So you’ve finally harvested your poblano peppers after laboring over them all season long. Good job! But now you have a bounty of peppers to keep fresh.
To keep poblano peppers fresh after picking, store them in the crisper drawer of your fridge where they will last 1-2 weeks. Putting them in the fridge stops the ripening process, so don’t put them away until they’ve reached their desired ripeness. Poblanos last around 5 days on the table. You can also freeze them, can them, pickle them, and more.
Read on to learn some creative ways to keep poblano peppers fresh after picking!
How long do poblano peppers last?
If you suddenly have an army of poblanos on your hands, you’d better figure out how long you have to use them!
Poblano peppers last 1-2 weeks when kept in the crisper drawer of your fridge. If you leave them out on the table, they last about 5 days. Canned, pickled, and frozen peppers will last months on end. No matter how you store them, they’ll slowly lose their crispness.
Poblano peppers last 7-14 days when put in the crisper drawer of your fridge.
Meanwhile, they’ll only last about 5 days if left on the table.
Whether stored in the fridge or on the table, poblano peppers slowly lose their crispness while in storage.
The ideal time period for storing poblano peppers
Let’s talk about when you should put your peppers away.
The ideal time period for storing poblano peppers is to put them in the fridge when they’ve reached the desired level of ripeness. Poblano peppers do not continue to ripen once you place them in the fridge. A fully ripe poblano pepper can be up to twice as spicy as an immature one, so timing makes a huge difference.
Peppers will not continue to ripen if put in the fridge. Don’t store them in the fridge until they’ve reached the desired level of ripeness.
Poblano peppers range from 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville Heat Units. That means you can cut their spiciness in half if stored while still immature. On the other hand, you can double their spiciness if you wait to put them in the fridge until they’re fully ripe!
How to store poblano peppers after picking
So we know to put peppers in the fridge, but what are the exact logistics?
Some tips to store poblano peppers after picking include:
- Store at 40-45°F
- Don’t wash until right before use
- Store in the fridge within 2 hours of cutting
Why are these tips important for keeping your peppers fresh? Keep reading to find out.
Store between 40-45°F
This is the perfect temperature range to keep poblanos fresh and crisp for the longest amount of time.
To store poblano peppers after picking, store them at 40-45°F in your fridge.
Unless you live somewhere freezing cold and don’t turn the heat on, you’re going to have to use your fridge!
Don’t wash until right before use
While it might be tempting to wash your peppers right away since they’re coming in from the garden, it’s important to be patient!
To store poblano peppers after picking, don’t wash them until right before you’re going to use them. Washing peppers can encourage pathogens and bacteria to gather on them due to excess moisture.
To avoid your poblano peppers going bad early, wait to wash them until right before use.
Store in the fridge within 2 hours of cutting
If you cut your peppers up, you’d better put them away quickly!
To store poblano peppers after picking, put them in the fridge within 2 hours of cutting them up. When you cut poblano peppers, they immediately become susceptible to all kinds of microorganisms and pathogens.
While you should try to put them in the fridge right away after cutting, 2 hours is the absolute maximum amount of time to wait.
Poblano pepper alternative storage tips
There are plenty of fun things you can do with poblano peppers besides just throwing them in the fridge.
In addition to eating your poblanos within two weeks of cooking, you can:
- Drying
- Pickling
- Canning
- Relish
- Jelly
- Freezing
How do you store peppers to last? Let’s find out!
Drying poblano peppers
Let’s start with one of the simplest options, although something you may not think of right away: drying your poblano peppers!
You have the choice of sun drying, air drying, or dehydrating poblano peppers if you want to dry them. Once dried, you can blend them up into a powder to use as a spicy flavoring. You can rehydrate dried peppers for casseroles. Store in a moisture-proof container in a cool, dark, dry place. They’ll remain good to eat for several months.
You can either sun dry, air dry, or use a dehydrator or oven to dry your poblano peppers.
Dried poblano peppers can be blended up into a powder to use as flavoring. You can also rehydrate dried peppers for usage in casseroles.
Store dried poblano peppers in a moisture-proof container in a cool, dark, dry place. They’ll stay good for several months.
Pickling poblano peppers
If you’ve never had pickled peppers before, now is a good time to change that!
To pickle poblano peppers, all you need is peppers, salt, and vinegar. Be sure to follow all canning instructions carefully to avoid contamination.
There’s a lot to know about pickling vegetables, and we could write an entire series of blog posts just on this topic alone. There are also many different techniques.
Since we don’t have time to give you a full run down, here are some great resources:
That should certainly be enough information to walk you through the pickling process. You’ll have your own pickled poblano peppers in no time!
Canning poblano peppers
Canning vegetables is a time-tested way to keep them good in storage for long periods of time.
You don’t need to pickle poblano peppers in order to can them! You just need to use a pressure canner. Follow instructions very carefully, especially while canning to avoid contamination. Store in a cool, dark, dry place where temperatures don’t reach above 75°F.
Poblano peppers don’t have to be pickled in order to be canned!
Since peppers are low in acid, they need to be canned using a pressure canner if they aren’t pickled.
First, remove the skin on your poblano peppers. Then get rid of the stems, cores, and seeds.
Blanch them for three minutes and cut them into quarters.
Then pack them into a jar and cover them with boiling water, leaving an inch of room at the top. Add salt and lemon juice.
Remove air bubbles and process in your pressure canner!
Store sealed cans of peppers in a cool, dark, dry place. Ideally, temperatures shouldn’t reach above 75°F.
Relish
Poblano pepper relish? Count me in!
Pepper relish is a popular condiment, and can be delicious as a marinade, as part of a cheese plate, or on just about anything grilled. Poblano pepper relish has a slightly earthy flavor and just a bit of heat.
To make poblano pepper relish, you need:
- Poblano peppers
- Ground onions
- Sugar
- White vinegar
- Mustard seeds
- Salt
Boil all of the ingredients together uncovered for half an hour. Pack into jars, remove air bubbles, and process in a boiling water bath.
Jelly
Pepper jelly is truly a treat!
To make poblano pepper jelly, you need: cored and chopped peppers, white vinegar, sugar, liquid pectin, and food coloring (if desired). Follow canning instructions carefully to avoid contamination.
The necessary ingredients for poblano pepper jelly are:
- Cored and chopped peppers
- White vinegar
- Sugar
- Liquid pectin
- Food coloring (if desired)
Follow this guide to make your own poblano pepper jelly! You have a couple of options for recipe variations. You can:
- Replace the hot peppers with fully ripe poblano peppers.
OR:
- Replace the sweet green peppers with immature poblano peppers.
OR, if you want to go really crazy:
- Replace the sweet green peppers with immature poblano peppers AND replace the hot peppers with fully ripe poblano peppers!
Freezing
Last but not least, a very easy and convenient option.
Frozen poblano peppers will last 9 months. They lose their crunchy texture, so you’ll have to be choosy about which recipes you use them in. Poblano peppers don’t need to be blanched prior to freezing.
Peppers lose their crunch after being frozen, so frozen peppers are best used in recipes where texture doesn’t matter so much, such as chilis.
Unlike many other vegetables, you don’t have to blanch peppers before freezing them.
Simply cut them up, freeze them on a cookie sheet, and put them in a moisture-proof container! You can also roast them before freezing for extra flavor.
