Thrill-seekers do not represent meat or vegetable dishes without pepper. Moreover, preference is given precisely to red chili pepper for its pungent taste and bright color.
Of course, ground red pepper can be bought in the store. But does it compare in quality with that chili, which is made from personally dried fruits?
And also chili pepper has a good quality: unlike its “colleague”? Bulgarian pepper - it is perfectly stored at home.
Which chili pepper can be stored
Chili pepper, as well as Bulgarian pepper, ripens during storage. If it is grown in its own area, then it is collected for fresh storage when it acquires a brown color.
Ripe chilli peppers can be harvested for drying or for seed. By the way, if you dry brown fruit, then in the end they also become red.
Select only whole pods, without flaws and signs of damage.
Fruits must be necessarily with a stem about 2-3 cm long.
How to store fresh chilli
Method one. Chili is well kept in the fridge. Wash it beforehand, blot gently with a paper towel from moisture, fold it into a plastic bag.
To prevent condensation from accumulating on the walls of the bag and pepper to breathe, make small holes in the bag. But we must remember that in this form the pepper still can not be stored for a long time. It can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Method Two. Some mistresses with pepper flavored vinegar. To do this, in a bottle with vinegar put a few pieces of pepper and insist.
But you can do differently. To keep the pepper fresh, it canned with vinegar.
- Remove seeds from thoroughly washed pepper.
- Pods fill a clean jar. Add salt or sugar to taste.
- Pour pepper in boiling vinegar (not an essence!). When the pepper has cooled, close the jar with a screw cap and put it in the fridge.
To make it more spicy, you can put bay leaf, pepper and greens in a jar of pepper.
Third Method
- Dry the peppers thoroughly with a paper towel.
- Cut in half, remove the seeds.
- Fold the slices of pepper in a clean, dry jar, pour lightly heated sunflower oil or olive oil.
- Close the lid. Put in the fridge. In this form, the pepper can be stored for very long.
A large amount of chili can be dried or frozen.
How to dry chili
Method one: drying in the sun
Collect the fruits of chili pepper, put the damaged ones to the side, and scatter the rest with a layer no more than 10 cm on the sackcloth or the grid to dry. High-quality drying is obtained if produced in the sun. If the pepper a little, then it can be decomposed on the windowsill or on the balcony. To prevent dust from falling on it, cover it with gauze or a thin cloth. After about 1-2 weeks, the pepper will be completely ready for storage.
Method Two: Oven Drying
In rainy or wet weather, the peppers are dried in a special dryer or oven. Wash fruits, dry well from moisture. Arrange on a grid, place in an oven heated to 50-55 °. The oven door at this time should be slightly ajar, so as not to disrupt the air circulation.
Chili can be dried as a whole, and cut into pieces. In the second case, wash the fruit, cut the stem. Then cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds. Spread the chopped peppers on a parchment covered tray and put them in the oven. In the oven, the pepper should spend a few hours.
Method Three: Drying
Using a needle, pods of pepper through the stalk secure on the harsh thread or fishing line. So that the thread does not bend, its length should be no more than two meters.
Hang these peculiar “garlands” in a well-ventilated place in the sun. Drying continue for about a week.
How to store dry chilli
Dried chili peppers are stored in a suspended state or folded into canvas bags.
Dry pepper can be ground on a coffee grinder or in a blender into powder, poured into a dry glass jar and closed with a screw cap.
Ground pepper is stored in a dry dark cool place.
How to freeze chili
Chili peppers are frozen just like Bulgarian peppers. It can be frozen completely or cut into pieces.
- Dab the peeled pepper thoroughly with a paper towel, removing any residual moisture.
- Cut along, remove seeds. Pulp cut into slices or strips.
- Prepack in portion sachets, letting out air, close well. Put it in the freezer. In this form, chili can be stored for about a year.
Mistress to note
Before working with pepper, wear rubber gloves. The fact is that the pepper contains the substance capsaicin, which gives it a burning taste. And the juice, hitting the skin, is quickly absorbed and can cause a burn.
If you accidentally tasted a hot pepper and you have a “fire blazing” in your mouth, do not drink water. To facilitate your condition, drink a glass of milk, kefir, or eat a few tablespoons of sour cream (yogurt).
Season spice up the pepper. It is in them most of all capsaicin. If you want to achieve a more burning taste, dry, freeze, or pickle the chili with the seeds.
Dried peppers can also be crushed with them.
