That sounds pretty much like a typical canning recipe. I canned several jars of Sweet Banana peppers last year. I won't ever do it again. The "boiling water solution" cooks the peppers and they are all mushy. I have also "cold canned" a lot of my sweet banana and Hot Hungarian Wax peppers. They don't get mushy and stay nice and crisp. however, their shelf life is limited and they must stay refrigerated much like an open regular canned pepper. I gave several jars of them to my parents last fall and my mom thought she had too many to use fast enough so she put a few of the jars in the freezer. She told me they came out great and were just slightly less crisp than the fresh ones. So, that is what I plan on doing this year. Cuz I love those suckers on a sandwich.
Bruce

I guess I should mention my solution was boiled, but it was hot but not boiling when I poured it over the peppers. It had cooled significantly. The chiles are actually still fairly crisp, and like I said the jars sealed and have stored very nicely in my basement cellar this winter.

I meant to ask, anyone use cider vinegar instead of distilled vinegar for pickled peppers?

There's a thread over on Harvest forum on pickled vegetables, the consensus there is cider vinegar is better for pickling than white vinegar.

Any thoughts/experience on this?

> "poured in boiling solution very near to the brim,"

Don't fill the jars too full. The lids need an air space under them for a vacuum to develop when they cool, sucking the lids down and sealing the jars. Too little headroom and the seal could be broken over time. IIRC, 1/4".

This post was edited by DMForcier on Sat, Feb 23, 13 at 16:00

This is a version of a recipe first posted by Shoontok that I have modified to my own liking. Feel free to adjust the ingredient totals or add or delete any ingredients as you see fit.
I will assume you are using half pint jars. For pint jars, just double the ingredients.
First, create a mixture of Distilled vinegar and water at a 3 to 1, vinegar to water ratio. Make enough to fill all the jars with the peppers. Keep in mind the peppers will fill about ü of the jar volume. Set this aside for now.
Next, Slice your HHW peppers about 1/16th inch slices. Then pack them into clean jars to the top (pack them down a bit).
Then add about 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic on top of the pepper slices in each jar. You can mince fresh garlic or buy a jar of minced garlic. I am lazy and used the stuff in a jar. Then add a couple teaspoons of black peppercorns. (they can be found in the spice section at the supermarket). Lastly add about a teaspoon of sea salt.
Finally, pour the vinegar water mixture into the jars of pepper slices almost to the very top of the jars. Then seal the jars, shake them up a bit to get the ingredients mixed in and then place in the fridge. You can start eating them any time, however, it is best to wait a couple days.
Note: Remember that these are not canned according to standard canning guidelines and will eventually spoil. This is why they will need to be kept in the fridge just like an opened store bought jar of peppers. They should be fine for a good 2-3 months if kept refrigerated.
You can try freezing the jars of peppers to keep them longer but you will need to use "Freezable" canning jars. The peppers will be a bit less crisp but not much after they thaw.
Bruce

Bruce, that recipe sounds delicious! I do something similar with eggs and beans. Typically I let them sit for 2 weeks before eating, more time to absorb the flavours ;)

"Don't fill the jars too full. The lids need an air space under them for a vacuum to develop when they cool, sucking the lids down and sealing the jars. Too little headroom and the seal could be broken over time. IIRC, 1/4"...."

Thanks DMForcier, 1/8-1/4" air space was what I gave and it seemed to work very well. The reason I wanted as much liquid as possible was to force the solids to remain submerged even if it floated, which about half did indeed float even after cramming the peppers in as tightly as possible.

If you check the photo out you'll see that I prefer to preserve the chiles whole w/stems (trimmed) on. The chiles were NOT punctured to let liquid in, this is totally not neccessary, in fact it's undesireable, IMO. Unless packed in tightly, or restricted in some way (as in a small mouth jar) the peppers will float like little fishing bobbers, which in this photo taken of a few jars 2-3 days afterwards the chiles in the 2nd & 3rd to the right are already floating off the bottom. That's why I want as much solution in the jar as possible, and, it worked like a charm. I'm actually very pleased with the way this venture turned out. It had been many years since I had 'vinegar pickled' any peppers.

Question; do you prefer cider or distilled vinegar for pickling peppers?

Larry.

DMForcier, I totally forgot to mention, consider the element of THERMAL EXPANSION to the hot liquid and the fact that it CONTRACTS as it cools, thus giving even more 'head space' at the top of the jar.

Here's one that was originally posted by Feidlermeister, whom I haven't seen on this site for several years. If you're on I hope you don't mind me reposting your recipe for Bread & Butter Jalapenos. It's basically a bread & butter pickle recipe using peppers instead of cucumbers. It's not processed, so it needs to be kept in the frig which helps crispness. It also uses cider vinegar. You can use any thick fleshed peppers rather than Jals.

FiedlermeisterâÂÂs Bread & Butter Jalapenos
I adapted a bread and butter pickle recipe, sustituting pepper-- mostly jalapenos. They are very tasty and can either be stored in the fridge without processing--they stay crispy-- or proceessed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes and stored at room temp.
I usually increase the amts for the brine to be sure I have enough to cover the peppers
1 1/2 to 2 lbs peppers sliced 1/4 " thick
2 medium onions sliced thin
6 ice cubes
1/4 cup coarse ( Kosher ) salt
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
In large bowl combine peppers, onions, salt, and ice. Let stand 1 hour tosssing occassionally.
Fill bowl with water and drain vegetables in a colander. Rinse and drain three times to rinse off all salt. Drain well.
In large pan combine vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil. Add the vegetables and when the liquid barely begins to simmer remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Put in jars with enough brine to cover vegetables and store in the fridge. Ready to eat the next day but I have kept in fridge for many months. really good--crunchy-not too sweet--not too sour.
Give it a try,
John A

Hey Larry,
What's that big jar of salsa-looking stuff in the back? It looks good whatever it is.

And Bruce, question, are you saying she put them in the freezer liquid and all? I've never tried that, just popped the whole pepper into the freezer dry. Although, I have cans of jalapenos that I canned 2 yrs ago that I'm still eating on (I do the usual type of canning pour boiling vinegar/water/salt over the peppers and seal, but I don't do the boiling water bath, I just put then straight into the fridge once they have cooled), so far they are still good.
Pam

> "The chiles were NOT punctured to let liquid in, this is totally not neccessary, in fact it's undesireable, IMO."

Oh, good idea. I never really thought about it, but I agree with you. Having to drain the veg could be sloppy...

John A, I suppose the sugar could be substituted with stevia for those of us who are 'sugar conscious', right?

Pam, that was a batch of fermented tomato pepper relish I made from season's end garden produce and it was undoubtedly the best I've ever made; it consisted of Cheokee Purples, some striped beeksteaks, Better Boys,Hot Lemon peppers, elephant garlic scallions, salt, yogurt whey, cilantro, and oregano. I hope to be able to duplicate it this year, I'll run some of it through a Foley food mill and make some sauce with it too.

WOW! I looks wonderful Larry, ok, so... recipe?

Heehee, did you not catch the part where I said, "I hope to be able to duplicate it this year",

This is the basic recipe I began with a couple years ago:

Tomato Pepper Relish
Makes 1 quart

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (calls for peeled & seeded, I don't)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (calls for seeded, I usually don't)
1-2 jalapeno chiles, chopped (calls for seeded, I don't)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, mashed
4 tablespoons whey (must have live culture as from Dannon yogurt)
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 cup filtered water

Mix, mash, pound together all ingredients until liquid covers solids; cover tightly and keep at room temp for at least 2 days, transfer to cold storage.

That recipe is from Sally Fallon's book, 'Nourishing Traditions'.

Thanks Larry! I'm DEFINITELY going to have to try that this year, it's making my mouth water already! It looks so good!
Pam

It's a delicious recipe just using storebought Romas and other veggies, but that last batch from the garden was exraordinary; it was the first time I had ever used fresh beefsteak tomatoes from the garden....incredible flavor.

Sidhartha - I don't see why you couldn't use a sugar substitute, or honey, or maybe even molasses as long as you refrigerated it.
John A