[gardeners] Chiles
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 18 Oct 1998 14:23:34 -0700
Yesterday I pulled out two of the Lemon Drop chile plants and today I
took out the other two. After stripping all the chiles off the plants it
was decision time. I ended up pickling about a quart and a half of them
in a vinegar/water solution. A lot of green ones ended up in a green
vinegar bottle I had saved and sterilized and a goodly portion of the
bright yellows went into a wine bottle I had bought at the local Hobby
Lobby for 50 cents (on sale). A little dab of ripe Thai Hots, also
picked yesterday, went into a sterilized PickAPeppa bottle. Some more
gifts to be passed on to friends and family.
The rest of the Lemon Drops were chopped in the food processor and into
a food grade plastic container of one gallon capacity. Two-thirds of a
cup of pickling salt went on top of the chopped chiles and then the
container was capped with a double layer of cheese cloth and set aside
to ferment. The container is clear so I should be able to watch the
process carefully.
We have one Thai Hot and three Longhorn chile plants left. That should
give us plenty of chiles to last until first frost for fresh use and I
may dehydrate some of the Thai Hots to make a little bit of "pepper
flakes".
Now it's raining again so I won't get to do the rest of my "list" in the
garden.
George