How to Pickle Peppers

Pickled Peppers

3 quarts of sweet banana peppers cut into chunks

1 cup of canning salt *

3 1/2 quarts of water divided

3 tablespoons of sugar

4 cloves of garlic smashed

1 1/2 quarts of white vinegar

Dissolve the canning salt in 3 quarts of water. Place the pepper chunks in a huge bowl. Pour salt water over the peppers and let them sit for 12 to 18 hours. Before canning, drain the peppers, rinse them well, drain again.

Combine 2 cups of water, sugar, garlic, and vinegar in a large cookpot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the garlic and bring the liquid to a boil. Pack peppers into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Pour pickling liquid over the peppers, remove air bubbles and secure the two piece lid and rings. Process the pint jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. Yield of 5 pints.

* canning salt dissolves completely in water because there are no anti -caking additives, or any other additives for that matter. Use canning salt.

Please educate yourself on canning safety before making this, or any other home canned food item.

Red Onion Marmalade

Red Onion Marmalade. This could be used on pork or chicken and... rock out a delicious dinner. Slather this on toast, top with bacon and maybe toss on a tomato. Yum! It really only  took about an hour from start to finish. This is one of the pantry items to save for when I am craving something a little different.


Ingredients


1 1/2 cups thinly sliced, halved, peeled red onions
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 package powdered pectin
3 cups unsweetened apple juice
4 cups granulated sugar

Saute onions, cranberries, brown sugar and red wine vinegar in a pan over medium heat, until onions are tender. Mix this mixture with powdered pectin, and apple juice in a huge pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Place on lid and rings and process for 15 minutes in a water bath.

I first came across the recipe while reading a blog called Chicken In The Road. Suzanne McMinn has lots of great ideas and recipes.

Dried Fruit and Walnut Conserve

Dried Fruit and Walnut Conserve

1 lb. dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 lb. dried cranberries
1 medium orange (1 cup chopped)
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tbls. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Chop dried fruits. Chop entire orange, including peel: discard seeds.
2. Combine dried fruits,orange,and water in an 8 quart or larger pot: cover and cook until tender( about 15 minutes)
3. Uncover and add remaining ingredients except nuts. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.
4. Cook rapidly, stirring frequently until thick, about 10 minutes. Add nuts during the last 5 minutes.
5. Quickly ladel into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace: seal.
6. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Yield: About 5 half pints.

Pickled Hot Peppers

As I sat the table for dinner this evening, a few quick photos were snapped of yesterdays Hot Pepper canning project. The project actually started on Sunday. The recipe suggested leaving the peppers whole. I chose to cut the tops off, leaving some seeds, and cutting the peppers in half. The next step was to place the peppers into a huge stainless steel bowl, to which I added the specified amount of canning salt and water. This brew was to sit for 12 to 18 hours.

It was pepper extravaganza on Sunday. Under the watchful eye of Mister and our buddy Steveo, 10 more jars of goodies were added to the pantry.

Serious business now.....read the warning....wear the gloves!!

In my cockiness, I was convinced that although rubber gloves would be nice, they were not a necessity. I was wrong! Let me say this in another way...my hands burned like fire until around 2AM that night. Yes, I had great confidence because, I have chopped plenty of peppers and never worn gloves. My kitchen has cranked out tons of homemade salsa, chile rellenos, etc. This was a whole higher level of pepper extravaganza. With the addition of the project of grilling 24 poblanos and skinning them for homemade Enchilada Sauce this was not a job for a sissy.

The burning sensation came on gradually as the evening progressed. My hands looked normal and there were no actual burned marks on my hands. I did however feel as if they had been placed in boiling water. Here is a list of things I tried to ease the pain.

Soaking them in milk. (helped at first, I had to keep changing the milk because the capcasian came out into it.)
Soaking them in yogurt ( nice and cool, same thing as the milk though)
Washing them with every soap we had in the house many times.
I poured straight vinegar on them.
I took ibuprophen.
Rubbed olive oil on them.
I poured straight rubbing alcohol on them.
I went to bed with an ice pack on each hand.
None of this worked...they were all suggestions that I had found online.

What finally worked? I slathered my hands in Vaseline and carefully rubbed in one motion to remove the Vaseline, in hopes that the petroleum would capture the capsacian from my skins pores. I repeated this several times. The pained eased, I feel asleep, the next morning I had the cleanest hands and nicest cuticles ever and finally the pain had stopped.

I was not so anxious to handle those peppers the next morning and process them in the canner. I did it though. I think I will forever more call this recipe... Hands on fire Peppers!

Peppers I used.

Hot Hungarian

Jalapeno

Banana

Anaheim

Poblano

Aren't they gorgeous in the jars though!!

Jalapeno Jelly

Just think of how scrumptious this jalapeno jelly will taste this winter. It will be slathered on a warm slice of cornbread, no doubt. Knowing last spring that I planned to make this jelly, I selected a variety of jalapeno peppers called 'Fooled You'. This pepper has all of the fruity delicious flavor without the heat. Really...no heat.

My only taste of this batch of jelly came on the tip of a spoon. You know... that little bit of jelly setting up in the bowl after the jars have been filled. That tiny bite was a teaser. Sweet as you would expect jelly to be, minus the familiar fruity flavor of typical jellies. Most interesting I must tell you.

I plan to make more tomorrow.

The recipe can be found in the Ball Canning Book.

Sweet & Spicy Pepper Pickle Relish

Back in August of 2009 I posted this photo of my freshly canned Sweet and Spicy Pepper Pickle Relish.

At that time I promised to share the recipe at a later date once I was sure the outcome was a success. Well, the later date has arrived and I am happy to report that deliciousness was obtained.

Much to my delight this relish was exactly what I had been searching for. A hundred years ago (give or take) a friend brought this relish to my house on Christmas Day. Much time has passed since that Christmas luncheon and unfortunately  I have lost touch with this friend. To this day I have no idea where she is. The taste of a peculiar dish she introduced me to is as fresh to my mind as it was so long ago.

The day after Christmas 2009 I served this relish over a block of cream cheese. Mystery solved! In reality I have been on the search for this taste combination for 20 years. So... if anyone has seen Debbie Herman let her know I found the memory of her in a jar of relish.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe published by McCormick. I put my spin on it with addition of the Spicy! Not overly hot...just has a slight kick.

Serve the preserved relish over an 8 oz.softened cream cheese block. Slather the whole delicious mess on crackers, wheat thins etc.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound pickling cucumbers, unpeeled, finely chopped (3 cups)
2 medium green bell peppers, finely chopped (2 cups)
1 medium yellow bell peppers, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup finely chopped jalapeno
1/4 cup finely chopped red chile peppers
1 large white onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon Celery Seed
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard Seed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix chopped vegetables. Set aside.
2. Mix remaining ingredients, except cornstarch and water, in 6-quart saucepot. Bring to boil. Add vegetables; return to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.
3. Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl. Stir into vegetable mixture. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken, stirring occasionally.
4. Ladle into 3 hot sterilized pint or 6 half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Run thin, non-metallic utensil down inside of jars to remove air bubbles. Wipe rim of jars clean with damp cloth. Cover jars with metal lids and screw on bands.
5. Process in boiling water canner 10 minutes. After processing jars, remove from water bath canner. Cool at room temperature on towel or rack for 12 to 24 hours. Check for seal. Makes 3 pint or 6 half-pints jars.

Dill Pickles

Mission accomplished! At dinner last night, with the company of extended family, we enjoyed a feast of meats cooked on the grill and garden goodness a plenty. In the line-up were the dill pickles canned early last week. The jar was opened with hesitation for fear that the flavor would be better if left untouched for a few more weeks. That very well may be the case, but the flavor was most excellent already.

Dill Pickle Spears

4 lbs. of pickling cucumbers

2 tsp. turmeric ground

2 1/2 quarts of boiling water

3 tablespoons Dill seed, divided

3 tablespoons Dill weed, divided
1 1/2 tsps minced garlic, divided

2 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar

2 1/4 cups water

3 tablespoons of canning salt

Wash cucumbers well. Trim ends and quarter lengthwise. Place in huge bowl with turmeric and boling water. Let stand at room temp. for one hour. Drain, Rinse and drain again.

Place 1/2 tablespoon each of dill seed and dill weed and 1/2 tsp. of minced garlic in each of 6 hot sterlized wide mouth pint canning jars.** I used three quart jars and just doubled the spices in each one.

Mix vinegar, water and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt.

Meanwhile pack the cucumber wedges vertically into jars. Ladle hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving 1/4" head space. Run thin non-metallic utensil down inside of jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims clean. cover with metal lids and screw on bands.

Process in boiling water canner simmering for 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature and make sure each jar has sealed. By processing in simmering water instead of boiling water the end result is a crunchier pickle.

This was so much easier than pickle extravaganza #1 posted a few weeks ago. Delicious and crunchy this recipe is a keeper. I found the recipe on the McCormick website.