Holy Jalapeño – It’s Pickled Peppers

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I love the warm, golden days and the plentiful produce that comes from our gardens and local farmers' markets.  After receiving a recent CSA share from Harvest Moon Farms, I was inundated with jalapeño peppers.  I was tempted to make a batch of jalapeño cornbread, but something got me thinking about making jalapeño pickles or jelly.  Needing just a few more, I visited my local farmers' market and was overwhelmed by the selection of fresh peppers!

It was difficult to decide, but I chose jalapeños for my pickled peppers.

I especially love the combination of red and green peppers.  I washed them and readied them for the pickles.  It took me awhile to choose a recipe, but I finally settled on one that I could use as a condiment and wasn’t too sweet.I prepared the jalapeños by washing them in a colander.  After finding out the hard way, fresh-cut jalapeños, and other spicy peppers, contain capsaicin and can cause intense burning to the skin. Before cutting them, I found a pair of disposable gloves to wear.

It took awhile to slice them, remove the pith and seeds, and cut them into thin rings.  I cut the tops off and used a thin spoon to scrape out the insides before slicing them.  I rinsed them in the colander to remove the excess seeds.

I prepared my jars for boiled water processing in my canner. I processed them for about 30 minutes at 185° F.

The hardest part will be waiting 3 weeks to eat them!  I want to go back to the farmer’s market next weekend and experiment with other peppers to pickle.

Here is the recipe I used, adapted from one I found in The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich.

Pickled Jalapeño Slices

13 half-pint Ball jars and lids

13 small garlic cloves

39 black peppercorns

2 ¼ pounds jalapeño peppers, cut into ¼” slices with pith and seeds removed

8 cups cider vinegar

4 tablespoons honey

4 teaspoons pickling salt

4 tablespoons pickling spice, tied in cheesecloth (sachet)

½ cup olive oil

Place 1 garlic clove and 3 peppercorns in each half-pint Ball jar.  Add jalapeño pepper slices, leaving at least ½” space at top of jar.

Prepare pickling solution of vinegar, honey, pickling salt and pickling spice sachet. Bring to a boil.  Fill jars, covering peppers and leaving ½” head space in each jar.  Drizzle 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil in each jar.  Clean edge of jar with clean cloth and cover with hot two-piece caps.  Process jars for 30 minutes in water heated to 185° F.

Remove jars and allow them to cool.  Check seals to be sure vacuum seal is successful and store in a cool place for at least 3 weeks before eating the peppers.  Pressing down in the center of the lid should not make a sound.  If you press down and it pops back up, the seal is not successful.  In that case, put cool jars in the refrigerator.

What do you like to do with jalapeño peppers?  Please share your ideas with me!