Hi,
Indeed I have been facing this problem for a long time.Whenever I tried to save the red chilies for long time I find that its colour fades and also lack the good taste.

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"girdhar" wrote in message
...

Hi,
Indeed I have been facing this problem for a long time.Whenever I tried
to save the red chilies for long time I find that its colour fades and
also lack the good taste.

How are you storing them?

My experience with chiles is that they store for a while (a week or so) just
fine in the refrigerator, then they start to go bad. I don't have a vacuum
sealer, so I don't know if that would help with refrigerator storage.

The classic way to store chiles long-term is to dry them. Many recipes call
for dried chiles, but they aren't a substitute for fresh chiles. (I've
often thought that the reason why Mexicans have different names for a chile
depending on whether it is fresh or dried is a reflection of the fact that
they are really two different products.)

Chiles don't freeze well -- freezing changes the texture considerably. I've
never tried this, so I can't comment on changes to the flavor.

Chiles pickle very well, but of course the pickling process changes the
color and the flavor. Chiles can well (pressure can), too, but again there
are changes to the color and flavor.

Anny

Anny Middon wrote:
"girdhar" wrote in message
...
Hi,
Indeed I have been facing this problem for a long time.Whenever I tried
to save the red chilies for long time I find that its colour fades and
also lack the good taste.

How are you storing them?

My experience with chiles is that they store for a while (a week or so) just
fine in the refrigerator, then they start to go bad. I don't have a vacuum
sealer, so I don't know if that would help with refrigerator storage.

The classic way to store chiles long-term is to dry them. Many recipes call
for dried chiles, but they aren't a substitute for fresh chiles. (I've
often thought that the reason why Mexicans have different names for a chile
depending on whether it is fresh or dried is a reflection of the fact that
they are really two different products.)

Chiles don't freeze well -- freezing changes the texture considerably. I've
never tried this, so I can't comment on changes to the flavor.

Chiles pickle very well, but of course the pickling process changes the
color and the flavor. Chiles can well (pressure can), too, but again there
are changes to the color and flavor.

Anny


I freeze lots of chiles every year Anny. For use in cooking the texture
doesn't change enough to affect the taste IMHO. Particularly the sweet
chiles. YMMV

George

"George Shirley" wrote in message
. ..

I freeze lots of chiles every year Anny. For use in cooking the texture
doesn't change enough to affect the taste IMHO. Particularly the sweet
chiles. YMMV


Good to know, George. Just curious - does the color change?

Hmm. This gets me thinking -- there are some foods that both freeze and can
well, but you never (or rarely) see them frozen. Tomatoes are one example,
and chile peppers are another. (Interestingly, I've seen bell peppers
frozen, but never canned.) Why is this? Why hasn't Birdseye come out with
frozen chopped tomatoes?

Or maybe they have and I'm in such a rut with my grocery shopping that I
haven't noticed?

Anny

"girdhar" wrote in message
...

Hi,
Indeed I have been facing this problem for a long time.Whenever I tried
to save the red chilies for long time I find that its colour fades and
also lack the good taste.

My FIL used to dehydrate his. He kept them in a jar and they maintained
their color. Only problem was it was easy to use too many of them. They do
shrink down some being dehydrated and the tendency is to add more of them
given their size. He also left the seeds in his and the seeds add heat.

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:13:20 -0600, "Anny Middon"
wrote:

"George Shirley" wrote in message
...

I freeze lots of chiles every year Anny. For use in cooking the texture
doesn't change enough to affect the taste IMHO. Particularly the sweet
chiles. YMMV


Good to know, George. Just curious - does the color change?

Hmm. This gets me thinking -- there are some foods that both freeze and can
well, but you never (or rarely) see them frozen. Tomatoes are one example,
and chile peppers are another. (Interestingly, I've seen bell peppers
frozen, but never canned.) Why is this? Why hasn't Birdseye come out with
frozen chopped tomatoes?

Depends on what the products are used for and your expectation for
their color and texture. Frozen tomatoes have no better texture than
canned ones. Lots of people who grow tomatoes freeze them because
they do not want to get involved in the expense and labor of canning.
They can wash the tomato and put it in a freezer bag. When it thaws
the skin slips right off.

I think that chopped peppers would be mush if they were canned. They
do keep some texture when frozen. I do freeze hot peppers and they
keep their color and shape. I imagine that there is not enough of a
market for the frozen one, at least in may area. Pimentos are canned
and their texture is pretty soft but then they do not get any
additional cooking.



Or maybe they have and I'm in such a rut with my grocery shopping that I
haven't noticed?

Anny

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

Anny Middon wrote:
"George Shirley" wrote in message
. ..
I freeze lots of chiles every year Anny. For use in cooking the texture
doesn't change enough to affect the taste IMHO. Particularly the sweet
chiles. YMMV


Good to know, George. Just curious - does the color change?

Hmm. This gets me thinking -- there are some foods that both freeze and can
well, but you never (or rarely) see them frozen. Tomatoes are one example,
and chile peppers are another. (Interestingly, I've seen bell peppers
frozen, but never canned.) Why is this? Why hasn't Birdseye come out with
frozen chopped tomatoes?

Or maybe they have and I'm in such a rut with my grocery shopping that I
haven't noticed?

Anny

Anny Middon wrote:
"George Shirley" wrote in message
. ..
I freeze lots of chiles every year Anny. For use in cooking the texture
doesn't change enough to affect the taste IMHO. Particularly the sweet
chiles. YMMV


Good to know, George. Just curious - does the color change?

Hmm. This gets me thinking -- there are some foods that both freeze and can
well, but you never (or rarely) see them frozen. Tomatoes are one example,
and chile peppers are another. (Interestingly, I've seen bell peppers
frozen, but never canned.) Why is this? Why hasn't Birdseye come out with
frozen chopped tomatoes?

Or maybe they have and I'm in such a rut with my grocery shopping that I
haven't noticed?

Anny


Nope, red ones are still red, greens are green, and the yellow ones are
sort of yellow.

I also freeze tomatoes, fresh from the garden, for cooking with. Take
your tomatoes, wash well, pull the stem out if it's still on there, dry
them with a towel, put in a vac bag and vacuum seal. When ready to use
take the bag out of the freezer, let it thaw, still sealed, in the
fridge. Open one corner, pour off the excess liquid, take out the
tomatoes and slip the skins off, chop the meat and put it in whatever
you're cooking. When the tomatoes freeze the flesh gives up the excess
liquid, the skin slips and can be pulled off and tossed.

I seldom ever can tomatoes anymore, just freeze them.

George

"George Shirley" wrote in message
.. .

Nope, red ones are still red, greens are green, and the yellow ones are
sort of yellow.

I also freeze tomatoes, fresh from the garden, for cooking with. Take your
tomatoes, wash well, pull the stem out if it's still on there, dry them
with a towel, put in a vac bag and vacuum seal. When ready to use take the
bag out of the freezer, let it thaw, still sealed, in the fridge. Open one
corner, pour off the excess liquid, take out the tomatoes and slip the
skins off, chop the meat and put it in whatever you're cooking. When the
tomatoes freeze the flesh gives up the excess liquid, the skin slips and
can be pulled off and tossed.

I seldom ever can tomatoes anymore, just freeze them.

I freeze some tomatoes -- the ones at the end of the season when they're
ripening really slowly. I can the ones from the prime of the season, but
that's because I have more shelf space than freezer space.

But I was wondering how come the major producers don't offer frozen
tomatoes. If it's winter and the typical non-food-preserving cook wants to
make spaghetti sauce, they go to the store and buy canned tomatoes, since
the fresh ones available are kinda pink and tasteless. Why can't they buy
frozen tomatoes? In some ways it would be handier -- you can take the
amount of frozen vegetables you want out of the plastic bag, reseal the bag,
and stick it back it the freezer for later use.

The same holds true for chiles. I sometimes buy the little cans of chopped
chiles because they are convenient to use in recipes. A smallish bag of
frozen chopped chiles would be even better, since I could put as many chiles
as I want in a recipe and keep the rest frozen for later use..

(OK, I could use as much of the canned tomatoes or chiles as I want and then
freeze the rest, but I don't. I stick it in the frig, convinced I'll use
them within the week and then throw them out when they get moldy.)

Anny