How to Easily Can Pickled Jalapenos

At the end of every summer when I was growing up my mom would preserve any of the vegetables from her garden that she could, just as her grandmother taught her.  When I was older I started growing my own garden for 4-H with my sister, so my mom taught us one of the easiest preservation methods for our garden fresh vegetables; canning!  Mainly we canned pickled jalapenos, as they were relatively easy, plus my parents loved to eat them throughout the year.

The past couple of years we have been trying out growing different varieties of peppers and tomatoes in our garden.  We grew a couple of varieties of hot peppers because they are my husband's favorites, and all of the sudden during August we had more peppers than we could eat.  Since we had a big crop of jalapenos this year my husband was anxious to try out preserving some so he can enjoy them all year.

It had been years since I canned anything from a garden, but my mom had gifted me all of her canning supplies and my great grandmother's recipes for preservation, so we were prepared to give it a try.  It was fun to do it together with my husband, and extra special to be using my family's equipment and recipes.

Below are step by step directions with pictures for canning pickled jalapenos.  Printable recipe is at the bottom of the page.  Please be advised: PRESERVE FOOD AT YOUR OWN RISK, BEFORE YOU CAN ANYTHING YOU SHOULD READ USDA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANNING AND PRESERVING.  Improper canning will not properly preserve food and can lead to food borne illnesses.  Check out the USDA's National Center for Home Food Preservation website and be sure to do your research before preserving any food!

A couple of tips before you start:

• Keeping everything clean is key!  Be prepared to sanitize everything and keep a clean work station.  This helps to prevent food-borne illness.
• Wear gloves when working with hot peppers, this helps prevent your skin from absorbing the pepper oil.
• Even when you wear gloves, be very careful to not touch your eyes or anything sensitive after working with peppers, if any pepper residue is on your hands it will hurt!

Materials/Ingredients Needed:

• Water Bath Canner with Metal Rack
• 2 saucepans
• Secure grip jar lifter
• 4 one pint glass canning jars
• 4 canning jar lids and rings
• 2 pounds of jalapeno peppers
• Boiling Water
• 2-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 whole cloves garlic
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Wash and sanitize all jars, lids, and rings.

• Your dishwasher probably has a sanitize setting on it, or you can boil everything in hot water.
• I boiled the lids and rings in hot water to make sure they were fully sanitized.

Wash peppers, thoroughly.  Cut stem off and cut peppers into rings.

• For spicier peppers leave ribs and seeds in the peppers.  For milder peppers remove seeds and ribs and rinse thoroughly.

Combine vinegar, water, and sugar in saucepan.

• Heat to boiling.  Reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.

In clean, hot jars place oil, salt, and garlic in bottom of jars.

• Each jar gets 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 cloves garlic.

Pack pepper rings into jars.

• Place peppers into jars right on top of oil, salt, and garlic.

Pour simmering vinegar liquid over peppers.

Cap each jar at once.  Process 10 minutes in hot water bath.

• Water bath should already be boiling, when you add the jars it probably will stop.
• Make sure the water covers the jars by 1 inch; add more water to pot if necessary.
• Allow the water to return to a boil.  Once it is boiling again then begin timing your 10 minute water bath.

Remove from hot water bath and allow to cool.

• Within minutes (or even seconds) the lids will make a popping noise, this lets you know that the lid is sealed to the jar.  Listen to make sure you hear all of the lids pop.
• If a lid does not seal it probably just did not boil long enough; once that jar is cool put it in the refrigerator and eat those first.
• It will take a few hours for the jars to cool completely.  The peppers will all slowly sink from floating at the top to throughout the liquid.

Makes 4 pints of pickled jalapenos.  Store in a cool, dark place.

• Typically it is recommended to consume canned goods within a year.

Pickled Jalapeno Peppers

The perfect way to preserve all of the fresh jalapenos or peppers from your garden and enjoy all year long.

• 2 pounds peppers
• boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 cloves garlic (whole)
• 4 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt

1. Wash peppers thoroughly.
2. Cut off stems and slice into rings.
3. Combine vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan; heat to boiling, then simmer 5 minutes.
4. Place 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in each jar.
5. Pack peppers into jars.
6. Pour simmering liquid over peppers to within 1/2 inch of top making sure vinegar solution covers peppers.
7. Cap each jar at once.
8. Process 10 minutes in boiling-water bath.

Other

For More Canning Inspiration Check Out My Recipes:

• Delicious Refrigerator Pickles