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sarrie
8-5-11, 12:55am
I have access to many...many Anaheim Chiles.:~) I want to can them. Everyone I have asked has told me they turn to mush after they are canned. I do not want to pickle them, I want them to be like the Ortega Chiles you buy in the Grocery Store. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Gina
8-5-11, 11:06am
I grow lots of Anahiem type chiles. My favorite variety is the meaty Numex Joe E. Parker. If you are going to try to can them, you would need a pressure canner. I don't know how to retain the texture, since I don't can mine and in truth find the Ortega canned ones rather tasteless and over-processed. If you want far better flavor and less work, freeze the peeled chilies in baggies. Or even dry them.

This year I'm hoping for a bounty of them and will be flame-roasting them to remove the skins, seeds, and enhance the flavor, then popping them in the dehydrator. I've discoverd this makes it so much easier to just use one at a time - just rehydrate with a bit of water, then use in eggs, sandwiches, lasagna, mixed with other roast veggies, or whatever hits your fancy. In fact this very second I'm rehydrating one of my beloved anahiems for use on ww toast, with cheese and an egg. Yum!

puglogic
8-5-11, 12:04pm
I roast, peel, remove the seeds, and freeze, just as Gina alluded to. I doubt I could get through the winter without a big batch of frozen, roasted green chiles. Chili, omelettes, mexican dishes.....

benhyr
8-5-11, 12:44pm
Maybe make a brine with water and calcium chloride (no vinegar if you don't want to pickle them) and can in that? Skip the salt you'd usually use in favor of the calcium chloride.

Note, I haven't tried this....

I do think Gina's idea for roasting and drying would be a much better option.

Gina
8-5-11, 2:11pm
I just discovered the drying option this year and am extremely enthused about the possibilities. Anahiem types, esp roasted, have a much better flavor than bell-types.

As to the original post, it sometimes happens that when a person's very first post to a forum, esp in a different font, drops a product name, there can be more there than meets the eye. ;) I am probably wrong however.

treehugger
8-5-11, 2:51pm
As to the original post, it sometimes happens that when a person's very first post to a forum, esp in a different font, drops a product name, there can be more there than meets the eye. ;) I am probably wrong however.

I don't disagree with you (I am a natural cynic/skeptic) in general, however, when the post discusses making something from scratch as an alternative to buying a product, I am much less suspicious. :)

Btw, I have grown a lot of Anaheims and love them. I have never canned them (or anything else, actually), but I have roasted and frozen them and they work very well that way.

Kara

janharker
8-5-11, 7:32pm
As I accumulate too many jalapenos or habaneros I simply freeze them whole on a tray, then put them in a baggie. Then when I want one I simply pull it out, wait a minute or two for it to thaw just a bit, then chop it up for whatever I'm using it for. Generally, at that point I going to cook it anyway, so texture doesn't matter.

For anahiems, I can see the benefit of topping and removing the seeds before I froze them. Then they'd be ready for stuffing when they thawed.

Gina
8-6-11, 1:41am
I don't disagree with you (I am a natural cynic/skeptic) in general, however, when the post discusses making something from scratch as an alternative to buying a product, I am much less suspicious.

I must be more cynical than you. ;) It's probably not true in this case, but there are people who are actually paid to join forums and place product names in innocuous ways. It does not have to be a blatant ad, just something favorable about a product. They often have numbers in their names, an IP address from China or India tho not always. The MO is they register, and within a day or so post the product name, often a link, and then sign off within minutes, and rarely return to check if there was a response. The less like an ad, the better - so moderators don't remove the message as obvious spam.

As for the anahiems, I just checked mine again this morning (I have about 36 plants, 3 of which have significant rabbit damage), and they are lovely. I am watering and fertilizing them more carefully this year. The first pods are turning slightly red, which is the phase I prefer flavor-wise. And they are setting lots more fruits. If nothing bad happens, I should have lots this year.

Last year besides freezing skinned ones, I also let some go to red and then just chopped them, froze them in baggies, and poured out whatever was needed for stir-fries and other cooked dishes. No blanching required. Worked very well. They do have thicker skins than bells, but I'd rather have the better flavor. :)

janharker
8-6-11, 8:08pm
Well. Why did it never occur to me to chop them before I froze them. I do that will bells. Duh. Thanks, Gina, for bringing some wisdom into my life.

treehugger
8-8-11, 12:53pm
Two years ago (I didn't have a garden last year), I let my anaheims go completely red and, wow, they became much spicier than I had anticipated! I think I will go for just starting to turn red next time. :)

Kara

P.S. I am a highly cynical person, and I definitely know that there are posters on forums I read who are marketers in disguise. It would be pretty funny for that to show up here, though, considering how many of us are "bad" consumers.