Nell Wilson’s simple pickled hot peppers

My friend, Ron Wilson, and I love his Mom’s recipe. “She uses sweet peppers, Ron told me”. For some reason I thought she used all hot. Anyway, you can use whatever peppers or a combo of what you like here!It’s now recommended to process these peppers in a water bath for 15 minutes.

But I still just sterilize the jars in the dishwasher, pack the peppers into hot jars, pour boiling brine over, seal and store in the pantry, just like Nell has been doing for years.

I’ll leave it up to you to process the pickles in a canner or not. 

Use gloves when handling hot peppers. Don’t touch lips, eyes, etc.

Now I know the range in sugar is great, and Nell uses 2 cups sugar. Remember, hot peppers can be REALLY hot….

Ingredients

Peppers

Clean hot peppers, enough to fill 10 pints or up to 6 quarts

Brine

6 cups clear vinegar, 5% acidity

2 cups water

1/4 to 2 cups sugar (optional but takes some of the “bite” out)

Bring brine to a boil and keep hot as you fill the jars.

Instructions

Wash jars in dishwasher and leave them hot. 

Peppers: Leave whole with a slit down the center, or cut into slices as desired. 

Remove seeds and membranes, or not. Seeds and membranes make the peppers hotter.

Place peppers in hot jars, packing very tightly. Otherwise, they’ll tend to float.

Pour boiling brine over, covering peppers, leaving 1/4” headspace.

Wipe rims with clean wet cloth and seal with lids and bands.

Cool and store in pantry up to 1 year. 

Good add ins: Sweet peppers, bay leaves, garlic, dill. 

Tip: Hot Mouth!

The capsaicin in peppers causes the burn.

Rita Nader Heikenfeld, CCP, CMH

Appalachian Herbal Scholar
Web: http://www.abouteating.c