for one store where they are almost $13 a dozen, and I'm not paying that much for them.

So, my thought was, just process them the normal way, cooked in a pickling brine of vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, and then pack them into freezer containers and freeze them with the brine. I could put a bit of ascorbic acid in the brine to help with color retention.

Any reason why this wouldn't work? I think the worst thing that would happen would be they would be softer than canned peppers, but that is alright, because mostly they end up on pressed panninis, in antipasto and pasta salads, that sort of thing anyway, where they are essentially smashed and mashed or cut up before serving.

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Comments (5)

cabrita
15 years ago
Not sure if this can work for you or not, I am unfamiliar with your pepper variety. Year before last I had more anchos (poblanos) that I could use. I grilled them, peeled them, seeded and froze them flat in gallon size freezer bags. Doing it this way saved freezer space and they were really good when thawed out, they still tasted like grilled peppers.
brokenbar
15 years ago
I have actually done this and other than being a little less crisp. they were fine. Were I to do it again i would not cook them as long in the hot brine. Maybe allow the btine to cool partly before bagging it and the peppers up?
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Because they are delicate and thin walled, normal BWB canning with turn them to mush. I can the salad bar type pepperoncini peppers which are also very thin walled, and I use a no heat vacuum process instead. I pierce each pepper first so each gest full strength vinegar inside. Its veen very successful for me, but would require vacuum tight vessles, a good quality vacuum pump with moisture trap, as well as the Food Saver adapter that can attach to the top of canning jars (with a lid in place). My peppers from 2 years ago are just as crisp as if they were made weeks ago. They have the same texture as the ones you buy in stores.
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I wouldn't worry too much about the salt as long as it is designed for canning. Same goes for Vinegar. Vinegar is vinegar imo. The only wild card on your list would be the spices IMO. I don't have a recommendation but going with an established name brand would be the best bet. But what you might want to also consider is additions to the mix such as some minced garlic and/or sliced onions. Have fun and let us know how it turns out. Just keep in mind that if you can them the proper way by heating the canning solution to the required temps before filling the jars of peppers that it will essentially "cook" the peppers resulting in soft if not mushy peppers. I tried it one year and since have given up but I canned them sliced and canning them whole may work out a bit better. Now, I "cold can" them and freeze the jars that I cannot use right away. Freezing them will soften them a bit but not as bad as regular canning. Once thawed, they will last a couple months or more in the fridge.
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ksrogers
15 years ago
Suggest that you check Ace or True Value hardware stores for jars, but call ahead first. Also, if there is a Big Lots store near you. Any frozen pepper will not remain crisp once thawed. There is no need for ascorbic as they do not oxidize or discolor. I do use ascorbic in my pickled mushrooms however, as it helps keep them a ligher color. Be sure to pierce each pepper before its in the brine. This will allow some of the brine to get inside the peppers a little too. If it were me, I would avoid the pickling and just cut open, deseed, chop in large pieces, and freeze, or dry.
brokenbar
15 years ago
Now the ones I made and froze turned out about half crisp (about twice as good as they would be if you canned them.)The biggest ones were more firm. I used pepperoncini peppers. I was not too disappointed in them because they were so much better than the one and only batch I canned.(mushy) I now just ferment them and refrigerate them.
You could ferment yours in a large gallon jar if you have room in your frig. The half gallon Ball jars work good too and take up less space.
ksrogers
15 years ago
Peperoncini are very hard to can. They go to mush as soon as they are heated even a little bit. Fermenting or just pickling and placing in the fridge would keep them crisper.

I have been using my vacuum process and its been great too. Currently, I have a few more sweet cherry peppers to can. These get full strength vinegar, salt, and a dash of Splenda. I cut off the stems down to crown, then pierce each pepper though with a skewer. Then they get placed in a vacuum tight container and the brine is forced inside each, as the vacuum pulls out all the air. I do this with the Pepproncini too. Once I feel that the peppers have sucked up the brine, I fill pint jars with them and fresh brine. The brine is only filled 3/4 from the top, a vacuum is pulled on each jar again and I watch for any drop in liquid. Usually there is no change, which indicates that every pepper has absorbed its fill. I fill the jars 1/2 inch from the top, and watch again. Release the vacuum, place a lid on, then pump it down again for the final seal. I use the Food Saver jar adapater, but a much more powerful vacuum pump. Every jar has a really good seal, and none have failed in 3 years now. I have three half gallon jars of my half sour pickles in my fridge.

Freezing Pickled Peppers -- Would This Work?

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cabrita

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