How to Speed Ripen Hot Peppers

Hot peppers are green when unripe, and gradually turn yellow to red as they ripen. Green chiles are actually unripened peppers picked at the immature stage of growth. If your peppers are not ripe before the first frost comes, you need to pick them and ripen them quickly yourself. Storing them in a paper bag with a ripe tomato will do this. The tomato releases ethylene gas, which speeds up the process.

Things You'll Need

• Paper bag
• Ripe tomato
• Rubber band

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Place the unripe pepper in a paper bag. Put a ripe tomato in the bag.

   • 2

     Close the paper bag. Tie off the opening with a rubber band to secure it.

   • 3

     Set the paper bag on a flat surface. Check the bag once a day until the pepper is ripe. Remove the tomato and pepper.