I'm just trying to clarify. You mean you open-kettle canned? That is put the product in the jars, poured over boiling liquid and then put on the lids to form a seal? Then were they stored at room temp?

If that's the case, I don't think I'd attempt it, though seeing the recipes would give us a clearer picture.

Carol

Thank you Carol. Here are the Recipes.

Sweet Banana Peppers
Chill to crisp
Combine
1C canning salt
3qt. water
2C sugar
2 qt.Heinz white vinegar
1/4 tsp cooking oil
Bring to simmer
Pack peppers tight in jars
add 1/4 tsp alum and 1 stem fresh dill to each qt. Fill with syrup apply lids and rings an set upside down for 30 minutes then store.

Bread and Butter Pickles
1 gallon med sized cucumbers
8 large white onions sliced thin
2 green peppers chopped
1/2 C coarse salt
5 C sugar
1-1/2tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp white mustard seed
1-1/2 tsp celery seed
5 cups vinegar

Slice cucumbers, do not peel. Mix lightly with onions and green pepper. Add salt. Let stand 3 hours, drain & put into pickling syrup which has been made by boiling the remaining ingredients together.
Reheat pickling syrup and vegtables to boiling point but do not boil. Turn into hot sterile jars and seal at once.

What do you think? Thanks again, Lauren

OK, others may have a different take on this, but I wouldn't even touch the peppers. First, the alum serves no purpose. It only works in crisping fermented pickles, which these aren't. Then you add the issue of proportions of water to vinegar, which are too low for acid plus the oil and I wouldn't do it even canned. So I'm sorry to say no on those.

The second recipe is 100% vinegar and high sugar, so if you want to take the risk I think it's more possible to reheat those to boiling and process as a bread and butter pickle. You will lose crispness, but you could process 10 minutes BWB and give it a shot if you feel comfortable.

Please understand this is not "official." I doubt you'll be at risk but you have to decide your comfort level.

Carol

Hi there

I have never water bathed canned my peppers or my pickles. Only open kettled them as you did and have done compleatly fine with it. I have canned this way for year and my gram canned this way for years with great results. I dont even own a waterbath canner. Yes yes there is the usda guide lines and many people rely on that to can I just dont and do fine with it.

good luck and if ya have any questions please email I dont get on to the forum as much as would like. I will can green beans tomorrow with a presure canner of corse and then salsa the folowing day and later in the week I have to pickle some pepers and do some beet.

Purple

You do just fine . . . so far.

I agree, lots of people have done fine...so far. They're lucky and might stay lucky but I like to choose the chances I'd take.

The Bread and Butter pickles posted above? It isn't ideal by a long shot but they are better off processed. I sure wouldn't give them to anyone else, that's certain. I do recognize that open kettle canning is absolutely against the safety rules, but I know that some people do it and are going to continue doing it.

The peppers? I'm with Carol, I wouldn't touch them. Not enough vinegar, a low acid vegetable AND the oil? Nope, not for me.

Annie

To 'save' these, place them all in the fridge and use them up soon. Now that they have cooled and cured some, a boiling water bath heat process will soften them greatly. You can risk most botulism issues, only because they are a vinegar based brine, but refrigeration with help to protect against any mold that may have snuck in before they were actually capped. Hey, an open kettle for some, may even be safer than my steam canner..

I don't know when you made the peppers, but I agree, I would not eat them. That is not enough acid, as was said.
Yes, all foods, even jams and jelly needs processing.
Otherwise you have done nothing to preserve the foods. No bacteria or molds have been destroyed, and you only have a weak surface seal, not a vacuum seal.
Within 2 days you can have enough botulism in an improperly processed or unsafe recipe to harm you. Bacteria in food doubles approx. every 20 min. So, within 2 days, you can see how dangerous something can be. Sealing an unsafe recipe is worse yet, since botulism grows in the absence of air. That still cuts off air supply even with no processing. The bottled lemon juice in the recipe below is what helps to keep it safe since bottled lemon juice is twice as acidic as vinegar.
Here is a recipe that is safe, and has oil in it. However, notice the high acid content :
MARINATED PEPPERS

4 lbs firm peppers*
1 cup bottled lemon juice
2 cups white vinegar (5 percent)
1 tbsp oregano leaves
1 cup olive or salad oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, quartered (optional)
2 tbsp prepared horseradish (optional)

Select your favorite pepper.

Caution: If you select hot peppers, wear rubber or plastic gloves while handling them or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face.
Peppers may be left whole. Large peppers may be quartered. Wash, slash two to four slits in each pepper, and blanch in boiling water or blister in order to peel tough-skinned hot peppers.

Peppers may be blistered using one of the following methods: Oven or broiler method: Place peppers in a hot oven (400 degrees F) or broiler for 6-8 minutes or until skins blister. Range-top method: Cover hot burner, either gas or electric, with heavy wire mesh. Place peppers on burner for several minutes until skins blister.

Allow peppers to cool. Place in pan and cover with a damp cloth. This will make peeling the peppers easier. After several minutes of cooling, peel each pepper. Flatten whole peppers. Mix all remaining ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Place 1/4 garlic clove (optional) and 1/4 teaspoon salt in each half pint or 1/2 teaspoon per pint. Fill jars with peppers, add hot, well-mixed oil/pickling solution over peppers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Yield: About 9 half-pints.

*Note: It is possible to adjust the intensity of pickled jalapeno peppers by using all hot jalapeno peppers (hot style), or blending with sweet and mild peppers (medium or mild style).

For hot style: Use 4 lbs jalapeno peppers.

For medium style: Use 2 lbs jalapeno peppers and 2 lbs sweet and mild peppers.

For mild style: Use 1 lb jalapeno peppers and 3 lbs sweet and mild peppers.

From: United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service

The bread and butter pickles is fine other than no processing. You can make the decision on this one whether or not to process them and use them.

Carol, I do agree with your view, that it has been safe... so far !
I become more concerned as time goes on. Seems almost weekly there is some report of some sort of food borne illness. I don't want to be paranoid, but all this is getting to be too common.

Thank you all for helping me out. I dumped the peppers and did a hot water bath for 10 min on the pickles. (I wish I would have read the post about putting them in the frig before I dumped them). I was nervous about the oil to begin with, but didn't fully understand the importance of acidity. I have now vowed to read the blue book better before I do any more canning. I don't want to loose veggies I worked so hard to grow, or get someone ill. Again, Thank you. Lauren