Elm Farm

Family owned & farmed in Marshfield, MO

Canning Peppers

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Summer abundance sounds amazing until you have 20 pounds of jalapeños staring at you every time you walk into your kitchen.

Maybe if you’re like my sister and her husband, that sounds like the dream ingredient. But to most of us regular folks, 1-2 jalapeño peppers can last a whole week.

Below is a collection of pepper canning recipes that have helped us enjoy our spicy pepper bounty more each year.

Cowboy Candy

Cowboy Candy

Recipe by Cherith Mitchell
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

There's a thousand recipes for this delight, but this one is the one we'll use every time.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb fresh jalapenos

  • 1 sliced onion

  • Brine

  • 2 c apple cider vinegar

  • 6 c white granulated sugar

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

  • 1/2 tsp celery seed

  • 3 garlic cloves minced

  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

  • (Wearing gloves) Remove the stems from all of the jalapeno peppers. Slice the peppers into 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. Slice onions into rings. Set aside.
  • In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, garlic and red pepper flakes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Raise the heat to boiling again, add the pepper slices, return to a hard boil, then reduce the heat again and simmer for exactly 4 minutes.
  • Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean half pint canning jars to within 1/2 inch of the upper rim of the jar.
  • Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.
  • Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Wipe the rims of the jars and add lids to finger-tip tightness (nice and snug, don't be a wimp).
  • Process jars in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Pepper Jelly

Pepper Jelly

Recipe by Cherith Mitchell
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups finely diced bell pepper (about 8-10)

  • 1/2 cup jalapeños (about 5)

  • 5 cups granulated sugar

  • 1 1/4 cups white or apple cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1.75oz - 3oz powdered pectin (see notes)

Directions

  • Use a combination of bell pepper colors for festive jam. Remove seeds and veins from the jalapeños. Replace jalapeños with more bell peppers for a more mild jelly.
  • Deseed bell peppers and prepare jalapeños. Pulse in food processor to dice finely - do not fully puree. Strain the juice off the peppers through a fine mesh strainer. Let sit 30 minutes and squeeze out excess liquid. Measure out 3 cups of diced peppers.
  • Combine peppers with lemon juice and vinegar in a large pan. Whisk in pectin until dissolved and heat mixture over medium high heat. Stir often. Bring to a boil.
  • Add sugar to boiling mixture, stirring constantly, and return to a boil. Boil hard for 1-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off any foam.
  • Ladle jelly into prepared half pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
  • Wipe rims, apply lids & process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Notes

  • Pectin does not change the acidity or safety of a recipe. (Now that we've gotten that out of the way...)
  • Use 1 1.75oz package of pectin if you like a loose and runny pepper jelly. But if you're like my brothers and husband, use 3-3.5oz (depending on if you're using a bag you bought in bulk or the little pre-packaged ones from the grocery store) for a firm set that allows for spreading rather than dribbling the pepper jelly on your cream cheese and cracker.

Marinated Red Peppers