Not if you will go to the correct forum to ask the questions. It has been linked for you above. There are certified food preservationist on the Harvest forum, people trained in the safety issues encountered when one is working with a low-acid food like peppers. As I said above, canning is not required. But if you do not can them or freeze them or ferment them then they must be kept in the fridge stored in vinegar. The guidelines stipulate a minimum of 5% acidic vinegar. Those are your choices - canning, freezing, fermenting, or vinegar brine in the fridge. The blanching, blistering and/or peeling indicated in the guidelines is done for 2 reasons: 1) to increase their storage life in the fridge by killing surface bacteria and destroying the enzymes that hasten rotting and 2) to insure penetration of the pepper by the vinegar. Peppers done that way have a fridge shelf life of approx. 3-4 months. If you choose to skip that part you need to at least cut a slit in the pepper so the vinegar can get inside. The fridge life of those peppers is approx. 3 weeks to 1 month. After that time listeria can begin to grow in them. Again, all of this is discussed in far greater detail over on the food preservation forum and in even more detail at NCHFP also linked above. Dave

Thanks, Fusion, for posting that link, I think it is the study that I have been searching for. Bookmarked it again... I wish I knew how to transfer bookmarks from a dead computer, I lost a lot of good references. Drloyd, after shelling, I dry nearly all of my beans on trays exposed to room light. Since I don't transfer seed into storage containers until the indoor humidity is low (below 40%), some of that seed is exposed to artificial light for 2 months or more. As reported above, I have seen no ill effects from this treatment. However, I make sure that direct sunlight from nearby windows never hits the trays. For drying pods that were not fully dry when picked, I place them under a fan. The air circulation is the most important factor for rapid drying; the use of heat runs the risk of reducing seed life. Drying pods closely under a light might be OK as long as some means of air circulation is provided. I store seeds in the dark because my initial research into seed storage said that heat, light, and humidity were the enemies of stored seed. To be honest, that was quite some time ago, and I guess I never questioned the light aspect... because dark storage has worked so well for me, and you don't mess with what works. (Additionally, as mentioned above, packing bags of seed tightly in boxes also helps me to keep air from reentering the bags, and further moderates the temperature of the seed inside.) It may be that light is inimical to stored seed because stored seed is enclosed in a container, which is most often transparent. With no air circulation inside, heat from radiant sources can penetrate & accumulate very rapidly in a transparent container. I've observed this most notably in ziplock bags, which can heat very rapidly when exposed to sunlight. For that reason, when carrying seed into the garden for planting, I use a small ice chest. Light absorption can directly induce heat into the seed; but I still wonder whether the light itself - and perhaps its spectrum - has any direct effect on seed metabolism. There is anecdotal information that it doesn't, of seed stored for years in a jar in a lighted room. Personally, I still prefer to err on the side of caution, and keep my seed in the dark.

Too soon old - too late smart, Nicole: it's a poor day that one doesn't learn something. Preferably something useful. Say "Hi" to Sophie and Claude: Ben, too, though he won't remember me (Sophie probably won't, either). They're growing so fast. Enjoy them while they're young: they'll soon be grown and gone (well, partly so, at least: raise them well and the bonds will strengthen and deepen, over the years, even though their loyalties will be largely given to others). ole joyful

that is really nice, i seldome wear makeup but i do keep my mineral jars (only have 4) in my mediciine cabinet on a small shelf..but i can see for people who use more makeup this might be just the thing.