> Does anyone have a solution and/or canning recipe for this problem? Thanks.

Good luck! And I hope someone surprises me and posts a recipe too.

My go-to source for questions like this is the Garden Webbie Harvest forum. Am guessing they will suggest pickling.

jt

Here is a link that might be useful: Harvest

The bread and butter jalapeno and mixed hot that were not processed, but stored in the fridge did not get mushy. It would seem that any that others that were refrigerated rather than hot water processed would also fare better.

johnf

hot water processing cooks them and softens them up.

Maybe freezing some instead of Canning?

Conventional freezing would yield mushy peppers (possible even more so than cooked/canned). If you want to freeze them so that they are crisp when thawed, I think that I read that using dry ice to speed up the process works well.

Alton Brown (of Food Network's Good Eats fame, and one of my personal idols) used this process to freeze strawberries which are notorious for turning to mush upon thawing. The fast freeze to a low temperature forms smaller ice crystals which I suppose rupture fewer cell walls.

As far as canning goes, there are additives that are made for pickles that are designed to make them crisper. you may havve some luck with them, but other than that, your best bet is to refridgerate rather than hot water process.

Here are steps that can help.

1. use distilled water, not tap.
2. add a pinch of alum.