We definitely have a bumper-crop of peppers, this year!  Jalapeños, cowhorns, cayenne, bell… They’ve just been doing great.  of course, two people can only eat so many peppers at one time – and they’re ripening faster than we can consume.

The obvious thing is to can them.  And that’s just what I’ve started doing.

Monday, I started with a concoction of cowhorns and cayennes.  I sliced them up – seeds and all – packed them into 1/2-cup jars, and pickled them.  Really easy…

Canning is not difficult.  You just need to pay attention and make sure everything you’re using is clean.

Hot Pickled Peppers

(makes about 10 1/2-cup jars

  • 4 lbs assorted hot peppers
  • 4 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 4 tsp kosher salt

Wash and cut peppers to desired size.  (I made rings. )

Pack peppers into mason jars leaving about 1/2″ headroom.

Combine and heat sugar, salt, vinegar, and water.  Bring to boil and then simmer about 5-6 minutes.

Pour over peppers, leaving the same 1/2″ headroom.

Wipe rims of jars, top with lids and rings.

Process in a boiling water bath about 10 minutes.

That’s it!

I had some on a hot dog today and they came out G-O-O-D!  Some of them may be going out as Christmas presents…

There’s a lot more peppers.  I know I’ll be canning more…

Another thing I wanted to make was a pepper jelly.  Our friend, Trevor, made an excellent pepper jelly a while back – you can read all about it here and here – and I’ve been thinking about making a version ever since.  With our current plethora of peppers, I decided today was the day.

Since apricots are one of my more favorite fruits, I though an apricot pepper jelly would be fun.  When cooking or baking, I generally go for a California slab apricot because they’re so sweet, but because I was going to add a ton of sugar, I went for an organic Turkish apricot.  A lot of flavor but not quite as sweet.

This was fun because again, all the peppers came from our backyard.

Apricot Pepper Jelly

(makes about 14 1/2-cup jars)

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped dried apricots
  • 1 cup chopped bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped jalapeño peppers
  • 2 cups white balsamic vinegar
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 pkg powdered fruit pectin

Cover apricots with boiling water and let sit for about 10 minutes.  Drain.

Finely mince apricots and peppers in food processor along with 1 cup of the vinegar.

Mix pectin with 1/2 cup of the sugar.  Add it, along with the pepper mixture and remaining vinegar to saucepan.  Heat to boil, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining sugar, stirring well, and let boil at a full rolling boil about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, skim foam from top, and place in hot sterile jars.

Wipe rims, top with lids and rings, and process in boiling water bath about 15 minutes.

This one also came out stellar!

I’m going to serve it atop a pork tenderloin tonight…  More on that, later.

If you’re new to canning or need some tips, here’s a good place to check out… The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

And have fun!