harvesting todays harvest :-)

[pwb]

Its fun :-) My first growing of anything and there is lots of chili on the way ;-) This is harvested today and the plants are really starting to produce nice chili :-) Since i dont think its a good ide for my to eat all that today, should i wash them or is it best to wait to wash them before i should use them? Is it ok to let them stay in room temperature 2-3 days? I really need to start to find out how to pickle them, dry them or other ways to store them.
 

 
 

 

[Celtic67]

Wash right before eating as washing will reduce the time they will stay fresh considerably. Room temp should be fine unwashed for 2-3 days, the fridge would be better, I think.
 
Other parts of the forum will inform you about other ways of preserving, e.g. pickles, fermented sauces, sauces etc
 
Freezing is a good method but the thawed pods are only good for sauces/cooking as the texture is mushy after freezing. Drying & powdering are also viable methods, depending how you plan to use them.
 
Oh and nice harvest! 

 

[sp33d]

Very nice pull man...yummy...

 

[Dave2000]

2-3 days?   Mine usually keep fine piled one-high at room temp for 2 or 3 weeks, or a little less for especially watery pods like bells, but yeah I agree they'll last longer in the fridge.

 

[pwb]

When stored in fridge, in open plastic bag or only in a bowl ? When i buy chili and have it in the fridge it get soft very fast, but that's not fresh chili of course.

 

[turbo]

Nice set of peppers!  I usually store in the fridge in a small strainer bowl.  Lots of air flow even to the peppers in the bottom of the bowl.  They keep for about 2 weeks before they start to dry out

 

[Dave2000]

^  Ideally in a vegetable bag that's plastic but with vent holes so too much moisture doesn't build up and promote fungus.  You can replicate that with a regular plastic bag and a (paper) hole punch if it's sharp enough to make holes instead of stretch the plastic.  It helps if the bag is very cold when you punch the holes, like right out of the freezer.
 
You can leave them out in the open too but they will dry out (shrivel) faster, or in a paper bag to slow down shriveling a little bit. Yes they may get a little soft, when I wrote of 2-3 weeks I meant until they rot.  I actually like them to get a little softer if eaten raw.