I have several green tabasco peppers that look really good. Down south we love to store them in a shaker with some vinegar and a pinch of salt to season beans and greens (though, due to my marrying a Chicago burbanite, I am the only person in my house who will eat any of the above!), and they are normally put up green for this purpose. I do, however, LOVE the flavor of the fully ripened red ones minced and added to dishes. This is my first attempt at growing any vegetables so I have absolutely no idea how or when is the best time to harvest them, so I have a host of questions.
How long after reaching full size does it usually take for them to turn red? How long should I wait before harvesting some green ones for canning? After they turn red, how do I know they've reached optimal age for cooking flavor? I'm afraid I'm going to pull the green ones too early and they won't be good or leave the red ones too long so they over-ripen.
Also, I cook with red pepper flakes alot. Are tabasco peppers good for dehydrating and crushing for this purpose? I'm going to have way more peppers that I can ever use fresh due to my family's lack of heat tolerance, so I am trying to come up with ways for longer-term preservation so I can use them all.
Can anyone shed some light on the smaller chilis? I have no idea what I am doing here! LOL.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7428
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
For each his own.
The peppers are actually hottest and have the best flavor when they are green. I love hot spicy food. If you don't pick the green peppers they will start to dry out and you can tell they are starting to dry because they start to swrivle on the surface you have to look very close. After a few weeks they turn red and a few more weeks they completely dry out. Save some of the dried red ones for next years seeds if you plant from seeds.
It has been several years since I have grown hot peppers my stomach just can't take the extremely hot spicy stuff it once could deal with. These days I prefer the milder hot peppers they have more flavor and less hotness.
And you are correct here in Tennessee many of the restaruants have the peppers in a shaker bottle of vinegar and it is excellent on just about any food. People that have not tried it don't know what they are missing.
About 15 years ago I filled the kitchen blender with green hot peppers and a cut of vinegar. I whipped it into a green milkshake and poured it into pint mason jars. A teaspoon of that in beans, meat loaf, turnip greens and other foods was all it needed to set me on fire. About 4 months later I noticed the acid in the peppers had eaten up the metal lids, the metal turned black and fell into the jars. I learned to use plastic lids on all my hot peppers.
The peppers are actually hottest and have the best flavor when they are green. I love hot spicy food. If you don't pick the green peppers they will start to dry out and you can tell they are starting to dry because they start to swrivle on the surface you have to look very close. After a few weeks they turn red and a few more weeks they completely dry out. Save some of the dried red ones for next years seeds if you plant from seeds.
It has been several years since I have grown hot peppers my stomach just can't take the extremely hot spicy stuff it once could deal with. These days I prefer the milder hot peppers they have more flavor and less hotness.
And you are correct here in Tennessee many of the restaruants have the peppers in a shaker bottle of vinegar and it is excellent on just about any food. People that have not tried it don't know what they are missing.
About 15 years ago I filled the kitchen blender with green hot peppers and a cut of vinegar. I whipped it into a green milkshake and poured it into pint mason jars. A teaspoon of that in beans, meat loaf, turnip greens and other foods was all it needed to set me on fire. About 4 months later I noticed the acid in the peppers had eaten up the metal lids, the metal turned black and fell into the jars. I learned to use plastic lids on all my hot peppers.