The best way to preserve chile depends on how you plan to use it and your available storage space. Frozen or canned chile is best for chile rellenos and salsas. Stews can use frozen, canned or dried chile. Dried chile has minimal storage requirements and is light-weight for taking on camping trips. Pickled chiles can be used on a relish plate or as an ingredient in other dishes

Brennand, Charlotte P.

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Reviewed March 2010ChileCharlotte Brennand, Food Preservation SpecialistDid you know?! Christopher Columbus brought chile back fromthe Americas to Europe. ! Chile comes in many varieties: from 1/4 inch to12 inches long, very mild to extremely hot, andin red, green, yellow or almost black. ! The heat is due to a compound called capasaicinwhich is especially high in the veins of chile.Neither heating nor freezing will decrease theheat of the chile but removal of the veins will. The best way to preserve chile depends on howyou plan to use it and your available storage space. Frozen or canned chile is best for chilerellenos and salsas. Stews can use frozen, canned or dried chile. Dried chile has minimal storagerequirements and is light-weight for taking on camping trips. Pickled chiles can be used on arelish plate or as an ingredient in other dishes.SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF CHILEChoose chile pods that are mature, heavy for their size, smooth and symmetrical, fresh,and crisp. Avoid misshapen pods, shriveled skin, mold, soft spots, and bruises.BLISTERINGThe tough outer skin should be removed from the chile. Blistering the skin by one of thefollowing methods makes removal easy. The skin may be removed immediately or after freezing.Handling pungent chile can burn hands and eyes. Protect hands by wearing plasticgloves. Keep hands away from eyes while working with chile. Wash and dry chile. With a knife, make a small slit in the side to allow steam to escape.Be sure heat source is very hot. Turn frequently to prevent scorching and insure even blistering.  Methods for blistering chile! Oven or broiler method—Place chiles under a 400-450° F (205-232° C) broiler for 6 – 8minutes until skin blisters so that it can be pulled away from the flesh. Turn chile oncetop side is blistered.-2-! Range top method—Place chiles on a hot electric or gas burner after covering burnerwith a layer of heavy wire mesh.! Outdoor grill method—Place chiles on a charcoal grill about 5-6 inches above glowingcoals.Peeling after blistering! Peel immediately method—Remove chile from heat and spread in a single layer to coolbefore peeling. For a more crisp product, dip chile into ice water as it is removed fromheat. For a more thoroughly cooked chile, cover chiles with a damp cloth. This method isbest when canning chile, making salsa or using chile right away.! Frozen chile method—Removal of the skin is easier if the chile is frozen. Place blisteredchiles in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, package and keep inthe freezer until needed. Hold the frozen chile pod under cold water just long enough tothaw the outside portion and remove peel from frozen flesh of chile.As the chile is peeled, slit along one side and remove seeds and veins. Stems may be leftattached for chile rellenos.FREEZING CHILE Chile does not require a pretreatment prior to freezing.If chile is to be packed with the skins intact, freeze first on cookie sheets so they can behandled as individual chile pods. Pack whole unpeeled chiles in plastic bags or wrap in heavyaluminum foil or freezer wrap. Press down to remove all air and return to freezer.Peeled chiles, whole or diced, can be packaged in plastic bags or rigid containers of glass,metal, or plastic. Leave 1/2" of head space. Seal.Freeze chiles immediately after packing. Freeze at 0° F (-18° C) or below. Put no morefood into the home freezer than will freeze within 24 hours. Usually this is about two or threepounds of food to each cubic foot of freezer capacity. For quickest freezing, place packagesagainst freezing plates or coils and leave a little space between packages so air can circulatefreely.CANNING CHILE PEPPERSCanned chile peppers. Chiles may be canned whole or cut into smaller pieces.Peel and flatten chile into pint or half-pint canning jar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each pint jar,if desired. Fill jars loosely with peppers and add boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjustlids and process. Altitude adjustments need to be made as shown on the following tables. ChilesMUST be processed in a pressure canner to be safe. Processing times at different altitudes for Chile Peppers in DIAL GAUGEand WEIGHTED GAUGE Pressure CannersDial Gauge Pressure Canner Weighted GaugePressure CannerProcessTime0-2,000 ft 2,001-4,000ft4,001-6,000 ft6,001-8,000ft0-1,000ftAbove1,000 ft35 min  11 lb 12 lb 13 lb 14 lb 10 lb 15 lb-3- Pickled Jalapeno Peppers Jalapeno peppers (about 1 pound)1 c. vinegar (5%) 1 tsp. salt1/4 c. water 1 tsp. mixed pickling spiceWash peppers and pack tightly into hot jar, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Combinevinegar, water, salt, and pickling spice; heat to boiling. Pour boiling mixture over peppers to 1/2inch from jar top. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids. Process in boiling watercanner as shown below. Marinated PeppersUse any type of pepper (chile, bell, banana or jalapeno) or a combination of pepper typesfor desired hotness. 4 pounds firm peppers1 c. olive or salad oil1 c. bottled lemon juice 1/2 c. chopped onions2 c. white vinegar (5%) 2 cloves garlic, quartered (optional)1 tablespoons oregano leaves 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish(optional)Select your favorite peppers. Peppers may be left whole or quartered. Peel tough-skinnedchiles. Flatten small peppers. Fill pint or half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Combine andheat other ingredients to boiling and simmer 10 minutes. Remove garlic. Pour hot picklingsolution over peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling-watercanner.Processing times at different altitudes for Pickled Jalapeno Peppers and for MarinatedPeppers in a BOILING WATER CannerAltitude 0-1000 ft 1.001-6,000 ft Above 6,000 ftTime 10 min 15 min 20 minNote: pickled and marinated peppers can be safely canned in a boiling water bath.DRYING CHILE PODSRipe chile pods can be dried to use later as a seasoning. To make a ristra, tie stems ofchile pods onto a string and hang in a dry, well-ventilated location.Chiles can also be dried in a dehydrator. Wash pods, slice into desired size pieces andplace on dehydrator shelves. Dry until brittle. Transfer to plastic bags or glass jars for storage atroom temperature.Dried chile can be powdered in a blender, crumbed to smaller pieces or left intact.STORING CHILEStore fresh chile peppers in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 weeks. Frozen peppers that arepackaged appropriately and held at 0°F or below are good for a year. Storage temperature has amajor effect on canned peppers: at 40°F hold for up to 24 months, at 70°F. hold up to 12 monthsand if at 90°F don’t hold more than 6 months.-4-NUTRITION INFORMATIONChile peppers are known for being good sources of Vitamins A, C, E and folate. They arehigh in potassium and low in sodium if not processed with added salt.Calories IronmgPotassiummgSodiummgVit. CmgVit. AIUFolatemcgVit. Emg½ c. raw green 30 0.9 255 5.2 182 578 17.2 0.52½ c. canned, green orred14 0.34 127 798 46 415 6.8 0.4710 peppers, red sundried16 0.3 94 5 2 1324 3 NA1 tbsp chile powder 24 1.1 144 76 5 2619 7.50 0.08Savor the Season All Year Long!REFERENCESUSDA Food Composition Data. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/index.html .Bowes, Anna DePlanter, Church, Charles, Church, Helen Nichols, Pennington, CarmellaGenene, & Pennington, Jean A. T. Bowes & Church’s Food Value of Portions CommonlyUsed. 1998. Lippincott-Raven Publishers. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brennand, Charlotte. 1994. Home Drying of Food. (FN330) Utah State University Extension.Logan, Utah. http://extension.usu.edu/files/food/foodpub/fn330.pdf.Complete Guide to Home Canning (Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539). 1988. USDA &Extension Service. http://extension.usu.edu/files//foodpubs/cangui0.pdf. Section 5. Subsistence. Department of Defense 4145.19-R-1, 197. Utah State University is committed to providing an environment free from harassment and other forms of illegal discrimination basedon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 and older), disability, and veteran’s status. USU’s policy also prohibits discrimination on thebasis of sexual orientation in employment and academic related practices and decisions.Utah State University employees and students cannot, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran’sstatus, refuse to hire; discharge; promote; demote; terminate; discriminate in compensation; or discriminate regarding terms, privileges, orconditions of employment, against any person otherwise qualified. Employees and students also cannot discriminate in the classroom, residencehalls, or in on/off campus, USU-sponsored events and activities.This publication is issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work. Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with theU.S. Department of Agriculture, Noelle E. Cockett, Vice President for Extension and Agriculture, Utah State University. (FN/Harvest/2005-01pr)

Preserving Chile

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Preserving Chile

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