Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: ambodach on August 18, 2022, 13:01
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At last I have had success with chillis in the polytunnel - slugs have been my problem in past years so pots and raised out of slug reach !!
So when do I harvest and what are the ways of storage please?
Rob
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I grow Apache and have two plants with almost fully developed green chillis on. I’ll take all the fully grown chillis off one and freeze them and I should then get a 2nd crop of green chillis. I’ll let the chillis on the other plant ripen, then harvest and freeze when they turn red. I find freezing really preserves the flavour, just got to be quick chopping them up from frozen before they go soggy.
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As Nobbie says, freezing works very well. Thinner walled chillies can be dried easily and ground or stored whole. We ferment some and keep the 'mash' as a base for chilli sauces. Chilli Jam is a household staple too.
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Mrs Growster threads them and we hang them up to let them dry in the conservatory.
They are incredibly strong to taste after a couple of months - sometimes just half an Apache is enough to set the place alight!
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as Growster says we then put when dried into blender to make chilli flakes they will last ages if properly dried they are a staple to most of our cooking probably addictive.
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Many thanks all of you. So many options and then I got a link recently to Sriracha sauce, and realised after I had posted my original query that that might be a good use with a recipe off the internet
https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/homemade-sriracha-hot-sauce-recipe/
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I normally slice mine in half length wise, dry in the oven very slowly (seeds still in) and then put in my spice grinder and store in a air tight jar to add to curries pasta's ect all year
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Many thanks all of you. So many options and then I got a link recently to Sriracha sauce, and realised after I had posted my original query that that might be a good use with a recipe off the internet
https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/homemade-sriracha-hot-sauce-recipe/
If your chillies are thin walled or very hot you can substitute some of the chillis with sweet peppers. I've even used butternut squash in chilli sauce to thicken and/or bulk out because it was too hot.
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Lots of good advice here , I am growing some in pots for the first time , I have scotch bonnet and Ghost .
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as Growster says we then put when dried into blender to make chilli flakes they will last ages if properly dried they are a staple to most of our cooking probably addictive.
In Annie Hawes' book, 'Extra Virgin', she encounters a lovely old boy who was indeed addicted to chillis! He'd have them with every dish apparently!