Canned Pepper Recipe Request

[JuneGem]

Last year I canned quite a lot of sweet banana peppers and banana/poblano pepper mix. My husband asked me yesterday if I could find a recipe that isn't so sweet. Hmmmm. So I wondered if anyone here has one they would recommend (preferably for wet bath canning). The one I've used calls for 1-3/4 C sugar for 3 lb. peppers. Yep, it's pretty sweet! Any suggestions?

[Looking Forward]

We never have enough peppers to just can them, they get used up in various types of salsa. :d0 (5): (most end up being in quart jars. )What would you use canned peppers for? I can see canned chili peppers, but that's about it, are these in pints, any recipes? I don't ask that to be negative, I would like to know, so that when we plant our garden I can take this idea into consideration. Thanks

[JuneGem]

My husband puts them on his sandwiches. The banana pepper/poblano mix is a particular favorite. He just doesn't like that the recipe that I've been using is so sweet (admittedly it is). They can also be added to salads; but, again, the recipe I'm using makes them too sweet for that. Not sure if I can simply cut down the amount of sugar. Canning recipes are such a science, that I don't know if that would make the canned product unstable.

[prairiemom]

You're talking about something like the pickled banana peppers you get at the deli shop? I just used the pickled pepper recipe that I get from USDA Extension service. There's hardly any sugar in these/

Pickled Hot Peppers
Ingredients
4 lbs. hot long red, green, or yellow peppers
3 lbs. sweet red and green peppers, mixed
5 cups vinegar (5%)
1 cup water
4 tsp. canning or pickling salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 cloves garlic
Procedure
Wash peppers. Peel as described on page 1. If small, peppers are left whole. Slash 2 or 4 slits in each. Quarter large peppers. Flatten small peppers. Fill jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Combine and heat other ingredients in boiling water and simmer 10 minutes. Remove garlic. Add pickling solution over peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process jars as prescribed in Table 2 (http://umaine.edu/publications/4043e/#Table 2).
Yield: About 9 pints

Looking Forward, I don't know that I'd use pickled peppers enough to can a whole batch. A whole batch (7-10 pts) might last us more than a year. Maybe what I'd do is make a smaller batch and process them at the same time I do salsa. But don't be afraid to grow several pepper plants. There's so much to use them for besides just salsa. I grow at least 3 each of jalapeno, paprika and cayenne and 3-4 of banana (we make chili rellenos out of those--a family favorite that no one can get enough of during the summer months.)

Last year I just canned them in small 1/4 pt jars. So many of my Mexicali recipes call for one small can of chopped jalepenos, so these small 1/4 pt jars are perfect for that. Not pickled, just chopped and canned--pressure canned because they are a low-acid food. Last summer I canned 16 of those jars. That's last about a year--1 or 2 a month. In fact, just to day I made Turkey Enchiladas with a jar of those peppers. Perfect! Of course, you don't need to can them. You can chop them up, put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. After freezing, crumble them into a baggie or glass jar and keep frozen. You can measure out what you need for recipes.

And of course, every year I have plenty of paprika and cayenne peppers to make lots of pepper powder. I think this summer I'll combine them into a homemade chili powder. Chilis are a powerful health food. I'll put some of the powder into gel caps and take one gel cap every other day for the health benefits. When I grind them into powder there are always some bigger chunks that never get small enough for powder, so I use those to make an infused oil. You could either use pepper-infused olive oil in cooking (and to give as gifts) or I use it in a pain-relieve salve. (For joint/muscle pain relief salve I use oil infused with peppers, pine leaves and meadowsweet.)

[JuneGem]

A recipe like that may do the trick. Thank you. As far as the various hot peppers and making of chili powder, I think I'll pass. I can't even clean poblanos without wearing rubber gloves, and those are pretty mild! I just have a really bad reaction to the hot peppers. Can't use any of the pepper based pain relievers, either. It feels like my skin is literally on fire.

[prairiemom]

Oh no--You definitely don't want to try to de-seed them without protection. I always wear rubber gloves when handling peppers. I have a pack of the disposable ones.