What kind of green chiles?

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I am wanting to order my garden seeds for next Spring. One item that I love having on hand are those little cans of Chopped Green Chiles put out by Old El Paso that are in 4.5 oz.cans. Just the right size to zip up casseroles, soup, whatever. I recently purchased the 1/2 pint canning jars with the idea of canning my own next summer. My question: What kind of green chiles would these be? They don't seem hot enough for Jalepeno. Mary

-- Mary (Mary@home.com), November 16, 2001

Answers

Go for Anaheims, that's what the milder green chilis are. But they still have the capsacin oils in them, so wear rubber gloves when processing.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), November 16, 2001.

Mary, Melinda is right. The chilies you are looking for are most likely Anahiem. Good luck growing them!

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), November 16, 2001.

I agree -- either Anaheim or I have also planted Big Jim's. They grow alot of green chile commercially here in NM and sell burlap bags full in the fall at the grocery store and have roasters going out front to roast the chile. You can then take it home and freeze it. When you thaw it, the skin just slips right off. You can do small batches at home under your broiler or on your BBS grill.

I have never known anyone who canned green chile. It is so much easier to freeze. Good luck.

-- connie in nm (karrelandconnie@msn.com), November 16, 2001.


sometimes i find big cans of green chilies at big lots. i open the can up and divide them into small can portions and freeze. much cheaper than buying the small cans.

-- j schlicker (schlicker54@aol.com), November 16, 2001.

I can Anaheims because our freezer is jam packed and also because the texture of the canned chilies is great for casseroles. You can make them just like you would get in a store if you process them at 5 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes. If you process them at a higher pressure then they are too mushy! I try to squeeze a few whole ones into the freezer for chili relenos too though. Do both if you can.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 16, 2001.


Last spring I dumped a whole packet 10-year old Anaheim chili seeds into a pot hoping one or two would sprout. Well of course I ended up with 3 dozen seedlings. I was able to sell a few but planted out the rest. Unlike my bell peppers they did really well and after filling up the freezer with them I made and canned a dynamite green chili sauce that I'm eating on everything now. Here's the recipe:

2 lbs. chilis, roasted and peeled (that's a pain!) 1 large onion, diced 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tbsp cooking oil 5-6 sprigs Mexican oregano or sage, or 1 1/2 tsp. dried ( 1 tsp. toasted and ground cumin 2 cups water or broth salt to taste (I omitted)

Over low heat soften the onions and garlic in oil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes until quite thick but not dry. You can purée the sauce if desired. I then canned it at 10 lbs. pressure for 35 minutes (I think that's right, check your canner instructions). If the sauce is too hot for you (my experience with Anaheims is that some are hot, some not), at serving time you can add sour cream to reduce the heat. Enjoy! II know this isn't going to appear as neat as I typed it, but I forget the symbols to make columns-sorry.)

-- Katherine in KY (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), November 17, 2001.


Where is my pen? I am going to add that to my recipes! It sounds great! Thanks for the recipe!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 17, 2001.

Thanks for the suggestions for Anaheim peppers. Those will be the ones that I plant. I will also freeze some, but want to can some too. (I don't like having all my eggs in one basket) Thanks for the recipe. It sounds delicous! Mary

-- Mary (Mary@home.com), November 17, 2001.

Got another one for you to try....it is Chili and cheese casserole. You mix eggs...10 to 12 of them...with about a cup and a half of cheddar cheese and some salt and pepper and some milk. Don't make it too soupy, but put in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk, or even better, cream. Then add a 4 oz container of chopped chilis and bake in an 8 by 11 or so pyrex at 350 for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it is set. After you take it out of the oven you sprinkle more grated cheese on top. Eat it immediately. It isn't as good leftover. You can also serve it with picante sauce, guacamole, chopped tomatoes and sour cream. YUM! This is what I fix if I can't think of anything to bring to potluck because I always have an abundance of eggs and cheese.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 17, 2001.

I am afraid to can at 5 pounds, what if I can at 10 pounds. Also, one year I pickled Anaheims and it was way, I mean way to hot. What did I do wrong? Debbie

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), November 17, 2001.


My Anaheims are fairly mild, but I know that my friends have had some really spicy ones. I read on the seed packet where they say to wear protection on your hands to pick. I have never had to do that. I do water my garden. Maybe the extra water helps. They are also mulched like crazy! Oh...if you do them at 10#, it will work, but it will be mushier than I betcha you want them to be. I did mine at 5 pounds of pressure and that was the directions that I got out of a canning book years ago. It was the instructions for doing bell peppers. I think it was a Sunset book for canning, but I am not sure. I have a notebook that I keep my canning info in as well as how many quarts I have canned of what. I figured if it works for bells then it will work for Anaheims. I have been doing them that way for quite a while now. I haven't had any go bad yet. Probably did at least 24 half pints last year and the same the year before. I didn't need as many this year, but I did a couple of canners full of them after some had turned red and put the slices in red/green/red/green in some of the jars. Really pretty! You can Can them whole or in slices or in halves. They all work the same for processing. The only time that I have known anyone losing a batch was when they water bathed them only. I have another friend who has water bathed hers for years and never lost a one. That would not be a good idea, but she does add lemon juice. You might try a few at 5# and some at 10# and see which you prefer?.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 19, 2001.

Oh....I don't know if this is obvious to most...but the ones that I pressure can: I do them by putting in the raw peppers, then put a little salt, and then cover with boiling water out of the tea kettle then lids and rings. You can pickle them if you want to, but those can be water bathed. The pickled ones would be iffy in a casserole:~}! Might come up with something new though.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 19, 2001.

Green chiles can be hot or mild. Out here in the fall when they sell them by the huge burlap bag, you can get mild, medium or hot. I try not to plant them by my jalepeno's as they tend to cross pollinate and get hotter. Other than that, it's just a gamble == some are hotter than others. No way to tell by looking at the plant or chile.

-- connie in nm (karrelandconnie@msn.com), November 20, 2001.

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