Preserving a pepper.

Spendless

Not to eat, but thought this might be the best place to ask.
Bear with me.

Last night DH cut into a green pepper for our sweet and sour he was making for tea, and the markings on it look like a smiley face. Seriously. The way he cut into it, I've got two parts from the top of the pepper both looking like a smiley face similar to this

It was the first thing to make me smile all day. I've been through a few horrendous weeks, working full time due to people leaving, finding a lump by my breast (thankfully turned out to be cyst) and my Nan going 'strange' for want of a better word (she has dementia/psychosis) whilst my parents are away and can't help out.

So I'd really like to keep my smiley faced pepper, is there anything I can do?

Frugalsod

Have you considered chopping and freezing?

Fruball

Frugalsod wrote: »

Have you considered chopping and freezing?

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I think the OP wants to preserve the smile that the pepper has!

I would take some photographs with good backgrounds and put it into a nice frame and hang in your kitchen. You could even take it with you to some nice places and photograph it in different locations for a giggle! I think that is the best way of preserving the smile and keeping it going It would make a great talking point for visitors to your house

I don't think you will be able to preserve the smile in the pepper as even drying it will cause it to shrink and distort.

ps - sorry you are having a rotten time x

Fruball

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRQ1CnwOT1gUTSbMn7sWKonOfdDaHps9vWXaAIPgWMnxpCA02pe

Not sure if this link will work but I imagine a smiley version of this!

Willowpop

I would definitely take a photo of it and mount it really nicely.
Also, i can't quite work out how you cut the pepper, but would if be possible to make a print from it, if you paint it could you make a stamp for the imprint? If you can get a plain window blind you could even make a smiley pepper window blind!

meritaten

perhaps immersing it in a jar of olive or sunflower oil? seems to preserve rosemary sprigs allright.

krlyr

I think the photo idea might be the most OS one.

You could perhaps contact someone who works with resin (e.g. jewellery maker) and see if it could be preserved in a block of resin, but not sure if it would be too big for that (or if it would work out quite costly)

Spendless

Thanks for the ideas. It isn't like the pic in the link provided. It was cut on it's side along the stalk rather than straight down, so is just 2 little circles with markings that look like 2 eyes and a smile. One of them looks like it has hair too. The idea of freezing it was probably sensible and hadn't occurred to me.

DD has taken a couple of photos and put them on instagram and facebook. I'm not technical minded enough, but I'll get some more photos taken so I can print and frame them and also get teen to ask his DT teacher if he has any suggestions to preserve it.

Fruball

Like this one?

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&ved=0CAQQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-1214605%2FYouve-got-hand-Mother-Nature-gardener-digs-fingered-carrot.html&ei=v5oTU835D86rhAepnIDIBQ&usg=AFQjCNFwoGTKPb9yppzxgBB9iFwV-Qul0g&bvm=bv.62286460,d.ZG4

(you need to scroll down to below the fisty carrot )

and this one https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=_NwXYwFiQV2qgM&tbnid=zMW_lyvdgEPZzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshanaray.wordpress.com%2Fcategory%2Fsonoma-county%2Fpage%2F2%2F&ei=SpsTU_vkGoWl0QW_o4CwDg&bvm=bv.62286460,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGt422U8V9mPXCNosnS7S9IDaLI6A&ust=1393880252275945

allybee101

I think a photo would be best - you can preserve peppers in oil/vinegar but the integrity tends to be lost and it might become mis-shapen. The oil/vinegar also won't preserve the pepper forever.
A digital photo could be turned into a print or canvas. You could even investigate getting it printed on a mug or something.
I hope you find a way of preserving your little ray of sunshine.

Spendless

Fruball wrote: »

Like this one?

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&ved=0CAQQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-1214605%2FYouve-got-hand-Mother-Nature-gardener-digs-fingered-carrot.html&ei=v5oTU835D86rhAepnIDIBQ&usg=AFQjCNFwoGTKPb9yppzxgBB9iFwV-Qul0g&bvm=bv.62286460,d.ZG4

(you need to scroll down to below the fisty carrot )

and this one https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=_NwXYwFiQV2qgM&tbnid=zMW_lyvdgEPZzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshanaray.wordpress.com%2Fcategory%2Fsonoma-county%2Fpage%2F2%2F&ei=SpsTU_vkGoWl0QW_o4CwDg&bvm=bv.62286460,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGt422U8V9mPXCNosnS7S9IDaLI6A&ust=1393880252275945

Can't get the 2nd link to work to show me anything, but yes, just like the first link. :T:D

I really like the suggestion of taking a photo then getting it printed on a mug etc. Have decided to pop it round to my friend's house tomorrow who sells jewellery on ebay and takes her own photos, to photograph it, staging it.