Pickled Peppers

JPChurch

First Sergeant
Joined
Dec 30, 2016
Location
Manassas VA
I've often wondered what type of period recipes for pickled peppers existed back in the 1860's. I've made my own with what I grow out back. The yellow banana variety and the small orange type that's similar. I don't grow the hot ones. I do grow green bells also but don't pickle those..

I make a simple brine for 2 pint jars, which can be doubled if you wanna make like two quart sized jars. Depends on how well all the pepper plants are thriving, and what your harvest is Mine suffered during the high heat in July-August, but have rebounded since it's cooled down a bit and I keep them watered and pruned good.

Here's my brine recipe, enough for two fully packed pint jars:

2 cups white vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet you want the brine to be....I tried the 2/3 cups amount originally and it was way too much sugar, yuk)
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. celery seeds

Pick enough of your home grown variety for the jars, pack them full and add the seeds, then fill with the hot brine and process the jars in your boiling water.

You can slice them up and remove the pepper seeds or pickle them whole like I did a few weeks ago. I let them cure for at least 3 weeks before opening.

So my question is, how did they pickle peppers back in the day??? Any recipes out there that can be shared with our "Foods and Recipes" friends here??

Note pics attached of pickins yesterday, which is enough for about 3 pints. There's plenty more that aren't ready yet. The thing with peppers is, if you save the seeds and dry them out you can grow your own without having to buy plants. P4190001.JPG

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My wonderful sister-in-law Nadine gifted us a couple of jars of her pickled banana peppers last month. She says to wait a couple of months before eating. I know they are going to be good, though, because she has been making them for a number of years now.
 
I have to admit that at least a month is ok, opening a jar at 3 weeks is like cheating. But as you say, they longer they cure the better they become. And they'll stay good for a year. My dill pickles have been in the pantry since mid July. I canned 6 quarts of those before the heat got really bad here and the pickling cuke plants roached out and quit producing. All these types of plants like cukes/squashes/peppers like lots of water and don't really tolerate lengthy heat waves. My tomatoes did great this year just by keeping them fertilized a bit and watered good and pruned up.
 
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