Bulletin #4043, Let’s Preserve: Peppers
Bulletin #4043, Let’s Preserve: Peppers (PDF)
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Types of Peppers and Products
- Regular: made with bell, pimiento, chile, or jalapeno peppers.
- Sweet pickled: made with banana, bell, hungarian, and pimiento peppers.
- Hot pickled: made with chile and jalapeno peppers.
- Marinated: normally made with sweet red, yellow and green peppers.
- Pickled pepper relish: normally made with sweet red, yellow and green peppers.
Quality
Select firm, yellow, green, or red peppers free of disease and insect damage.
Quantity
An average of 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 25 pounds and yields 20 to 30 pints, an average of 1 pound per pint.
Handling and Preparation
Select your favorite pepper(s). Caution: If you choose hot peppers, wear plastic gloves while handling them, or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face. Small peppers may be left whole. Wash and quarter large peppers. Remove cores and seeds. Slash two or four slits in each pepper, and place in a hot oven (400 degrees F) or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister. Cool peppers in water and slip off skins. Flatten small whole peppers.
Wash jars. Prepare lids according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place products into jars. Wipe sealing edge of jars with a clean, damp paper towel. Add lids and tighten screw bands. Process jars in a pressure or boiling water canner.
Process Times
| Product | Jar size | Time (minutes) | Canner Gauge Pressure at Altitudes of: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dial Gauge Canner | Weighted Gauge Canner | |||||
| 0 – 2000 ft. | 2,001 – 4000 ft. | 0 – 1000 ft. | Above 1000 ft. | |||
| Standard Peppers | Half-pint | 35 | 11 lbs | 12 lbs | 10 lbs | 15 lbs |
Canning Procedure
To process in a pressure canner, place jar rack, 2 inches of water, and sealed jars in the canner. Fasten lid, and heat canner on high setting. After steam exhausts 10 minutes, add weighted gauge or close petcock to pressurize the canner. Start timing the process when the desired pressure is reached. Regulate heat to maintain a uniform pressure, and process jars for the time given in Table 1.
When processing is done, remove canner from heat. Air-cool canner till it is fully depressurized. Slowly remove weighted gauge or open petcock. Wait two more minutes, and unfasten and carefully remove canner lid. Remove jars from canner with a jar lifter and place on towel or rack. Do not retighten screw bands. Air-cool jars 12 to 24 hours. Remove screw bands and check lid seals. If the center of the lid is indented, wash, dry, label, and store the jar in a clean cool dark place. If the lid is unsealed, examine and replace jar if defective, use a new lid, and reprocess as before. Wash screw bands and store separately. Products are best if eaten within a year and safe as long as lids remain vacuum sealed.
To process in a boiling water canner, preheat canner halfway with water to 180 degrees F for hot packs or 140 degrees F for raw packs. Load sealed jars onto the canner rack and lower rack with handles; or load one jar at a time with a jar lifter onto rack in canner. Add water, if needed, to a level of 1 inch above jars and add canner cover. When water boils vigorously, lower heat to maintain a gentle boil and process sealed jars as proscribed in Table 2 below.
Standard Peppers
Fill jars loosely with peeled, cored, or flattened sweet or hot peppers. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each pint, if desired. Add hot water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process the product for the time given in Table 1.
Process Times
| Product | Style of Pack | Jar size | Minutes of processing time at altitudes of: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 1000 ft. | 1001 – 3000 ft. | |||
|
Pickled sweet |
Hot |
Half-Pints Pints |
5 5 |
10 10 |
|
Pickled hot |
Raw |
Half-Pints Pints |
10 10 |
15 15 |
|
Marinated |
Hot |
Half-Pints Pints |
15 20 |
20 25 |
|
Pickled pepper-onion relish |
Hot |
Half-Pints Pints |
5 5 |
10 10 |
|
Pickled corn-pepper relish |
Hot |
Half-Pints Pints |
15 15 |
20 20 |
|
Piccalilli |
Hot |
Half-Pints Pints |
5 5 |
10 10 |
Pickled Peppers
Ingredients
7 lbs. firm bell peppers
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar (5%)
3 cups water
9 cloves garlic
4 1/2 tsp. canning or pickling salt
Procedure
Select and wash your favorite sweet peppers, cut into quarters, remove cores and seeds, and cut away any blemishes. Slice peppers in strips. Boil vinegar, water, and sugar for 1 minute. Add peppers and bring to a boil. Place 1/2 clove of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in each sterile half-pint jar; or double the amounts for pint jars. Add pepper strips and cover with hot vinegar mixture, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process jars as prescribed in Table 2.
Yield: About 9 half-pints
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.
Yield: About 9 pints
Marinated Peppers
Ingredients
4 lbs. firm peppers
1 cup bottled lemon juice
2 cups white vinegar (5%)
1 tbsp. oregano leaves
1 cup olive or salad oil
1/2 cup onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, quartered (optional)
2 tbsp. prepared horseradish (optional)
Procedure
Select your favorite sweet or hot peppers. Peel peppers as described on page 1. Mix all remaining ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Place 1/4 garlic clove (optional) and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in each half-pint, or 1/2 teaspoon per pint. Fill jars with peppers, add hot, well-mixed, oil/ pickling solution over peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process jars as prescribed in Table 2.
Yield: About 9 half-pints
Pickled Pepper-Onion Relish
Ingredients
6 cups onions, finely chopped
3 cups sweet red peppers, finely chopped
3 cups green peppers, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups vinegar (5%), preferably white distilled
2 tbsp. canning or pickling salt
Procedure
Wash and chop vegetables. Combine all ingredients and boil gently until mixture thickens and volume is reduced by one-half (about 30 minutes). Fill sterile jars with hot relish, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, and seal tightly. Store in refrigerator and use within one month. Caution: If extended storage is desired, jars must be processed immediately after filling, as prescribed in Table 2.
Yield: About 9 half-pints
Pickled Corn-Pepper Relish
Ingredients
10 cups fresh whole kernel corn (16 to 20 medium-size ears), or six 10-ounce packages of frozen corn
2 1/2 cups sweet red peppers, diced
2 1/2 cups sweet green peppers, diced
2 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 1/4 cups small onions, diced
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 cups vinegar (5%)
2 1/2 tbsp. canning or pickling salt
2 1/2 tsp. celery salt
2 1/2 tbsp. dry mustard
1 1/4 tsp. turmeric
Procedure
Boil ears of corn 5 minutes. Dip in cold water. Cut whole kernels from cob or use six 10-ounce packages of frozen corn. Combine peppers, celery, onions, sugar, vinegar, salt, and celery seed in a saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix mustard and turmeric in 1/2 cup of the simmered mixture. Add this mixture and corn to the hot mixture. Simmer another 5 minutes. If desired, thicken mixture with flour paste (1/4 cup flour blended in 1/4 cup water) and stir frequently. Fill jars with hot mixture, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process jars as prescribed in Table 2.
Yield: About 9 half-pints
Nutritional Information
| Green Sweet (diced), Raw | Red Sweet (diced), Raw | Green Sweet (diced), Cooked | Green Pickled | Red Pickled | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 17 | 23 | 15 | 25 | 25 |
| Carbohydrates, g | 3.5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Fats, g | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Protein, g | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Sodium, mg | 10 | — | 7 | — | — |
| Vitamin A* | 6 | 60 | 6 | 15 | 230 |
| Vitamin C* | 160 | 250 | 130 | 130 | 60 |
| Thiamin | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Riboflavin | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 6 |
| Niacin | 2 | 2 | — | 8 | 2 |
* Expressed as percentage of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances (US RDA). Other vitamins contained at insignificant levels.
Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.
© 2001
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