The Best Method For Preserving Fresh Jalapeños In The Freezer
The humble jalapeño, hailing from Mexico, is an easy ingredient that spices up dishes from salsa to sandwiches. With its relatively mild level of heat — clocking in between 2,500 and 8,000 on the Scoville scale — it's also perfect for simple preparations like pickling or stuffing. So, it stands to reason that it's ideal to keep some jalapeños on hand for those times you want to heat your recipes up.
While you can buy sliced and jarred jalapeños at the grocery store, fresh jalapeños are often better than processed peppers, according to Pepper Scale. Fortunately, as MasterClass notes, it's fairly easy to freeze fresh jalapeños at home where you can use them for up to one year.
Before you get started, MasterClass explains that whether you bought them at the store or grew them in your garden, it's important to rinse the peppers to remove any harmful bacteria. Then, decide if you want to freeze whole jalapeños or if you want to store them sliced.
Preparing and freezing jalapeños
For both whole and sliced jalapeños, MasterClass advises first removing the stem. Then, remove all of the seeds. You may want to wear gloves during this process to protect your hands.
While you can immediately freeze the peppers at this point, there are a few optional steps as well. First, Canned Nation suggests blanching the jalapeños before freezing them. Doing so may help them to retain more flavor. Then, if you are slicing the jalapeños before freezing, do so once the peppers have cooled to the touch. MasterClass also suggests flash-freezing the peppers before bagging and storing them. To flash-freeze, place the whole jalapeños or slices on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer briefly to allow them to harden. Doing this will prevent the peppers from sticking together once bagged. As another alternative, if you want to dice the peppers, you can do so and flash-freeze them in ice cube trays (per Cooking Light). Finally, place the peppers into freezer bags, ensuring you remove all air from the bag. Allowing air to remain in the bag can degrade the flavor and quality of frozen vegetables (per University of Minnesota Extension).
How to defrost and use jalapeños
Once the jalapeños are frozen, they should last for up to one year (per MasterClass). During that time, you can either cook with them straight from the freezer, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator, or use cold water to defrost them more quickly (via Canned Nation).
Ripley Farm cautions that frozen peppers could contain excess moisture when thawed. To combat this, they recommend completely draining the peppers as well as laying them on paper towels to dry. Additionally, Jalapeño Madness warns that while peppers that have been frozen will retain their flavor, they are likely to become soft. Preparations that are best for using frozen peppers include stir-fries, soups and chilis, fajitas, or as a topping for pizzas and sandwiches (per Ripley Farm). And if those aren't enough spicy ways to use your jalapeños, you can also muddle them for a jalapeño mojito or use them as garnish for a cilantro jalapeño margarita.