Peppers
 

I know this is putting the cart before the horse but I would like to find a really, really good recipe for canning hot peppers. The one I used last year was ok, but the brine was almost all vinager which made my peppers taste like vinager. The peppers also got a little mushy. Would anybody care to post their favorite recipe for canning hot peppers? I am only going to have about 14 different hot peppers this coming year and I would like to can some of each. Thanks in advance for any great recipes!!

hierloomer08

Bread and butter pickle mix. A little less than half the sugar that is called for.

see this thread on pickles:
[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?p=57084&highlight=armenian+style+dill+pickles#post57084[/url]

I use the same style brine for doing jars of mixed hot peppers. If you want to see how people liked them, ask Remy and some of the others who tasted them at the Buffalo-Niagara-Western-New-York Tomato Tastefest the last 2 years. I believe I brought at least one litre jar both years. Haven't ever had any complaints....lol.

I haven't found a recipe yet that works really well. I don't like them over cooked or too vinegar-y.

Trying to reduce the vinegar or shiorten the process time hasn't been particularly successful...yet. I have a feeling that commercial canneries have spent a lot of time getting things to work just right, and also have access to certain ingredients that are hard to find. Calcium chloride to combat mushiness and sodium nitrite to keep bacteria at bay longer are NOT in my local grocery store!

I put washed chilies (whole or cut) in sterilised jars and pour over boiling brine (diluted vinegar, salt and sugar). Close immediately, cover with some cloth and let it cool slowly.
Chilies pickled this way are not mushy and they last at least three years. As a matter of fact, they are getting better every year.

[QUOTE=Marko;162532]I put washed chilies (whole or cut) in sterilised jars and pour over boiling brine (diluted vinegar, salt and sugar). Close immediately, cover with some cloth and let it cool slowly.
Chilies pickled this way are not mushy and they last at least three years. As a matter of fact, they are getting better every year.[/QUOTE]

That's the way I do it....the hot pack method. The only jars that get processed are ones that don't seal as they cool (the distinctive "pop" sound and the dimple in the lid)...and even then there aren't that many that have to be. Less than 5% of all the jars we do, when we do our marathon have to be processed.

All are still "crispy" when the jars are opened.

I think I've preserved peppers just about every way possible & although I realize it's tough to stick to 'approved' safe methods I now mostly do for myself and always do if share with others.

A great starting place: [URL]http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/[/URL]

And the Ball Blue Books printed after 2004 are up to date safety-wise.

Another book I use is "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" 2nd edition by Topp & Howard

I'm fortunate in that I like 'vinegary' so can pickle pods in the refrigerator and retain some crispness. Dissolve a lot of suger in the vinegar before adding pods and keep in the fridge.

Try substituting some tequila for the water, e.g. two parts vinegar and one part tequila. I did this this year in a hot sauce and it tastes great.

TomNJ

When the peppers are ready I am going to give all of the ideas so far a try. For some reason, the tequila idea sounds really good to me. Zana, what are the amounts of the diluted vinegar, salt, and sugar?

Good link, thanks Zana.

[quote=heirloomer08;162642]...what are the amounts of the diluted vinegar, salt, and sugar?[/quote]
I use 1 part of 9% vinegar and 3 parts water, 1 tbsp each salt and sugar per 1 quart of liquid.

[QUOTE=heirloomer08;162642]When the peppers are ready I am going to give all of the ideas so far a try. For some reason, the tequila idea sounds really good to me. Zana, what are the amounts of the diluted vinegar, salt, and sugar?[/QUOTE]

Here are two family versions - one using organic apple cider vinegar and the other with regular white vinegar. This is for the brine solution.

12 cups spring water
3 cups organic apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup kosher salt
(optional: increase the salt if you prefer a saltier pickle)

or

1 quart white vinegar
3 quarts spring water
1 cup kosher salt

Generally the rules for safe canning call for a minimum 50% vinegar (5% acidity type) to establish a safe pH. I prefer to use 66% (2 parts vinegar and 1 part water) just to stay away from the minimum. The vinegary taste, if undesirable, can be softened with sugar.

TomNJ

I don't boil mine at all. I have a lot of room in my other refrigerator so I cold pack them, which keeps them crispy longer. I use 50-50 white vinegar and water. Most important is the large clove of garlic that gets sliced into each jar. Sometimes I'll add a slice of red onion, maybe a little mustard seed, but there has to be a lot of garlic in there.

When it comes to crispness, pack them green. The red ones will get mushy in a few months. I find even the green ones I cold pack start getting mushy if there are any left the following summer. Right now they are exceptionally good, and I must of ate a quart just in the past 10 days. I like to slice them into strips and snack on them with sharp cheddar cheese. Yum.

Jimmy Nardello.....
 

I grew these last year and they were just awsome . I just threw them on the grill and ate them with whatever. What other ways do you enjoy your Jimmy Nardello Peppers? Has anybody tried drying them? Below are a few pictures of my peppers in buckets.

Jimmy N
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture387.jpg[/IMG]
Serrano's
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture392.jpg[/IMG]
Dolce di Minervino thanks Fred
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture391.jpg[/IMG]
Mareko Fana thanks Fred
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture393.jpg[/IMG]
Jalapeno's
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture388.jpg[/IMG]
Heritage pepper
[IMG]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z144/sprtsguy76/Picture389.jpg[/IMG]
Damon

It is good to see what the Dolce di Minervino peppers will look like. I have one on my plant that is about the size of my little finger.

I have 3 plants in the garden. I will usually clean the peppers out of seeds and pulp and then freeze. We bring them out to put into fried peppers (with Captain Black's spiced rum) or to add to the grill, other dishes, or even salsa. The freezing doesn't make any difference to those applications.

This pepper is one very special variety that will be on my grow list for a while.

Peppers
 

Hey! Just came back from the garden with 6 pounds of Big Jim peppers. I will cook chile rellenos tonight, but don't know the best way to process the others. Can I freeze or can them whole? It is the first time I have grown these and am amazed at the size of the peppers. Going back now to gather the red cayenne and jalapeno's. Thanks for any ideas. Sandy

[url]http://www.zianet.com/focus/chile/chile2.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=mdvpc;228766][URL]http://www.zianet.com/focus/chile/chile2.htm[/URL][/QUOTE]

Well I'm not going to repeat what is posted above.

What I like to do is put them in the BBQ smoker I have to impart a smokey taste to them.
I really need to build one of those chili roasting whirligigs and have it over an open charcoal fire. :yes:

Worth

O.P.Mater,

You might want to try pickling them. You can use the same type of brine used for cucumber pickles. I like a garlic infused brine myself. And think it might be interesting trying to smoke some first.


Worth,

You may end up with a sideline in chili roasting whirligigs if you find a way to make them easily, cheapily and quickly....lol. Can I put my order in now?


Zana

[QUOTE=Zana;228777]O.P.Mater,

You might want to try pickling them. You can use the same type of brine used for cucumber pickles. I like a garlic infused brine myself. And think it might be interesting trying to smoke some first.


Worth,

You may end up with a sideline in chili roasting whirligigs if you find a way to make them easily, cheapily and quickly....lol. Can I put my order in now?


Zana[/QUOTE]

Nothing to it but developing a process, making patterns, jig's and so forth.

You might think about canning some too, I buy fresh roasted peppers in a jar all of the time at the store.

What a nice problem to have.

I'd roast and peel them. Then eat a lot and freeze the rest. Roasted peeled peppers freeze nicely. Be sure not to loose too much of the pepper oils when processing.

You might also do the above (roast and peel) then food process/blend with some garlic and oil to create ijvar (search for term and you'll get plenty of recipes). Ijvar can be canned to preserve for a year or more and is the most excellent spread for sandwiches etc....

I'm so jealous. I almost ordered Big Jim this year but just didn't get it done and now regret it!!

We can get jalapenos and hatch chilli's for cheap here, in season.
Not like growing your own but at around 75 cents a pound it isn't bad.

Worth

Thanks so much........am going to use every idea here as there are more in the garden! Am firing up the grill now.......it is gas, but I have some hickory chips that I can add for that smoky flavor. Peppers......it's what's for dinner.....:-) I really do appreciate your replies today. They have buoyed my spirits and given me a clear path to take. Off to smoke some peppers!

I run mine under the broiler if I can't use the grill, then peel them. Some I will freeze flat and whole on a cookie sheet, then bag once frozen, to use for stuffing, a la chile rellenos. Others I will cut into long strips about a half inch wide for another dish (rajas I think it is called?) The remainder I will chop up and pressure can in those very small 4 oz jam jars, and use throughout the year just like you do the diced green chiles in the tiny cans from the grocery store. I do pimentos the same way. I like to have them for chicken a la king and a few other dishes.

I thought I would post this so you guys could lick your chops.:twisted:
Worth
[YOUTUBE]TMmWXCVwYPw[/YOUTUBE]

Well again I'm my own worst enemy, I looked at my above post.:no:

I roasted some jalapenos and hatch chili's, onions, frozen Cherokee purple tomatoes and chopped them up in my new blender with Mediterranean sea salt and olive oil and a little water for fresh salsa.

Mostly peppers and it came out real good.:love:

worth

Man, oh man, Worth....

that is some set up indeed....yummmmmmmm....salivating here at the thought, let alone the sight of all those peppers being roasted.

Dang...now I'm going to have to go figure out how to do it without one of those contraptions.

Zana

There is no variety of green chile called Hatch. Hatch is a town in the Mesilla Valley about 90 minutes drive from where I live-lots of different varieties are grown there-Big Jim, Joe Parker, Sandia, etc. The problem is, the supermarkets call them Hatch Chiles.

The #1 green chile cheeseburger this year is at a place called Sparky's in Hatch.

[url]http://sparkysburgers.com/[/url]

Whenever my wife and I are driving back from Albuquerque, we stop at Sparky's.