"mart" wrote in message ...
hi all

my chilli pepper plant has done rather well and produced more than chillis
than we can comfortably eat straight away . what is the best way to store
these chillis for later use in the cold winter/autumn to come ?

The classic method is to dry them, but I just freeze them. No
blanching, just straight in. I like to keep half of them green. I
sometimes also pickle a jarful in vinegar: one makes a nice little
relish on the side of your plate, especially when you have to cook a
dish milder than you normally do.

A nice traditional condiment which makes a good Christmas present is
pepper wine. Put as many green chillies as you like -- say 10 -- in a
half-bottle, and top up with medium dry sherry. Supermarket's own
brand cheapest sherry is fine for this. Much smarter than Tabasco.
Keeps for years if not used up. Make a pretty label, by hand or
computer, if you're giving it away.

A blast of this pepper wine in a cup of hot Bovril works wonders when
you come in out the garden on a raw day.

Mike.