Pickled Banana Peppers

I’m not sure what I did differently this year but my peppers are out producing themselves! I have been waiting years to give pickled banana peppers a try and now I had the perfect chance – 8 plants loaded down! And let me tell you – this is by far the easiest recipe that I’ve ever done! The hardest part is being patient enough for your water bath canner to get to a boil. I foresee this becoming a ‘must can’ each year.

Pickled banana peppers [yield: (4) Pints]

Materials: (all materials can be found on The Necessities for reference)

• 4 pint jars (plus flat lids and bands/rings)
  [Hint: As always, I recommend an extra jar or two. Also, wide mouth jars make it much easier to add in the peppers. ]
• 1 water bath
• 1 funnel
• 1 jar lifter
• 1 stainless steel ladle
• 1 large stainless steel pot (or dutch oven)
• 1 dish towel (large enough for the jars to cool on)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 – 3 lbs banana peppers, washed [Hint: you can swap out for any pepper or use a combination of peppers.]
• 5 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 5 teaspoons of non-iodized salt (or a Canning & Preserving salt)
• Seasonings of choice (added to each jar)
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard seed (per jar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed (per jar)

Process:

1. Inspect each of your jars for cracks, chips, and/or any other questionable markings before use.
2. Place wire rack into bottom of water bath with ‘arms’ up to allow jars to be placed.
3. Fill your water bath with enough water to cover each of the jars with about 2″ of liquid and place on burner to warm jars (simmer but do not boil).
4. In a large pot (or dutch oven) start your brine. Combine apple cider vinegar, water, and salt. While stirring, heat until boiling.
5. While your brine is warming, prepare your peppers. Cut off the stem end of each and then slice peppers into 1/4″ rings.
6. Once brine has come to a boil and all peppers have been cut, start removing jars from the water bath. Remove empty jars from water bath by lifting the wire rack and setting the arms on the rim of the water bath. Then, using jar lifter empty and remove the jar from the water.
7. Add in your desired seasonings to the jar – I opted for 1 teaspoon of mustard seed and a 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed.
8. Next, pack the warmed jar with banana pepper rings.
9. Then, place funnel in jar and carefully ladle brine into each jar keeping a 1/2in head space. [Note: Head space is the distance from the top of the jar to the food filling the jar.]
10. Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp cloth ensuring that the rims are clean.
11. Place flat lid and screw band on jar and finger tighten.
    [Hint: Place the jar on a towel and using only your fingers, tighten the band until your jar spins on the towel.]
12. Once finger tightened, return to warm water bath to avoid thermal shock. Lower wire rack once full.
    [Thermal shock is the cracking of jars from an extreme temperature swing such as putting hot food into a cold jar.]
13. Place lid on canner, return to high heat and bring water to a full rolling boil.
14. Once boiling, set timer for 10 minutes [refer to Elevation Rules for info on adjusting your processing time].
15. After 10 minutes, turn off heat and remove the lid. Wait an additional 5 minutes.
16. Once again, lifting wire rack and placing arms on canner rim, use the jar lifter to remove your filled jars and place on a towel in a cool & draft-free location.
17. Wait 24 hours before touching the jars. After 24 hours, remove the bands and pick up each jar from the flat lid (this will help ensure that each jar is truly sealed). Once the seal is verified, you may wash the exterior of the jars, dry, label, and store for future use.