Hot and sweet peppers are well suited for winter preparations. They can be canned either alone or mixed with other vegetables. Lecho and salads are very tasty from bell pepper. Such blanks can be used both as a side dish and as a snack.
Types of peppers and their health benefits
There are different types of peppers. Most often, Bulgarian and hot peppers are canned.
Bell pepper pleases with its bright appearance and has a sweetish taste. This vegetable is simply a champion in vitamin content. It contains almost all vitamins of group B. But most of all in Bulgarian (sweet) pepper of vitamin C - 150-250 ml per 100 g of vegetable with a daily rate of 100 mg. Sweet peppers contain almost 3 times more vitamins than lemons, especially the high content of vitamin C in red and green fruits.
Also, bell pepper is rich in vitamin A, which helps not only to strengthen vision, but in conjunction with vitamin C, it helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
In addition, bell peppers contain:
- useful trace elements;
- essential oils;
- nitrogenous substances and sugars.
Eating this vegetable will help saturate the body with vitamins, strengthen immunity, and relieve spasms and colic in the intestines.
Red fruits contain lycopene, which prevents the formation of cancer cells and serves as a good natural prophylactic against cancer.
For preparations for the winter, hot peppers are also used. There are many varieties of hot peppers. They differ in color, shape, degree of pungency and the content of useful microelements in their composition.
The severity of chilli depends on the percentage of capsaicin in it.
Capsaicin acts on cells of benign and malignant tumors and actively destroys them. It is thanks to this property that even doctors recommend using red pepper for oncology.
Also, hot pepper effectively fights colds and prevents the development of atherosclerosis.
Regular consumption of hot red pepper produces a healing effect on the body, namely:
- strengthens the immune system;
- stimulates the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
- improves appetite;
- lowers blood sugar;
- cleans blood vessels.
However, it should be remembered that there are a number of restrictions and contraindications for the use of bell peppers and hot peppers. These include:
- acute stomach diseases;
- liver and kidney disease;
- allergies and individual intolerance.
Choosing and storing peppers
Choosing a quality bell pepper is quite simple. The fruits should be bright in color, free from spots and damage. The tail of a fresh vegetable is firm and green.
Store bell peppers in a cool place. In an ordinary refrigerator, fresh vegetables lie from 5 to 10 days, and in the freezer they can be stored without losing their taste and useful qualities for up to four months.
Properly prepared canning can stand in the basement for 1 to 3 years. It is not recommended to store the workpieces longer.
As for the storage of hot peppers, some nuances should be taken into account. Fresh and dry fruits are stored differently.
Fresh pods can be kept in a cool and dry place, but no more than two weeks, then they begin to deteriorate.
In the refrigerator, the shelf life of peppers increases, and in the freezer they can lie for up to six months without compromising quality and taste.
In dry form, hot ground pepper can be stored for a very long time. The main thing is to pack it hermetically and keep it in a dark place at room temperature.
Preservation of pepper for the winter
Pepper for the winter is harvested in different ways. Lecho, salads and sauces are made from it, the fruits are marinated whole, dried and ground for seasoning. Each cooking method has its own pros and cons, and most housewives have their own family recipe for making peppers for the winter.
Canned bell pepper
Ingredients:
- Bulgarian pepper (different colors) - 1 kg;
- vinegar 9% - 200 g;
- vegetable oil - 7 tablespoons;
- salt - 2 tablespoons with a slide;
- sugar - 1 glass;
- black peppercorns, cloves, thyme, bay leaf - to taste.
Wash the fruits, remove the core and tail, cut in half, large pepper - into four parts.
Prepare the brine. Add sugar, salt, vegetable oil and spices to boiling water, boil for 3 - 5 minutes.
Pour the vegetables with brine, bring to a boil and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the pepper to sterilized jars. Add vinegar to the brine, bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
Pour the peppers with brine and close with iron lids for preservation. Pour boiling water over the lids.
Bell pepper in tomato (lecho)
Ingredients:
- Bulgarian pepper - 2 kg;
- sugar - 165 g;
- tomato - 2 l;
- table vinegar 9% - 70 g;
- sunflower oil - 165 g;
- salt - 40 g;
- peppercorns, bay leaf - to taste.
Wash the vegetables, peel, remove the stem and core. Cut the pepper into two or four pieces, depending on the size of the fruit.
Make the sauce. Pour the tomato into a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients to it and bring to a boil.
Place bell pepper halves in the sauce and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes.
Transfer the pepper and sauce to clean glass jars and roll up the lids. Store in a basement.
Sukhindolski pickles
Ingredients:
- sweet red pepper - 6 kg;
- cauliflower - 3 heads of cabbage;
- small green tomatoes - 1 kg;
- carrots - 0.5 kg;
- hot pepper - 0.5 kg.
For marinade pouring:
- water - 7 glasses;
- wine vinegar - 7 glasses;
- sugar - 1 glass;
- salt - 1 glass;
- bay leaves - 5 pieces;
- black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon;
- allspice peas - 1 teaspoon.
Wash the vegetables, disassemble the cauliflower into inflorescences, cut off the tail of the pepper and remove the core, cut the carrots into slices.
Cook the marinade dressing from water and spices. After boiling, boil the mixture for 3-5 minutes. Cool the finished marinade.
Scald the pepper pods with boiling water, pour the rest of the vegetables with boiling water separately (in another dish).
When the vegetables are cool, put 1-2 tomatoes, 1 hot pepper, 2-3 carrots in the middle of each pepper. Cover the top with several cabbage inflorescences.
Arrange the stuffed peppers in jars, pour over chilled marinade and close with iron lids. Store in a cool place, drizzle with vegetable oil before serving.
Donskoy salad
Ingredients:
- tomatoes - 3.5 kg;
- sweet bell pepper (red or green) - 1.5 kg;
- onions - 1 kg;
- sunflower oil - 300 g;
- salt - 100 g;
- sugar - 100 g;
- black peppercorns - to taste;
- table vinegar 9% - 150g.
Wash the tomatoes thoroughly, remove the tail and cut the tomatoes into slices or slices 4-5 mm thick.
Wash the pepper, remove the top with seeds, cut into rings or slices.
Peel the onion and cut into rings 2-3 mm wide.
Boil the sunflower oil and then cool naturally.
Put the chopped vegetables in an enamel bowl, sprinkle them with salt at the rate of 20 g per 1 kg of the mixture, add 20 g of sugar, mix thoroughly and drain the resulting liquid.
Pour two tablespoons of sunflower oil into sterilized jars, add peppercorns, and then put the chopped vegetables tightly.
You need to fill the cans by 2 cm before reaching the top. Pour two tablespoons of vinegar on top of the vegetables.
Cover the jars with iron lids and place them in a pot of hot water to sterilize. At the bottom of the pan, you need to put a wooden stand or a double-rolled towel.
The water in the pan should be at the same level as the vegetables in the jars, but never get inside.
Cover the saucepan and sterilize the vegetables over low heat for 20 minutes. Roll up the finished salad with iron lids for canning.
Finca salad
Ingredients:
- pink tomatoes - 1 kg;
- Bulgarian pepper - 1 kg;
- white cabbage - 1 kg;
- fresh cucumbers - 1 kg;
- onions - 1 kg;
- salt - 100 g;
- ground black pepper - to taste;
- allspice, cloves, bay leaves - to taste;
- refined deodorized sunflower oil - 2 tablespoons per 0.5 liter can;
- table vinegar 6% - 300 g.
Wash the vegetables and cut into strips, add salt, black pepper and vinegar, mix.
Put spices and 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil at the bottom of sterilized jars, then put vegetables.
Each can must be topped up with the resulting juice and sterilized for 20-25 minutes.
Bell pepper and pink tomato salad
Ingredients:
- Bulgarian pepper - 2 kg;
- garlic - 2 large cloves;
- pink tomatoes - 1 kg;
- onions - 300 g;
- salt - 50 g;
- refined sunflower oil - 150 g;
- hot pepper - to taste (you do not need to add it);
- table vinegar 9% - 2 tablespoons.
Large ripe tomatoes are suitable for this salad. Wash pink tomatoes, cut into large pieces and twist in a meat grinder or juicer.
Wash the bell peppers, remove the top and insides and cut into strips.
Peel the onion and cut into half rings.
Put the vegetables in an enamel pan, add sugar, tomato juice, salt and mix gently. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add chopped garlic, hot peppers, oil, table vinegar to vegetables and boil for 5-7 minutes. Arrange the salad in glass jars, roll up and wrap.
Summer gifts salad
Preparing a delicate and original salad for the winter is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. All that is needed for such preservation is sweet and sour apples and ripe bell peppers.
Ingredients:
- sweet bell pepper - 2 kg;
- sweet and sour apples –1 kg;
- blue onion (Yalta) - 1 kg;
- flower or meadow honey - 3 tablespoons;
- salt - 30 g;
- peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves - to taste;
- vegetable oil - 150 ml;
- vinegar 9% - 70 ml.
For the preparation of this salad, you can use any apples, but it tastes best with sweet and sour varieties.
First, wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and top, cut into strips.
Cut the onion into rings. Wash the apples, peel, remove the middle and cut into small pieces.
Put all vegetables in a saucepan, add honey, salt, spices, vegetable oil and mix well. Leave to infuse for 40 minutes.
Then put the vegetables on a low heat, bring to a boil and boil for 15 - 20 minutes. A minute before the end of cooking, add table vinegar, mix.
Put the prepared salad warm in sterilized jars, roll up with iron lids and cover with a towel for a day.
This salad should be served as a snack and goes well with meat and mashed potatoes.
Pickled hot chilli peppers
Ingredients:
- hot peppers - 1.5 kg;
- coarse salt - 3 tablespoons;
- refined sunflower oil - 3 tablespoons;
- sugar - 230 g;
- table vinegar 9% - 1 glass.
Prepare a marinade from oil and spices. Add vinegar a minute until tender.
Wash the pepper, put in boiling water and blanch for 4-5 minutes.
Then transfer it to sterilized jars and cover with boiling marinade. Roll up with iron lids and wrap with a cloth.
Hot canned peppers with honey
This appetizer has an original spicy-sweet taste and floral aroma. It goes well with meat dishes.
Ingredients:
- bitter capsicum - 2.5 kg;
- flower honey - 0.5 cups;
- table vinegar 9% - 300 g;
- vegetable refined oil - 200 g;
- coarse salt - 1 incomplete tablespoon;
- garlic - 5 cloves;
- cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice - to taste.
Wash the pepper, put it together with the garlic in sterilized 300 or 500 ml jars.
Prepare a marinade from table vinegar, refined oil, honey, salt and spices. Pour vegetables over them, close them with plastic lids and store them in the cellar (basement).
Useful Tips
Various preparations for the winter can be made from sweet bell peppers. It goes wonderfully with tomatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage and apples.
For beauty and ease of preparation, it is better to cut vegetables in such salads into neat strips.
For preservation, it is better to choose only ripe, fleshy and juicy vegetables. If you take unripe fruits, the taste of the preparation will give off bitterness and this will ruin the dish. Small peppers with a thin skin are not suitable for harvesting.
A good homemade way to harvest hot peppers for the winter is to dry them. Dried fruits can be chopped and mixed with salt or other seasonings.
