When are my chilli peppers ripe? This is one of the most common questions we receive here at The Chilli King. In this post we will give you some tips to help you pick your chillies at the right time. This will enable you to maximise both the flavour and yield of your chilli crop.
As a general rule you can usually eat chillies at any stage of ripeness. Most varieties tend to ripen from green to dark brown to red/orange/yellow. Perhaps the best known example is the humble jalapeno which most people either think of as either red or green. In fact these are the same variety of Jalapeno, just at different stages of ripeness.
The fruit of chillies can generally be eaten at any stage of the ripening process however the flavour will change as the ripening process occurs. Green fruit tend to be slightly bitter. As they ripen further to orange/red they tend to sweeten in taste.
There are no set rules and every chilli variety is different so be warned of generalisations. The best way to know when your fruit are ready to ripen is to try and taste them at different stages. For example I tend to pick jalapenos red if i’m using them fresh but for pickling I find the taste is better when they are green.
When your chillies are ripe it is definitely worth you while picking them as opposed to leaving them on the plant. The more peppers you pick, the more the plant will direct it’s energy to set or ripen additional fruit. If you have a surplus of peppers do not leave them on the plant. Instead pick them and look at different ways to preserve and store your chilli crop.
Chillies can also be harvested a little early and they will continue to ripen after they have been removed from the plant. Place the pods in a cool dark place to help them ripen off the plant. Try not to leave them more than 2-3 days. If you are not going to eat them fresh you should consider drying, picking or freezing them.
During the growing season it can sometimes seem that your chillies take an age to ripen. To help speed up the ripening process you should try and supply the plants with a consistent amount of heat and light. Ideally a greenhouse will provide the optimum conditions, if you don’t have one a small plastic greenhouse will certainly help.