fresh is always better. the wife asked if bell pepper goes into salsa. lol i said why not, pick a couple. had a coulle of pints left over and ive almost finished one already. i gave 10 pounds of boston picklers to my daughter and she made a bunch of pickles, not bad for just 4 hills. she said the market farmer were selling them for 4/$2.25 yikes. everything seems like it is so productive this year, its almost scary.