moore2me
Lions don't need to spank
Howdy Doc - Here's your requested recipe as my family makes it.
You need: Your choice of peppers
Your choice of vinegar (I use 5% acidity apple cider Heinz.)
Your choice of canning jars or trivet - I recommend pint jars with rings and lids and also a couple of trivets to set on the table.
Disposable gloves.
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First decide on the peppers.
1. How hot do you want it? This will depend on the peppers you use and how (or if) you cut them up. Since the southern heat wave killed all out peppers last year, I buy mine from the grocery stores. I get mine from Kroger, but people with stronger constitutions may get peppers from Mexican grocery stores, Chinese grocery stores, or Indian grocery stores.:eat2:
My family mostly sticks with chili peppers or jalapeno peppers. Pick fresh (not dried) peppers that are pretty and are not withered, have no mold spots, or places where they have split open. I always handle peppers during making pepper sauce with disposable gloves. If you forget and wipe your eyes or have delicate skin you make get a bonus trip to the emergency room.
I will make a pest out of myself at the grocery store by sorting thru several pounds of peppers, rejecting the bad ones. For gloves, I snatch some plastic bags and wear them on my hands while doing this. I usually tell the produce manager what I am doing so he/she doesn't call the cops on me saying some nut is doing weird things in the produce section. :happy:
If you're not sure how hot the peppers are, break one (that you should buy) and touch your tongue to it. You can do some modifications to the heat by cutting a hot pepper in half - removing the seeds & discarding them and just using the outside walls. Careful when doing this, no touchee eyes for the rest of the day!!! Wearing gloves is vital.
2. When you get the peppers home, try to use them that day or within a short a time as possible. If you leave them in plastic bags in the frig they will quickly deteriorate and rot. If something happens to prevent you from canning them within 24 hours, I would put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer.
3. Wash and dry canning jars or trivets. Leaving water in these will reduce your acidity of the vinegar.
Wash peppers and dry water off them. If you want to cut them up, you can. I like to leave mine whole. Mom likes to cut hers into slices leaving seeds in. If you're using a trivet, you will have to cut them to a size that will go thru the hole.
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Now decide how long you want them to sit in the cabinet. Since my family eats the stuff on beans, cabbage, greens, some meat dishes, ours doesn't sit around for more than a couple of months. So, I use heat and vaccuum method to can.
A. For a glass trivet or table bottle, fill with fresh peppers. Then fill the container with vinegar up 1 inch from top. Add a little salt. Put the trivet (uncorked) in the microwave and nuke it until you see the vinegar boiling. Don't let it boil too long or it will escape tho. Take the trivet out, let it cool, and put the stopper in within a hour or so. It will be ready in a day or so.
B. For pint jars, fill each jar with your cleaned peppers. Put a pot of vinegar on to boil on the stove. When it boils, ladle the hot vinegar into each pint jar to within a 1/2 inch of the glass ring on the jar. Use a knife to remove air bubbles you see. Quick like a bunny. Take the jar lids rings (from a container of hot water) and screw them on the filled jars. Have a dish towel nearby and using another clean towel - turn the jars upside down so the lids are on the bottom. Let them sit for 5 minutes or so and them turn them back over right side up again. Within an hour or so, the jars should seal - you can hear this by them gently popping and the lid will indent. The jars should hold this seal for until next season - if you find one in storage that has not kept it's seal, pick another one to eat. Before storing in a cabinet (mark the date with a sharpie.)
If a jar does not seal after the first attempt, you can replace the top, heat the jar in a water bath for 10 min and try one more time. If it still doesn't seal, store the jar in the frig and use it first.
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M2M's last bit of advice - This informal canning process only works because of the canning liquid that fills the jars is 5% vinegar and the contents are hot peppers. Not many self-respecting bacteria can grow and live in that kind of environment. Most other canning needs hot water baths or pressure canning to kill bacteria.
Also, be sure and wear a shirt and pants when you work with this stuff. Mr M2M got a really nasty boiling water burn on his stomach last year when he was assisting me and did not wear a shirt. The blister was about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide and was a 2nd and 3rd degree burn in places.
You need: Your choice of peppers
Your choice of vinegar (I use 5% acidity apple cider Heinz.)
Your choice of canning jars or trivet - I recommend pint jars with rings and lids and also a couple of trivets to set on the table.
Disposable gloves.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First decide on the peppers.
1. How hot do you want it? This will depend on the peppers you use and how (or if) you cut them up. Since the southern heat wave killed all out peppers last year, I buy mine from the grocery stores. I get mine from Kroger, but people with stronger constitutions may get peppers from Mexican grocery stores, Chinese grocery stores, or Indian grocery stores.:eat2:
My family mostly sticks with chili peppers or jalapeno peppers. Pick fresh (not dried) peppers that are pretty and are not withered, have no mold spots, or places where they have split open. I always handle peppers during making pepper sauce with disposable gloves. If you forget and wipe your eyes or have delicate skin you make get a bonus trip to the emergency room.
I will make a pest out of myself at the grocery store by sorting thru several pounds of peppers, rejecting the bad ones. For gloves, I snatch some plastic bags and wear them on my hands while doing this. I usually tell the produce manager what I am doing so he/she doesn't call the cops on me saying some nut is doing weird things in the produce section. :happy:
If you're not sure how hot the peppers are, break one (that you should buy) and touch your tongue to it. You can do some modifications to the heat by cutting a hot pepper in half - removing the seeds & discarding them and just using the outside walls. Careful when doing this, no touchee eyes for the rest of the day!!! Wearing gloves is vital.
2. When you get the peppers home, try to use them that day or within a short a time as possible. If you leave them in plastic bags in the frig they will quickly deteriorate and rot. If something happens to prevent you from canning them within 24 hours, I would put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer.
3. Wash and dry canning jars or trivets. Leaving water in these will reduce your acidity of the vinegar.
Wash peppers and dry water off them. If you want to cut them up, you can. I like to leave mine whole. Mom likes to cut hers into slices leaving seeds in. If you're using a trivet, you will have to cut them to a size that will go thru the hole.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now decide how long you want them to sit in the cabinet. Since my family eats the stuff on beans, cabbage, greens, some meat dishes, ours doesn't sit around for more than a couple of months. So, I use heat and vaccuum method to can.
A. For a glass trivet or table bottle, fill with fresh peppers. Then fill the container with vinegar up 1 inch from top. Add a little salt. Put the trivet (uncorked) in the microwave and nuke it until you see the vinegar boiling. Don't let it boil too long or it will escape tho. Take the trivet out, let it cool, and put the stopper in within a hour or so. It will be ready in a day or so.
B. For pint jars, fill each jar with your cleaned peppers. Put a pot of vinegar on to boil on the stove. When it boils, ladle the hot vinegar into each pint jar to within a 1/2 inch of the glass ring on the jar. Use a knife to remove air bubbles you see. Quick like a bunny. Take the jar lids rings (from a container of hot water) and screw them on the filled jars. Have a dish towel nearby and using another clean towel - turn the jars upside down so the lids are on the bottom. Let them sit for 5 minutes or so and them turn them back over right side up again. Within an hour or so, the jars should seal - you can hear this by them gently popping and the lid will indent. The jars should hold this seal for until next season - if you find one in storage that has not kept it's seal, pick another one to eat. Before storing in a cabinet (mark the date with a sharpie.)
If a jar does not seal after the first attempt, you can replace the top, heat the jar in a water bath for 10 min and try one more time. If it still doesn't seal, store the jar in the frig and use it first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M2M's last bit of advice - This informal canning process only works because of the canning liquid that fills the jars is 5% vinegar and the contents are hot peppers. Not many self-respecting bacteria can grow and live in that kind of environment. Most other canning needs hot water baths or pressure canning to kill bacteria.
Also, be sure and wear a shirt and pants when you work with this stuff. Mr M2M got a really nasty boiling water burn on his stomach last year when he was assisting me and did not wear a shirt. The blister was about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide and was a 2nd and 3rd degree burn in places.
