It is with great pleasure that you watch how your specially bred pepperoni ripens in the garden. Soon you can use the pods for cooking. But when is the right time to reap the rewards? Find out the answers to your questions here.
Hot peppers are harvested in late summer
The right time
With their fiery spiciness, pepperoni - processed in a hearty autumn stew - heat up properly. The harvest time from August to October is just right. However, it is entirely up to you at what stage of ripeness you pick the fruit. Green and yellow peppers are also edible. In this state, the capsaisin content is not yet fully developed, which is why they taste much milder than red peppers. At room temperature, however, they ripen within a few days.
Protect peppers from frost
If you cultivate your plant in the fresh air, it is important to harvest it before the first frost or at least bring it indoors. Therein lies the advantage of keeping buckets. Often not all fruits can be used if they have to be picked. However, if you place the pot on the windowsill, the harvest can also take place gradually.
After harvest
Growing your own vegetables has two positive effects. On the one hand, of course, it makes you proud to watch the fruits slowly thrive. In addition, you save yourself the shopping and can use the home-grown vegetables for cooking. The hot pepper is very versatile in this regard. Have you ever tried a delicious chili con carne? Or how about pasta in chili sauce? The vegetables are also a treat filled with cream cheese. Depending on the processing purpose, there are the following options for storing the peppers:
- process freshly harvested
- Spread out on kitchen paper and let dry
- Freeze the peppers (preferably chop them up first so that you can use them immediately after defrosting)
tips
It is a good idea to remove the seeds before freezing. But don't throw them away. As with dried fruits, the seeds can be kept in a container in a cool place and used for propagation. However, this only works with the seeds of red fruits. Seeds from green peppers often do not germinate.