Farmer Rob just returned from Osoyoos with the freshest, shiniest, largest jalapenos I’ve ever seen. I asked him to bring some home, and a 25 lb box arrived in my kitchen! So on went the rubber gloves, and out came the recipes. 50 pints later, I still have some jalapenos left to work through, but the rest may just get diced in my food processor and frozen. You could store the following recipes in the fridge for up to a few months, but I’ve included water bath canning instructions to make them shelf-stable.
I have a few friends that are always thrilled to receive gifts of Candied Jalapenos. If you love them, you REALLY love them, so I won’t have any trouble getting rid of my excess. But I wanted to see if I could find a recipe using less sugar and recalled seeing Food in Jars Maple Pickled Jalapenos. How fun to put a decidedly Canadian twist using local ingredients on this very Southern pickle!
Ingredients
Scale
2 ½ – 3 lbs. firm jalapenos, sliced into ¼ inch rounds**
One red onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced (I used a local Walla Walla sweet onion)
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups water
1 tbsp. Salt
2 tsp. Mustard seeds
2 tsp. Black peppercorns
Instructions
Prepare boiling water canner. Wash lids in warm soapy water and sterilize jars with boiling water or wash them in the dishwasher just prior to canning to ensure clean jars.
Combine maple syrup, sugar, vinegar, water, and all spices in a large pot and bring to a simmer for five minutes. Add jalapeno and onion slices, return to simmer and cook for 5 more minutes.
Using tongs, ladle hot jalapenos and onions into hot jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace. Top off with more brine as necessary. Try to distribute the spices as evenly as possible among the jars.
Remove any trapped air bubbles from jars and add more brine, if necessary. Wipe the rim, apply the lid and ring, and place the filled jar in the canner.
Process jars 15 minutes from start of boil. Remove jars and cool for 12-24 hours.
Notes
Always wear disposable rubber gloves when working with hot peppers.
These were so big and firm that two fit perfectly into my food processor chute, and I sliced them in no time at all. Turning the machine off and reloading after each set of two keeps them upright, giving me perfect circles and avoiding a lengthwise cut. A mandoline would also work, or slice by hand.
I love this recipe as it gives you the option of doing one jar, or twenty, depending on how many jalapenos you have, simply scale up the brine according to how many jalapenos you have. If you grow them in your garden, you can process just a few jars at a time as they ripen. You put the spices in each jar, and then add jalapenos and a simple brine. Remember to always wear disposable rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.
Ingredients
Scale
For each pint:
½ pound jalapenos, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
¾ cup water
¾ cup white vinegar (ensure the label reads 5% acidity)
To each pint jar, add:
½ tsp kosher or pickling salt
¾ tsp. whole black peppercorns
¼ tsp. cumin seeds
¼ tsp. mustard seed
1 garlic clove, peeled (local garlic often has very large cloves, so feel free to only use ½ per clove per jar)
1 bay leaf, optional
Instructions
In a medium-sized pot, combine water and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Place spices in pint or half-pint jars, according to how many peppers you have, and fill jars with pepper slices. I filled half a jar, pushed the peppers down slightly, and added more peppers to fill the jars. I hope you’re wearing gloves by now! Pour simmering brine over, filling to ½ inch from the top of the jar. Using a dull knife or chopstick, run around the inside of the jar to eliminate air bubbles and press down slightly on the peppers as they will have softened a bit from the hot brine. Add more brine if necessary, leaving ½ inch headspace.
Process in boiling water bath for 12 minutes. After processing time, turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from pot, and let rest for 12-24 hours to ensure they have sealed. Refrigerate any jars that didn’t seal. You may consume them immediately but best if allowed to marinate for several weeks.
Notes
Always wear disposable rubber gloves when working with hot peppers.
I had some leftover brine, which I strained, put into jars and processed in a water bath for 10 minutes to make it shelf-stable. Spicy Margaritas are on the list to try with this kicky syrup!
