In the springtime, I approach food preservation as if it were an act of art. My jams are fussed over, with plenty of thought given to size of my fruit dice and maceration times. My pickles are packed into jars with great precision and accuracy. That time of year, I’m simply delighted to be anticipating the coming abundance.
Come August, my elevated aspirations are gone. I can to get it done, to get those bits of summer into their respective jars before the season is gone and I’m left with the potatoes, storage squash and kale of winter (I’m a big fan of all those vegetables, but they don’t excite me the way a peach does). And so my many acts of preservation become a bit frenzied and as easy as I can make them.
Take the jalapeno peppers I pickled recently. I bought a pound when we were in New York a few weeks ago because I wanted to bring back some little bit of the Union Square Green Market. The berries were too fragile and I didn’t see any garlic that was clean enough for my suitcase. Jalapenos are sturdy little guys and so I knew they’d withstand the rigors of the MegaBus. Plus a pound cost a mere $3, which I believe is the perfect price point for an edible souvenir.
When I got them home, I washed and halved them (please do get yourself some gloves to wear when dealing with hot peppers. I gave myself a humdinger of a capsaicin burn this time around), packed them into jars and topped them with a very basic brine.
I didn’t spice my brine at all, because I wasn’t trying to create an artisinal condiment or a pickle to be eaten on its own. I’ll use these peppers throughout the year as an ingredient in things and so I want the flavors of the peppers to remain clear and identifiable. Several will join various batches of salsa and most the rest will spice up pots of turkey chili.
The reason I like this kind of utilitarian canning is that by investing $3 and 35 minutes of effort, I’ve created something that will fill a kitchen need all year round. It breaks no culinary ground, but fills me with joy nonetheless. It also doesn’t hurt to know that I have something to turn to come January when my taste buds are in desperate need of revival.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 tablespoons pickling salt
Instructions
- Pack clean, hot jars with peppers. Pour hot brine over top. Bubble your jars thoroughly by tapping them firmly on the countertop and using a wooden chopstick to release any stubborn bubbles. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands.
- Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Store in cool, dark place for up to a year.
Notes
This technique can be used for just about any small, hot pepper. Measurements are for 1 pound of peppers and yield approximately 2 1/2 pints. Recipe can be doubled.
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[...] on canning something with oil in it. So I called an audible at this point and went back to my favorite blogger’s recipe for un fancy pickled peppers. I KNOW this recipe is safe and there is nothing to say you can’t jazz it up by putting [...]
Thanks for the recipe! I made these last night but didn’t have filtered water. I just read that hard water can make the brine too weak. Should I be worried about the safety?
Can I use this to can Anaheim peppers? I get them often in my CSA in southern california and we aren’t big fans of stuffed peppers for dinner so they are better used for seasoning meals (like you mentioned in your post) but I can’t use them all before they go bad.
Thanks,
Denise
You certainly could, though since they are larger than jalapenos, they’d be best done in strips.
yes you can………but if you prefer not to can them, I burn the skins with a propane torch, then remove the skins by rubbing them ( with gloves on ). I then use a Food Saver vacume machine to vacume seal them in bags, and throw them in the freezer. They will keep for months, and you can use them in recipes.
Burning with a propane torch seems a little excessive for most people, mike, so here is my alternative. I grew up with New Mexico chili that was roasted in the oven (450) until the skins scorch to achieve exactly the same results as your torch method.
I’ve amended that method this year to include using a cast iron grill on top of the stove, or my regular grill outside, to roast my chili for peeling/freezing.
BTW, cayenne that is grilled and preserved packed in olive oil with garlic and green onion is superb!
Thank you for the recipe …as soon as my newly planted jalapeño plants being to bear fruit, I will be trying this out – and many of your other delicious recipes. And I completely agree with your line “it breaks no culinary ground, but fills me with joy nonetheless” … over the past year i have mastered some simple sourdough bread recipes and am carefully nurturing some fruit trees and a growing vegetable garden – and EVERY time i turn out a loaf of bread or make a dinner where a good portion of the ingredients come from my garden, I get far too ridiculously pleased with myself…such a good feeling and can’t wait to add pickled jalapeños to the happiness list!! Cheers from a VERY hot Perth, Australia
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband loves these!
Marisa, like some of the other commenters, I am trying to create firmer, crispier pickled jalapenos. I’m curious as to whether the brine needs to be hot when poured into the jars? I want to test out whether I can create firmer pickled jalapenos by using a cold brine like I do with pickles. I made a spiced up pickled jalapeno recipe last year that my husband loves, but again, he wants them firmer.
If the ole boy wants them firmer, then get yourself a jar of (pickle crisp) . It is the same ingrediant that commercial producers of pickles use to enhance the crunch. you can buy it at most stores that sell canning supplies. It also elimenates numerous steps in the pickeling process. It takes 1/8 tsp per pint.
Let the canned pickels sit for three to six weeks before eating, as this will give the crisp time to give you the ultimate crispness.
Isn’t alum suppose to make them firm? My mom always used 1/8 tsp per quart for dill pickles!
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[...] as a refrigerator pickle only. For the jalapenos, I followed another recipe from the blog found here. For the daikon, I used rice wine vinegar and I added some sriracha as [...]
Just pulled the jars from the water bath. The liquid is cloudy and the peppers look cooked. The peppers are rather small and came out of the garden this morning, ~ 1 hour ago. Is this ok? I am new to canning so its still a learning process. Thanks!!!
Wrong kind of salt makes it cloudy. Should be uniodized, picking salt.
[...] the jalepenos, we took advantage of the same resource and used this Unfancy Pickled Jalepeno recipe as our starting [...]
Exactly the recipe I was looking for. I don’t want my jalapenos to taste of allspice or clove or even garlic, and I don’t want the heat tempered by honey or sugar. Thank you. I’m doing 3lbs this weekend.
Thanks for such a great site! I just finished up canning 60lbs of tomatoes and 60lbs of peaches in various forms of salsas and sauces and am left over with appox 2 cups of chopped jalepenos that I can’t bear to loose. Will this work for a very small chop or will I end up with mush. Any other ideas on what I can do with these and the extra 6 cups of chopped onions?
Rosanne – whenever I have had tons of extra onions from my CSA, I chop them, place them in a zip-loc freezer bag, and toss in the freezer. This way, I don’t waste them and have super speedy chopped onions to use in recipes. As long as your water/vinegar/salt ratios are correct, you shouldn’t have any trouble pickling chopped jalepenos. I can mine at a fairly small chop (it’s the form I prefer for the types of dishes I use them in later) and don’t have problems. Good luck!
Just opened my first jar of Jalapenos I canned a week ago! Perfect, just what I wanted!! (didn’t want the added flavour of spices and garlic like some other recipes call for) Glad I still have some peppers on my plants, don’t know if my 3 lbs I’ve pickled so far will last the winter
Thanks again!!
[...] I found this BRILLIANT recipe for Unfancy Pickled Jalapenos on Food in Jars website (awesome canning site–now bookmarked). They’re sliced in half [...]
[...] http://www.foodinjars.com/2010/08/unfancy-pickled-jalapeno-peppers/ [...]
This is just what I have been looking for. I didnt want the allspice flavors and I just wanted them plain to go in different recipes. Thanks soo Much I will try it this afternoon…
Can I use Kosher Salt instead of Pickling salt? If so, should I use the same amount or more/less?
Thanks!
Read this post about substituting salt. http://www.foodinjars.com/2010/08/canning-101-on-substituting-salt-in-pickling/
Made these last year. They were so good that I planted more jalapeños to make more jars this year. Have a couple pounds sitting on my counter getting ready to go right now!
I made these with my first batch of jalapenos this summer and they are perfect! I use pickled jalapenos all the time and am so happy with this recipe! I’ll use this forever. I have a question though, I just picked my last big batch of jalapenos and I want to do them all in one big jar instead of several small ones, would it I need to change the processing time if I use a pint or quart jar?
[...] pepper pickles. Perusing Food in Jars, I found the following recipes for hot pepper pickles and jalapeno pickles. I ended up going with a mixture of the two recipes, using the brine from the jalapeno pickles [...]
Great recipe, my brother loved tthem!!
tripled the recipe for 7 pints had wayyyy too much brine, fyi.
Does this recipe make the peppers taste like pickles. I have 35 #s to process. Also all I have is qt. jars, do I have to process longer than the 10 min.
Can I add carrots, onions, garlic cloves, and jalapeño together with this basic method? Thanks!
Kris, it would be better to find a recipe that was geared for all those vegetables than try to adapt this one.
[...] very spicy don’t take out any seed. If you like medium, take out some of the seeds. Click here for the [...]
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I think this is too much salt… should it be teaspoons and not tablespoons?
Seth, it’s not typo. Pickling requires larger amounts of salt than other cooking.
[...] of jalapenos (don’t you hate it when that happens?) I was pleased to find her recipe for Unfancy Pickled Jalapeno Peppers. For my own purposes, I doubled it to deal with two pounds of produce, and sliced my jalapenos [...]
Ok, just did 3# hope they are good, they look GREAT!!!! See u in a week
Ok, it’s been a week open a jar love them, GREAT recipe a BIG Thanks, I thank I’m good till next summer, thanks again.
This is fantastic! I just did 3 pounds of jalapeno rings. My husband thinks I’m a bit odd that I always get excited when the lids pop, but I know people who can food totally get it:-) Thank you for posting so many wonderful things!
[...] do with the amount of hot peppers I’ve been sending your way, but here are some new options: Pickle and can them, stuff them with cream cheese and sausage (of course), or go [...]
I’ve seen others comment that this is just what they were looking for–so I’m apologetic about it, BUT this is exactly what I have been searching the web for—just wanted a plain recipe for canning the bounty that I have–hubby loves jalapenos and I just didn’t want all those other flavors and have plenty of pickled jalapenos–so just wnated to be able to can and enjoy the flavor of jalapeno and not pickled other flavors–so glad I came across your site. THANKS
Here in Georgia there are many “pick your own” farms and I just went and picked my second batch of jalapenos for $8.00 a 5-gallon bucket ;0)……
anyone else who can’t/don’t have garden space..look up “pick your own” and search your state and area to find these farms that allow you to pick your own produce and fruits—great site and also for recipes and tips on canning. I believe the site is http://www.pickyourown.org …blessings, KT
[...] up using the recipe at Food In Jars Blog for the jalapeno’s (for other folks who can, she’s got some cool looking recipes, some [...]
I have never canned before and I have a pound of jalapeños to use up. Do I need anything else at all besides what the recipie calls for and a ball jar with lid and ring?
You shouldn’t need anything beyond the ingredients specified in the recipe, mason jars, lids and ring. However, if you’ve never canned before, I do recommend that you read this tutorial I wrote for Serious Eats last year: http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/02/how-to-can-canning-pickling-preserving-ball-jars-materials-siphoning-recipes.html?