Pickled Peppers - Your Favorite Recipe/Technique

[Tsiyu]

I have a mess of peppers - green, yellow, orange and red bananas, all sizes green and red chilis, some small habaneros that look like tiny orange bell peppers.

i am going to can them, but have nothing unique in mind.

i welcome any and all suggestions as to how to make them tasty/attractive (they will be gifts for holidays)

thanks C & B peeps


Off to do chores and will check back later :hi:

[yellerpup]

1. Those will make really pretty, festive gifts.

Sometime I roast thick skinned peppers before canning, but the smaller ones I just cut a slit in the side pack them tightly in a jar (sometimes tucking in a clove of garlic, a few peppercorns, and maybe a basil leaf, and pour hot vinegar over them. I process them in a boiling water bath for about ten minutes and listen for the "pop." All you need is a pretty ribbon and a name tag and you have a very nice gift. For my bro-in-law (RIP) I bought unstuffed olives and stuffed them with pickled serranos for his Martinis. He went wild for them. :hi:

[Tsiyu]

2. Sounds simple enough

i like the clove/garlic/peppercorn/basil idea. Maybe I'll throw in the last of my tarragon since the basil is gone to flower; add your suggestions rather than the pungent pickling spice mix I have and call that good.

The multi-colors do sort of speak for themselves!

Thanks for the tips and encouragement yellerpup

:pals:

[yellerpup]

3. Gadugi, my friend!

We all paddle together, don't we? :pals:

[Tsiyu]

4. Yes we do

unless you're my friends who like to put me in front on the lead canoe

then the person in my boat stops paddling, gets the other boat's paddlers to grab our boat and stop paddling and i turn around to see what's up and I'm hauling them all down the river. They get me every time!

Anyhoo, it's raining a gentle, much-needed rain; I have three leaf piles smoldering and I am enjoying this mild mountain night. Contemplating winter ...ugh....

i hope your weekend has been superb :)

[yellerpup]

5. Sounds like a lovely evening.

And I'm not surprised to learn that you pull more than your own weight. Enjoy your mountain. My weekend wasn't so hot, but my girlfriend got to be in the opening sketch on Saturday Night Live! That's enough to make me happy. :fistbump:

[Tsiyu]

6. No way!

how cool is that!

I have to go find a friend with Internet TV and see if I can find Sat night's episode.

Sometimes I do lament not having a Boob Tube. :(

[yellerpup]

7. Here is a link to her professional reel.

She's often an extra on SNL. The best episode was when she took a punch in the face during opening credits when Tracy Morgan was host, and it's on the reel. She's a wonderful person and extremely talented. http://www.sarahannrodgers.com/

[Tsiyu]

8. Cool

I'm on Dialup with an OOOOOLD version of Windows :evilgrin: but I will check this out when i get to a highspeed connection.

I hope she makes it big in the acting world :P

Have you ever gotten a chance to hang out on the SNL set?

[yellerpup]

9. Nope.

I have had several friends appear on it, though. As a playwright I have met/worked with lots of actors who could be categorized as celebrities (but that's a whole 'nother thang).

[HillWilliam]

10. We had a bumper crop of heirloom peter peppers this year

which have become our all-time favorites (I have plenty of seeds). My partner successfully canned them this way.

Prepare a strong salt solution in a container that will hold all the peppers you intend to process (eventually). Add about a half-cup of sugar per gallon. You won't taste the sugar in the final production, but it does prepare the pods for processing and helps them to stay crisper through it. Stem and wash the pods, then make a couple of tiny slits (just poke them). Immerse them in the strong brine, cover and refrigerate for at least a week in the coldest part of the fridge so the pickling can begin naturally.

At the end of that time or a little later when you've got time to process, drain the peppers and give them a quick rinse. Poke a couple of cloves of garlic in the bottom of your hot jars and load the peppers in firmly without smashing them (you want to be able to get them back out). Prepare your broth as you normally might: vinegar, water, salt, and herbs to taste (we like garlic and onion without much more). Cover the peppers with the hot broth and leave about 1/2" of head space lest the broth blow out. Process for 14 minutes in a regular water bath.

Ours come out still pretty crispy and they're always a hit with the pretty greens, yellows, and reds all mixed together. The garlic and onion are a nice addition.

This recipe should work with about any thin-skinned pepper like peter peppers or bananas.