How to preserve jalapeno peppers

How to preserve jalapeno peppers is for all those who grow these little devils; and a few tips on using them in your cooking.

I suppose you could also purchase a few pounds when there is a glut and they are cheap; but they are so easy to grow and freshness is everything. They will make a magnificent show in any front garden with their bright-red jackets. Why would you buy them?

Even if you live in an apartment they will thrive in a pot on a sunny-balcony ^[4].

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 6th April, 2024.

Having said that, how to preserve jalapeno peppers is important for those who like it hot; there will not be any fruit from that front-garden until around midsummer.

In the spring once there is some heat in the air I take a few dry pods from last year, slit them open and press the seeds into a shallow-drill about a metre long; within a week or two you will have dozens of tiny plants.

Water them regularly and when the fourth-leaf appears, or later because it is not critical plant out the seedlings about a foot apart. Just one prolific jalapeno in fact will probably provide all you need but I like at least half a dozen; they are so pretty.

Plant some in the front garden too in full sun. You will certainly find your guests asking about them. They are very hardy and require little attention unless it is particularly dry; when the fruit starts to appear you will need to support the branches with forked-sticks. It will grow to about two or three feet high.

Just because we have many compost piles dotted about, we use ample humus and worm-leachate^[1] with everything we sow; and so the jalapeno plants get it too. It makes them stronger and more prolific but you do not need to if you are not a crazy enthusiast; they will still bear much fruit.

The problem comes when winter arrives and suddenly you are faced with no jalapenos for six-months. In our mild climate we can go on reaping through the cold period if the frosts are not too heavy; but come spring they are wrinkled, soft and unpleasant.

We are reliant on a plentiful supply of the chili in particular for our Eggs Florentine and hummus that are enjoyed virtually every day; barbecued jalapeno chicken-recipes are kept for the weekends.

Many of the foods like chickpeas and spinach that are important for our vitality are lacking in startling flavour; enter these jalapeno recipes. A little of the piquant-tasting spice makes them adorable.

Astonishing as it may seem, breakfasts and lunches with Dr and Mrs Preston are much sought after it; because their meals always provide something different but nutritious. Talk to anyone with a continuous glucose monitor; most cereals are not the way to start the day.

The Cancer Association recommends a whole grain and a legume with each meal; that's well nigh impossible but we can aim high. Eggs Florentine on low-GI bread for breakfast, hummus with a little slither of jalapeno and corn on the cob means you too can benefit from otherwise boring greens at lunch.

Peppadews are slightly less fiery than jalapenos, yet still give the spicy taste we love in our food. Freezing is the best way to preserve them too.

How to preserve jalapeno peppers

Knowing how to preserve jalapeno peppers will give you anti-inflammatory protection against disease all year round; and easily add a bit of spice to otherwise bland food.

Our motto is slow-food, made fast; we simply do not have the time to spend long hours fiddling in the kitchen.

But we do have high demands from our meals. They must be extraordinarily full of goodness and tasty; and very low in refined carbs.

The handsome jalapeno plant helps provide all of that in the summer months; but alas in spring we have problems.

There is a very simple solution. Pick the abundant fruit when it is in its prime; wash it, chop the pods into edible portions and freeze them. Nothing could be easier; store them in a large packet with a wooden clothes peg.

If you like it hot, add several slithers; mild as in Eggs Florentine which uses just one. Even our grandson, aged three enjoys his "brekkit" with us. Can you imagine a small-boy having spinach for breakfast and asking for more?

Jalapeno benefits abound, but in particular it is the capsaicin, found mainly in the white placenta and the seeds that make chilis surprisingly a strong anti-inflammatory food. When freezing I now only scoop out the seeds from alternate pods.

Talk to doctors everywhere; most folk on the modern "industrial diet" are highly inflamed. Vascular surgeons report that the inner linings, the intima, of blood-vessels are becoming ever more angry. Heart disease and strokes are our biggest enemies.

Medical doctors are dishing out bucketfuls of anti-inflammatory pills.

As DCs we are finding painful, inflamed-muscles and joints that are resistant to treatment.

Gastroenterologists will tell you of conditions like painful Crohn's disease where it is so hot in the intestine that the inner lining sloughs off in bleeding-chunks.

Understanding the meaning of gluten and how the use of sourdough enables even many Coeliacs to enjoy bread will be interesting if you suffer from one of these inflammatory bowel problems.

It is vitally important that we begin to enjoy anti-inflammatory foods like jalapeno peppers and extra virgin olive oil on a daily basis.

Of course it is little use knowing how to preserve jalapeno peppers if you are clueless about how to grow chilli; they are one of the simpler plants to rear in any garden, but they do take a long time to turn red. Sow the seed early in the spring.

Authentic hummus recipe

You can rustle up this authentic hummus recipe in five-minutes; I know because I make a large tub at least twice a week. During the late winter and spring months I am reliant on knowing how to preserve jalapeno peppers. It is all so simple and nutritious.

Omitted from the photograph above is the cumin.

I say five-minutes to make our famous authentic hummus recipe, but it is dependent on two factors.

1. Once in every so many weeks, roasting some cumin seeds, grinding them and then storing the powder in the fridge under olive oil; it takes all of five to ten minutes. The fragrance is divine.
   
2. Taking a few moments to soak, pressure-cook and freeze a couple pounds of dried chickpeas; that will make you ten large tubs of hummus. The actual active work time is about twenty minutes, perhaps half an hour.
   

Pressure cooking is a must for every family when no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen every day; we do it using solar power. Food can be steamed in a third of the time. The new devices have safety-catches and are quite secure; you will not have beetroot juice spread over your ceiling.

Knowing "what is cumin" is central to making hummus with preserved jalapeno peppers. Type it into Site Search in the main menu above.

Hummus really makes a divine salad that some would otherwise find dull and very uninteresting. Also dribble on olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lime-juice and half a round of feta cheese. You have food fit to take you safely to the nineties; with all your marbles intact. 

The beta-cryptoxanthin in citrus^[6] is the most powerful phytonutrient known to protect us from senility; and the levodopa in broad beans.

Fresh tomato recipes are our favourite with a few slithers of a jalapeno pepper.

Making low GI bread using 100% wholewheat flour also takes me five-minutes; I do it every day, including grinding the wheat. Like I said, we love slow food, made fast. A sandwich made from jalapeno peppers or our pesto with cheese makes a winner for lunch.

• Sweet basil pesto recipe
  

"Healthy flour" is only to be had if you have a wheat grinder; or an uncle in the milling business. Find out more at Site Search in the main menu above.

Green chili sauce recipe

This green chili sauce recipe can be enjoyed year-round if you know how to preserve jalapeno peppers; whilst one can pickle and use other techniques, freezing them is so quick and easy.

How to preserve jalapeno peppers in autumn is central to our gardening and cooking.

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