Are you a spicy foods fan? Jalapeño Peppers are SO easy to grow and even easier to bottle! Not just for Subway sandwiches, these babies go with everything. With pickle, cheese and crackers, in salads, in burgers, in sandwiches, on their own.

Put them on your ‘plant in Spring’ list – seedlings can be found at any decent plant shop, and they pump out the chilies well into Autumn – I pick and bottle them for weeks.

Homegrown, home pickled Jalapeño Peppers

Pickled Jalapeño Peppers.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 ice cream container of jalapeño peppers
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons sugar (if you like a mild chili – add more sugar)
1 tablespoon salt

METHOD: 

Wash and slice your jalapeño peppers.
Combine the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil.
Add jalapeño slices, stir back to almost boil, and remove from heat.
Use use tongs to remove the jalapenos from the pot to a pre-sterilised jar**, then cover with the liquid to fill the jar.
Refrigerate once open.
Unopened they will last on the shelf for a year – if you don’t eat them first!

A bowl of red and green Jalapeno peppers, next to a healthy Jalapeno plant.

This is an average Jalapeño harvest this recipe is based on.

** How to steralise your jars.
Wash both jars and lids in hot soapy water. Rinse well so no soap remains. Dry lips. Place jars in a roasting dish and pop into the oven at 100° celsius for at least 20 minutes.

TIPS:

Gauge your liquid mix to the amount of jalapenos you pick. Equal parts water/vinegar. You pack the jars with Jalapeño peppers so you don’t need much liquid.

Wear a glove on the ‘holding chili’ hand. If you do it with bare hands do not rub your eyes! (or touch your face, or touch the baby, or eat with your fingers). Just wear gloves.

Wait at least a day before you try eating them, otherwise prepare to burn your tongue off (they mellow with time).

A chopping board covered in sliced jalapeno peppers

Chop chop chop and wear gloves unless you like to live life dangerously.

Two bowls of chilies. One full of green fruit, the other full of bright red and yellow fruit.

Not just Jalapeno peppers. This method works for ANY chili. How hot can you handle?

Two tall jars of pickled green chilies.

One jar of Jalapeño peppers and one jar of Rocoto chilies.

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