Another wrote: “Another thing you can do is throw them in 100% vinegar. They last forever this way (like actually) and they go in stir-fries, stews, soups, or you can make hot sauce with them. Most foods need a bit of vinegar and hot sauce needs a lot of vinegar anyways. I’m not sure why this isn’t suggested more because it’s so easy.
“Just make sure the peppers are completely covered in vinegar and they are shelf stable for decades.”
A third said: “I think the most common options would be: freeze, dehydrate, or ferment. Which one you pick really depends on what you want to do with them eventually though.
“If you freeze, I would recommend vacuum sealing them if you can. It’ll help with freezer burn. But they can be stored for at least a year or longer if you need to keep them for that long. Freezing is a good option if you intend to still use them in bulk somehow – probably hot sauce.
“But if you don’t vacuum seal and just use a Ziploc you could pull out one at a time to use in a chili or stir fry. They will lose their crispiness once they are frozen though.
“Dehydrating is probably the most flexible and also can be stored for a long time. If you dehydrate and make pepper flakes or powder, you can use them a little at a time, on a regular basis. Like adding some pepper flakes to a pizza.
“Fermenting is also great to extend the storage life, but probably only useful if you want to go the hot sauce route. Worth noting, fermenting also changes the flavor and gives them a sour taste… which might not be something you want.”
A user suggested: “I don’t have time now options. Freeze if you want to use ‘fresh’ in meals later. Ferment for a month if you want to make a sauce later when you have time.
“Dehydrate if you want to make storage as compact as possible – store whole, or crush for flakes. Sell the works on marketplace. Freeze Dry if you have a tonne of money to spend on that kind of thing
“I do a combination of all of the above… except for the freeze drying, because I’m not about to drop $5k on a machine. Maybe one or two of these or all will work for your situation.”
A fifth said: “Freeze them. Sometimes I like to roast them first. Larger chillis I roast, peel and seed. Smaller chillis I just roast and freeze. I do this every winter and fill my freezer.”
Another suggested: “Freezing, once defrosted, retain flavour and heat, but are mushy. Closest tasting to fresh.
“Dehydrate is good, but can alter flavour. Dehydrate and make into powder is also good and also changes flavour.”
Do you have any suggestions?
