SarahSarah
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Pickling Peppers :-)

For Tedin.

Recipe taken from:
[url]https://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1636,153172-229199,00.html[/url]
PICKLED JALAPENO PEPPERS
1 cup white or cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon pickling spice (tie in a bag) discard later
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon canning salt
Bay leaves
Wash peppers. and slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Pack loosely in a jar with 1 bay leaf in each jar.

Heat ingredients to a boil and pour over peppers in jar.

Place jar lid after wiping jar rim clean; tighten band.

Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Do not forget the oil. The oil is the secret. For a clear liquid, use white vinegar; for the best flavor, use cider vinegar.
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tn_veggie_gardner
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Awesome...thanks for starting this thread. My recipe is much simpler & probably not as tasty...lol. First, clean your canning jars thoroughly with a mild soap, then sanitize them by soaking, covered, in boiling hot water (taken off the stove...not while still in pan on stove, as that may crack the jars). Slice up peppers & wash thoroughly with cold water. Put some apple cider vinegar in a pan & get it to right where it starts boiling. Put peppers in jar & fill with hot vinegar to a bit over the top of the peppers, then seal immediately. If the seal/top does not pop down (where you can't push on it any) within an hour or so, then immediately refridgerate. If it does, then store peppers in a cool dry cabinet for up to 2 years. That's it. =)

- Steve

tedln
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Thanks you. I look forward to trying the recipes when I have some peppers.

Ted

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Ozark Lady
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I love those pickled peppers at the grocery store, the pepperoncini, and banana and sliced banana peppers. They don't seem to have any dill or bay in them, and I haven't noticed any oil.
But, they remain crisp, can anyone post a recipe for those and how to keep them from getting mushy?

tedln
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Ozark Lady,

I want to try pickling a lot of things this year including the peppers. My yard long green beans broke the ground today. I will probably be picking beans in three weeks. Those things grow fast. Because they are very, very long, you can cut them to exactly the same length. I would guess you get four normal sized beans from each yard long. They should pickle and look very attractive. I know they will taste good because they have a slight asparagus flavor.

I'm looking forward to slicing some squash, cucumbers, carrots, and maybe include some small onions from the garden. I may mix some of the veggie slices with the jalapenos and see how they taste after they have pickled for a while. I'm also growing some Habaneros. Maybe they would give an interesting taste to the veggies.

Ted

tedln
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From SarahSarah's recipe.

"Heat ingredients to a boil and pour over peppers in jar.
Place jar lid after wiping jar rim clean; tighten band.
Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath."

Since I haven't canned or pickled before, is it safe to heat the jars to boiling temps with the lids on? I would hate to spray hot water and hot peppers all over the kitchen when one of those explodes.

Ted

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Ozark Lady
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You use a jar lifter, and have a jar rack in your boiling water canner. This rack keeps your jars from hitting the bottom or sides and overheating and breaking.
Yes, you put the lids on, and lightly tighten the screw bands, never tight.
The reason is: They will be taken off in about 24 hours after the lids have all sealed anyhow.
Put your peppers, covered with the hot vinegar and with the lids on, into the canner, wait for the water to return to boiling, and then, begin your processing count. You do want the boiling water to be about an inch over your jars.
When you remove the jars, at the end of the time, set them on a towel on your counter. If there are any major drafts, lightly cover them with a towel.
As the jars cool you will hear pop, pop, pop, this is the jars sealing.
The next day, or 3-4 hours later, go through them and look at the lids, the centers should be concave, and now you can remove the bands.

You can also take a spoon, and lightly rap on the lids, a high pitched bell like sound is good, a deep thud, and you may not have a seal.
If not sealed, put into the fridge and use it up, check the jar edge for chips, or food trapped under the seal that could have caused it not to seal. You need to know why that jar didn't seal, so you don't repeat the problem.

Be careful adding non-acid foods, you need alot of vinegar to keep the home canned foods pickled and therefore safe to eat.

If you are going to decrease the vinegar, you will need to pressure can all low acid foods.

Jams and Jellies are normally made with fruits, which are acid foods, so they are also safe to water bath can.

tedln
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Are peppers not "low acid"?

Ted

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Ozark Lady
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Peppers are low acid, if you were not using alot of vinegar, like if half water, and half vinegar, it would have to be pressure canned.

The vinegar is acidic. You just have to not dilute it.

tedln
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Ozark Lady,

I don't think low acidic products pickled in almost pure vinegar would taste very good. I may be wrong, but I just don't know. Can a product like citric acid be added to compensate for the fact that the vegetables are low acid?

How are commercial companies able to preserve products in low vinegar solutions and expect them to remain safe? We purchase a lot of pickled products like beets and olives and pickle slices in a glass jar. They don't taste as if they are swimming in vinegar. We typically consume a small amount and return the container to the refrigerator. We always refrigerate after opening a container.

Pressure canning seems like it would be a more tedious process requiring more specialized equipment. I always try to avoid tedious processes, but at the same time I want to have a good margin of error for safety.

Ted

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Ozark Lady
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I had to go look up the safe ph level of foods, while there, I found a good link, no recipes but many safety features.

https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__1510735.pdf

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tn_veggie_gardner
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Hehehe...lots of vinegar, correct. That's whhy I pickle mine in pure 100% vinegar. ;-)

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Ozark Lady
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I wonder if a ph meter for gardening would be a good guide for determining the acidity of home canning?

I used vinegar to test my soil test kit, and it only took a drop to go from alkaline to very high acid ph, registering a 5.

Of course, that wouldn't tell about inside the low acid food, how acid is it in there?

Farmer Bob
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Hi Folks,

A good place to get some advice is :

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1368.pdf
( Copy and paste above link.)

The vinegar here in South Africa has an acidity of 5% which I normally dilute when making my pickled peppers.

You may want to try my recipe:

Hot Peppers

Syrup:

1/2 C White Grape Vinegar ( 1/2 pint)
1/2 C Water ( 1/2 pint)
1/4 tsp Salt
10-15 oz White Sugar

Bring all ingredients to boil.

Place jars and lids into boiling water .

Pack peppers into warm jars.
Add the hot boiled syrup.
Cap immediately with the hot lids.

As the product cools, a vacuum is created and no microbes can grow in the medium. Can be eaten after a month after bottling.

After a year, they start aren't so crisp.

The peppers are yummy with cold meats; or thinly sliced and added to salads ; or with barbecued meat /chicken.

Enjoy



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