How does one preserve peppers?

[bluegrassmom]

I've never met a pepper I didn't like. We've got all kinds growing. Sweet & hot banana, green, orange, fajita...lots of peppers out there. But I don't know how to put them up. Are the banana peppers in the stores simply canned or are they pickled?

 

If anybody can point me in the right direction of how to process and put up my peppers, I'd appreciate it.

[Darlene]

Here's one source you can check out...the National Center for Home Food Preservation's guidelines on preserving peppers:

 

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_04/peppers.html

 

The Ball Blue Book has a slew of recipes for peppers...if you have that book, check it out too.

[lil_half_pint]

I'm growing peppers again this year too. Sweet and hot banana, sweet bells, habanero, and jalapeno. I'm going to pickle some, dry some for chile powder, and use some for hot pepper jelly.

 

Do you have any books on canning/home preserving? When I first began canning, I checked out books from the library. The one's I thought I'd use the most I bought and added to my personal library.

 

If you haven't already, you will want to purchase the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, the Bible of home preserving. You can find it at Wal Mart. Also, you may want to check out the recipes from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard, The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich, and Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving Edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine.

[westbrook]

pickled actually. Using a lighter vinegar solution then pickles.

[Jeepers]

The yellow banana peppers in the stores are pickled.

[Violet]

I suggest following the link Darlene sent. It is the best resource. Lots of folks love the marinated peppers recipe on there.

[JCK88]

Are peppers any good dehydrated? (haven't done this yet.)

[Cricket]

Originally Posted By: JCK88

Are peppers any good dehydrated? (haven't done this yet.)

Yes they are! I dehydrated lots of peppers last summer. I would dice them and dry them. No other prep. They smell so good while they dry! Some sweet, some hot.

It was fun to pick the peppers in the various stages of ripeness, yellow, red, organge, dice and dry. I now have jars of beautiful confetti colored dried peppers to toss into sauces and things.

[Leah]

I dry them too. It's wonderful to see them at $1 a piece(!), and go home, pull out a jar and dump a bunch in the soup. We rehydrate them in boiling water and add them to stir fry all year long.

[MommaDogs]

I remember stringing up hot peppers with my grandpa. We'd wear kitchen gloves and they would eat right through. Yup, he liked them hot. LOL. But he was very particular about how he strung them. Only the long peppers, not round ones like habaneros. He strung them by the stem end, and allowed the points to point towards the floor. Any other way and he swore that they would rot and not dry.

[susie]

I slice or dice them and dehydrate them. Soak in cool water or just toss into any recipe to use.

 

I also grind up dehydrated peppers (in an old electric coffee mill), and use them for soup stock and also for omlettes.

[bluegrassmom]

Thanks everyone! That is a good link Darlene, thanks for sharing. I think I'll can some they way explained on that page, dehydrate some and then pickle the banana peppers.

 

I've got the Ball Blue Book, but didn't think I could find canning peppers in it. I guess I should go look, lol.

 

Now to figure out pickling...