Ghost peppers are earth-shatteringly hot and a wonderful thing to add to a whole host of spicy foods. The thing with a ghost pepper is that a little goes a long way! So, what do you do with all those leftovers?
Can You Freeze Ghost Peppers?
Yes, you can freeze ghost peppers for up to 6 months. Transfer the peppers to a lined baking sheet, before flash freezing them for around 45 minutes. Once theyāre solid, transfer the frozen ghost peppers to a freezer bag before pressing out as much air as possible.
Do Do Ghost Peppers freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Ghost Peppers? Yes
How to Freeze Ghost Peppers
Before freezing ghost peppers, you need to take a look through the pile or collection of peppers that you have to hand and remove any peppers that look a little worse for wear.
If there are any marks or bruising on a pepper then you can remove those pieces with a small knife.
Once you’ve gone through the peppers and done a little quality control, you can get to freezing them:
- Freeze on a Tray: Transfer the trimmed peppers to a lined baking sheet, before placing the baking sheet into the freezer for around 45 minutes. This will flash-freeze the peppers, allowing you to handle them with less care.
- Bag Up: Once the peppers are entirely frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag, being sure to fit as many into the bag as possible. We recommend doing this so that there is as little air as possible in the bag.
- Seal: Once all of the peppers are within the bag, press out as much air as possible to further reduce the amount of flavour that can be lost from your ghost peppers. Once thatās done, seal the bag completely, and double-check the seal.
- Label and Freeze: Label the bag with the correct date, before placing it into your freezer, where the peppers will freeze solid over time and will be stored well for up to six months.
You can also dice the peppers up and freeze them in an ice cube tray just like we do here when freezing chillies.
3 Tips for Freezing Ghost Peppers
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing ghost peppers to have the best results:
Ensure a Tight Seal
Sealing the bag is a vital step to freezing the ghost peppers youāre working with. This is because the aromatic and flavour compounds of your ghost peppers will evaporate over time, making them less potent. Therefore, to maintain flavour, keep the bag sealed.
Keep Them As Dry As Possible
Be sure to freeze the peppers in a dry environment, as that will reduce the amount of condensation within the peppers. This will reduce the amount of flavour lost over time, allowing the peppers to be potent and flavorful when you use them.
Be Careful When Trimming
Make sure to keep the stems attached to the rest of the peppers. We recommend this as it allows the peppers to be a little fresher for longer since itās essentially a small part of the plant being used to feed nutrients to the pepper.
How Long Can You Freeze Ghost Peppers?
You can freeze ghost peppers for up to six months in your freezer. Technically, you can freeze them for longer than that, but freezer burn is likely to set in, leading to the peppers going mushy over time.
Ghost peppers will keep for up to 7 days in the fridge. Beyond this, you’ll find that they lose some of their flavour and potency which is not what you want when using peppers.
How Do You Defrost Ghost Peppers?
The easiest way to defrost a ghost pepper is by removing it from the freezer bag itās stored in before moving it to an open container in the fridge.
This will allow it to thaw and for the ice crystals on, within, and around the pepper to melt and evaporate.
Can You Refreeze Ghost Peppers?
Yes, you can refreeze ghost peppers.
The only downside to this is that the forming, melting, and reforming of ice crystals within the cells of the ghost peppers will likely lead to a loss of texture over time. This is certainly less than ideal.
Do Ghost Peppers Freeze Well?
Yes, ghost peppers do freeze well.
Provided you return to them within that six-month window, very little of the original flavour or texture is lost during and after the freezing process. Therefore, we would argue that they certainly do freeze very well.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing ghost peppers or ghost peppers in general, then these may help:
Yes, whole ghost peppers can be frozen on a lined-baking tray and then tipped in a freezer bag once solid where they will keep for around 6 months.
Yes, diced ghost peppers can be frozen in an ice cube tray. They will keep for around 3 to 4 months when diced and then submerged in water or oil in a tray.
