Freezing Peppers

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we are taking a "vacation" until cooler weather arrives. The heat and drought have taken a toll on both our crops and our bodies.  So, Tom is making plans for a fall garden and I am working at preserving the produce that is left.

Before the heat scorched them, Tom picked the best bell peppers we had left in the garden and brought them in.  The best way I have found to preserve peppers is to freeze them.  Here's what I do.

I cut them open, take the seeds out and dice them into pieces.  Then I place them on a cookie sheet like this.

We had quite a variety of different colored peppers this year.  The red ones are actually pimento peppers.  Most of us have only tasted these pickled and stuffed into green olives.  However, when you eat them raw, they taste about the same as bell peppers.

Next step is to put the cookie sheet into the freezer and freeze until the peppers are well frozen.   Then, I take a spatula and scoop them off the cookie sheet and into a waiting freezer bag.

You want to do this quickly before the peppers have a chance to thaw.  The advantage to dicing the peppers and  freezing them on a cookie sheet is that they will stay separate in the bag.  Then you can open the bag and remove just the amount that you need for a recipe.  Of course, these are only suitable for recipes where the peppers will be cooked.  

The peppers above filled a quart freezer back about 2/3 full.