Freezing Peppers

Enjoy All Year Long!

Peppers are really coming on right now! What do you do with all those peppers? Did you know that there are over 600 varieties of peppers? I think that’s interesting, but at this time of year I’m only concerned with the two or three varieties that I grow, because they’re multiplying rapidly.

Peppers can be preserved in several ways: canned, dried, powdered, smoked, and more. My favorite way is to make pepper ice-cubes. My sisters ask for them at Christmas, because they love making chili, salsas, soups, and more, with them. Here’s how I do it. 

I pick whatever is ripe, no matter the variety, and wash them. In my blender I pour ¾ - 1 C of any broth I have on hand. You might want to wear gloves, if handling hot varieties. Cap the peppers, and put them into the blender, seeds and all, with the broth. Bell peppers take a bit more capping, and are easier if they’re cut in chunks. When the blender is full, I use the “chop” setting first, until the pieces get smaller, then I puree’ until it’s the consistency of a thick smoothie. You can decide if you need more broth.

I have these tiny ice-cube trays, that hold about a tablespoon each. I spoon the puree’ into the cubes, then pop them into the freezer. Sit the blender in the fridge until the next go-round. The small cubes freeze pretty quickly. In the meantime, I label a zip-bag with date and HOT or MED pepper cubes. Take out the frozen cubes and pop them into the bag. Bag goes into the freezer, and out comes the blender, to do it all over again, until you’ve used up the entire batch of smoothie. I like to re-stir the blender every time I start, because the mix will separate.

These will keep up to a year, and longer if you vacuum-seal. I love having my own home-grown peppers, when making a big pot of chili, on a cold winter day!

Sherrie Ottinger, The Tennessee Dirt Girl