from my past experience, Habaneros sometimes have internal rot, while looking fine on the outside, black on the inside, I've cut mine in half, to check, bag and freeze, use rubber gloves though, not latex.

Thank you, ristau5741 ! Cut in half and wear protection...! Sounds like good advice.

sooey

Thank you, Dave. Good to know.

sooey

Hi sooey,

Yes, I've been freezing mine for years now. In addition to the fine advice so far, you have the best results if you vacuume seel (like in a Food Saver system). If you don't have a vacuume seeler, double bag them in freezer bags... they'll keep longer.

Bill

Yes, as others have suggested, it works fine to freeze them chopped or in halves or other pieces (in which case you can chop them when you defrost them if you like; they will be soft but the flavour will be well preserved).

But I wouldn't freeze in jars---plastic bags (with extra air squished out) or heavy-duty plastic wrap is what you want. Most things preserve their flavour and avoid freezer burn best if not surrounded by air.

(Though Dave's trick of freezing them unwrapped briefly first is a clever one & I've used it for berries---that way they are hard and don't mush into a clump when you pack several into a bag, so you can easily remove however much or little you want.)

good luck!

Zabby,
also having a good harvest of habs this year & planning to freeze most

This is all great advice, thank you very much. We have been harvesting them for a while now and have way too many of them in the frig. Tomorrow I will set to work. I'll cut them in half and freeze them frist on a cookie sheet, just like blueberries. When they are frozen I will double bag them in a zip type bag. Easy as pie. Thanks all!

sooey

sooey

Hey guys I wanted to know if habanero peppers lose heat if frozen and then unfrozen.

shadow, I don't find that mine lose their heat. I mostly chop and freeze in amounts that are suitable for a batch of Habanero Gold or my husband's hot sauce.

I'm a wuss when it comes to heat, but I sure don't notice that they are any milder when I use the frozen ones!

Annie