Delicious Pickled Bell Peppers Recipe

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...


You can pickle any kind of pepper. I think jalapenos are probably the most common type to get pickled. I personally have a fondness for for . I think they make a lunch time sandwich more fun. They can be made more colorful by including some red or yellow peppers.

I usually make them with just garlic, but this time I decided to throw in some ginger too. A fun thing about pickles is that you can be creative about what spices you use.


Bell peppers happen to be just about the right height to fit 1/2 pint. They are kind of short for the pint jar I have them pictured in, so they are floating to the top.

Four peppers makes about 3 pints, so it is easy to determine how many jars you need.
Since the brine recipe here came from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving:, it only makes enough for three 1/2 pint jars. It can simply be multiplied to fit the amount you are making.

Brine (for 1 1/2 pints)
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/2 water
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp canning salt


Cut the peppers into strips. Bring the brine to a boil. Put a garlic clove in each jar. Pack pepper strips into jar in a vertical position. Cover with brine leaving 1/2 inch inch headspace and process in a water bath. Process 1/2 pints for 15 minutes or pints for 20 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes




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The Art of Canning Carrots

It is interesting that I found it fun to write about, asparagus, corn, okra, beets, and green beans; yet when it comes to carrots, that topic just seems boring. Perhaps it is because I've never pickled them so they just seem plain to me. Perhaps it is because I've never liked them much to begin with.

There seem to be a lot of recipes for pickled carrots. I think this weekend I will pick one and try it. I might like it (even if it is carrots).


In the mean time here are instructions for canning plain old boiled carrots (sliced or diced). If you want to use salt, put canning salt in the jar before you add the carrots. Use 1/2 tsp for a pint jar, or 1 tsp for a quart jar.

You can boil the carrots for five minutes before you put them in the jars (that is called the hot pack method), or you can put them into the jars raw and pour boiling water over them (that is called the cold pack method). Either way leave 1 inch headspace, and process using the pressure canner method. Process pints for 25 minutes, or quarts for 30 minutes.




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Carefully Pickling Carrots

After Friday's post, I decided to look through recipes for pickled carrots. There was a huge variety of them to choose from.

One from Pickles and Relishes: From Apples to Zucchinis that had both carrots and parsnips in it caught my attention. When I looked closer, I realized that it was a recipe for refrigerator pickles. On the one hand, refrigerator pickles can be nice, because they stay crisp. On the other hand, you have to consider how much refrigerator space you are willing to take up. I decided to turn it into a recipe for canned pickles.

Another recipe from cooks.com caught my attention because it was similar to my recipe for pickled beets. I decided to also try a variation of that recipe.


Pickled Carrots and Parsnips
(makes about 8 half-pint jars)

1 pound carrots
1 pound parsnips
3 cups vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pickling salt
1 Tbls pickling spice

Cut the carrots and parsnips into 3 inch long sticks. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pack carrots and parsnips into hot jars and cover with brine leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes


Pickled Carrots
(makes about 8 half-pint jars)

2 pounds carrots
8 cinnamon sticks (about 2 inches long)
16 cloves
8 allspice berries
3 cups vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pickling salt

Cut the carrots into 3 inch long sticks. Place two cloves, one allspice berry and one cinnamon stick in each jar. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pack carrots into jars and cover with brine leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes



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Canning Chokecherry Jelly

This is where my hobby of making jams and jellies all began. I am not sure how old I was, but I know that I had never canned anything all by myself before.

As I said before, my philosophy seemed to be that if nature planted it and it wasn't poisonous, then I had to try it. I knew that chokecherries are not poisonous (even if they are too bitter to be eaten plain), but I didn't know of anybody who actually cooked with them. I figured that if they are not poisonous, then there must be a recipe somewhere that uses them. If the internet had been around at that time, then my search for a recipe would have been a lot easier.

Finally somebody heard through the grapevine that I was looking for a recipe that uses chokecherries and they gave me a recipe for chokecherry jelly. I showed the recipe to my mother and told her that I wanted to make it.


I have since changed my method of making choke cherry jelly. I like my new method because it doesn't call for a specific amount of chokecherries. I can just use whatever quantity I happen to get. The flavor may be stronger or weaker depending on how many I get.

Most recipes call for a lot of water. I have decided to use less water. This results in a very concentrated (and very bitter) juice. I then dilute this juice with apple juice.



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Spicy Jalapeno Jelly

I think a very fun use of jalapenos is . I like it on crackers and cheese, and I like to spread cream cheese on a toasted bagel and then spread on top of that. This recipe is based on a recipe from 175 Best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and Other Soft Spreads...




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How to Decorate Canning Lids

I gave some ideas about how to make canned gifts look a little fancier. Another method that I didn't mention is to simply use decorative lids. They are more expensive then regular lids, so I would not use them just for putting up some corn or green beans for the winter, but they could be nice for gifts. There is a variety of designs to choose from.


The most decorative lids that I have seen are Bernadin brand. Don't let the fact that this brand is aimed at the Canadian market or that their jars are in metric sizes fool you into thinking that their lids won't work for American canning jars. Actually, Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernadin are all made by the Jarden corporation, and they all use the same size lids.


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Canning Apple Sauce and Apple Butter

There are so many fun things to do with apples, that I think I could write 3 or 4 posts just on apples alone. Since apple Sauce and apple butter start out the same way, I figured that it is logical to discuss them both in one post. In fact you can prepare them both in one day. Just prepare the pulp, set some of it aside for apple butter, can the apple sauce and while it is processing in the water bath, take out the pulp that you set aside and start preparing your apple butter.


Though some canning books say to peel and core the apples, you don't really need to because the skin and seeds are separated when you run the apples through your food mill any way.



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