Canning Hot Peppers

We are a family who LOVES hot and spicy foods. All the way from the youngest to the oldest, there's not one person in our large family that is anti spicy foods. Since we love our spicy food so much we grow a lot of hot peppers. We typically eat them fresh in our food or add them to canning recipes. But, mostly we dehydrate the hot peppers to make crushed hot pepper to add to our meals as a condiments. Sometimes we do like to add pickled hot peppers to our meals too, so we always make sure to have enough pickled hot peppers stashed for the year.

 While we grow several different types of hot peppers, our favorite to pickle is jalapeño. Make sure if you're handling hot peppers that you wear gloves of some sort, because your hands will harbor the hot peppers and anything or anyone you touch will be lit on fire. (The hot pepper oil does not immediately wash off.) Trust me on this one y'all! I can't tell you how many times I've scratched my eye after cutting hot peppers without having gloves on ~ PAINFUL folks, absolutely painful!

Due to the decent amount of rain and sunshine we've had this summer, our hot peppers plants have produced quite an abundant amount of large, HOT peppers this year. We aren't complaining at all, but we have had to give buckets away because we just couldn't keep up.

Canning Hot Peppers

Ingredients:

• hot peppers, sliced
• per jar: 1/2 tsp mustard seed, 6 peppercorns, 1 clove of garlic
• Brine: 8 1/2 cups water, 2 1/4 cups white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt

Directions:

Fill jars with ingredients. Pack tightly with peppers. Fill with boiling brine leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe jar, add lid and rim. Fill water bath canner about half full with water and bring to a boil. Add jars to canner making sure water only comes to the neck of the jars. Bring water to just before a boil (about 15 minutes). Remove jars from canner and invert, set on a towel, cover with a towel and let cool over night. Pickled hot peppers are ready to use immediately. 

We eat pretty plain meals, so adding a little kick to them helps bring out the flavors and make them a tad bit more appealing. Eating on a strict budget and from the garden doesn't have to be completely bland. Adding a touch of hot peppers or other herbs and spices can really make a budget meal into something special. 

Growing your own food and preserving it all is certainly a labor of love. There are days when I just don't think I can do it anymore much less do I really want to, but we keep on keeping on. This years summer garden is wrapping up, and we're definitely ready to move into the next season. But, it will be such a huge blessing to have all this wonderful food during the winter months, especially our pickled hot peppers.

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer