Canning your chili peppers properly is essential for safety. Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning. See this post on How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn. Wash the peppers. If you are leaving smaller peppers whole, poke a few slits into the skins to let the brine through. Quarter or rough chop larger peppers. Remove the cores and seeds. Blanch the peppers in boiling water or blister them with heat in order to peel, if you desire. I often can my peppers without blanching, but some people report that the skins can get tough. Range-top method: Cover your hot burner, either gas or electric, with a heavy wire mesh. Place the peppers over the burner for several minutes until skins blister, flipping here and there. Do not let the pepper flesh turn white. Cool and peel off the skin. Boil the remaining ingredients (vinegar, water, salt, sugar). You want a good, steady boil. Pour the hot pickling solution over peppers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in the table below. Quality: Do not use soft or diseased peppers. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning. Using a Pressure Canner
Canning Pickled Chili Peppers
Pickling peppers is yet another method of preserving them, and is particularly good for those who don’t want to shell out the dough for a pressure canner. With pickling, there’s no need for a lot of fancy equipment, though, obviously, pickling peppers will change the taste of peppers more than pressure canning will. But there’s a reason why pickling is so popular – the flavor change is delicious. Read on to find out how to create your very own peck of pickled peppers. See my Guide to Pickling Peppers for more information and recipes. This works for any peppers, from spicy red peppers to sweet peppers to mild bell peppers and anything in between. Equipment:
Ball Jars Tongs/something to handle hot jars with Funnel Large pot 6-8 ounce pot/saucepan Skillet (if removing pepper skins) Large spoons and ladles Canner (or an extremely, EXTREMELY large pot)
Chili Peppers (approximately 8 pounds – this’ll get you about 9 pints of pickled peppers) 5 cups vinegar 1 cup water 4 teaspoons canning/pickling salt 2 tablespoons sugar
Prep: First, ensure that the peppers you’re about to can are crisp and fresh. If the peppers don’t look good as is, they’ll be worse after pickling. Discard any peppers that look spotty or diseased. Additionally, smaller peppers tend to work better for pickling. Be sure to wash your jars and lids before use. You should not boil your canning jar lids. Boiling the lids can damage the sealing compound which can cause jars not to seal or the seals to fail during storage. To prepare the lids, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, remove from the heat, and add the lids. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before using to soften the sealing compound. The lids should be kept in hot water until ready to use so the compound will be soft and conform to the top of the jar, creating a tight seal. Rings should not be boiled before use as this can promote rust. The rings should be simply washed and dried. In general, it’s a good idea to remove the skin of your peppers – otherwise the skin may become tough. The best way to skin a pepper is by “blistering” it – heat up a skillet to medium hot and put your peppers in skin-side down. Soon the skin will turn black and start to blister – hence the name of the process – and then it will peel off easily. You can also bake the chili peppers on a baking dish for 15-20 minutes until they blister. Be sure to let the peppers cool before handling them after blistering. Once they’re cool, place them in a pan and cover with a damp cloth or placed them in a sealed plastic bag to steam. This makes the skins come right off when you pull at them. If you don’t mind the skins, there is a way to can those also, but the process is a little different. If you are processing with the skins on, be sure to follow the additional notations on the page. Once you’ve got your peppers cleaned and prepared, fill your large pot with water and wait until it gets to a rolling boil. Prep your canning pot by installing the rack and filling it with about 4 inches of hot water from the tap. (Obviously, if the directions for your particular canner are different, follow those.) Put it on the range and fire up the heat to low. Process: Make more room on the range for your smaller saucepan. Here, combine the vinegar, water, canning/pickling salt, and sugar. Let mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Fill your jars with peppers, but be sure to leave 1 inch between the top of the jar and the lid. This is called “headspace,” and will allow the contents to expand during processing. Be sure to pack the peppers into the pint jars as full as you can without infiltrating the headspace. For pickles, the USDA standard is packing peppers into sterilized jars leaving ½ inch headspace between the liquid and the top of the jar. If you leave too much headspace, there will be too much air for a strong vacuum to form during the process, causing the jar to seal improperly or fail. When jars are full, place lids on jars and screw on – but not as tightly as you can. Make sure it’s snug, but you don’t have to power jerk the lids on. Once a rolling boil is reached within the canning pot, set a timer for 10 minutes, if your kitchen is 1,000 feet or fewer above sea level. For those 1,000 through 6,000 feet above, boil your peppers for 15 minutes, and if you are above 6,000 feet, boil for 20. Remove jars from canner (using tongs: they’re hot) and allow to dry on a towel or cutting board. Make sure that they won’t be disturbed by sudden drafts or something bumping into them. Congratulations! You now have pickled peppers. Note that the above recipe is a basic pickling recipe and that you can include many other spices to achieve new and tasty pickled pepper flavors.
All Spice Bay leaves Cardamom Cinnamon Cloves Coriander Garlic Ginger Mustard seeds Peppercorns
There are pre-packaged pickling spice mixes available in many grocery stores as well. See my Pickling Spices recipe for more information. Processing your pickled chili peppers in a boiling water canner will prevent spoilage from microorganisms (particularly molds and yeasts) as well as enzymes that may affect color, flavor, and pepper texture. Standard canning jars and self-sealing lids are recommended. Store your pickled peppers in a cool, dry place.
Dehydrating Chili Peppers How to Pickle Chili Peppers - a Guide How to Ripen Unripe Peppers How to Ferment Peppers Saving Pepper Seeds for Growing Later How to Freeze Peppers How to Can Peppers How to Store Peppers USDA Canning Guide Preparing and Canning Fermented and Pickled Foods - Pickling Safety Information
