Canning Peppers
Helpful Tips on Canning Peppers
You may think that canning peppers would be expensive or difficult, but it’s really not. The only thing you need that you perhaps don’t already have is a pressure canner. We are providing full directions below, and when you open a jar of peppers next winter, you’ll find that they are *way* better than any canned peppers bought in a store.
Don’t be tempted to cut corners and use the water bath method of canning peppers, instead of using a pressure canner. The temperatures do not get high enough in the water bath method to kill the bacteria of botulism.
Peppers prepared in the way we describe will be storable for up to a year, and they don’t require special attention, except to place them in a dark, cool place.
You will need:
Peppers
Jar funnel
Jar grabber, so you can pick up hot jars
Large ladles and spoons
One or two large pots
Salt (this is optional)
Ball jars
One six to eight quart saucepan or pot
1 pressure canner
Select canning peppers that are crisp and fresh. Old, limp peppers will make poor tasting canned peppers. Select smaller peppers, about an inch to an inch and a quarter across. Bigger peppers can be too tough and fibrous. Use rubber gloves if you are doing hot peppers, or they can burn your skin and eyes.
The next step in canning peppers is to thoroughly wash your lids and jars. Then use your large pot of boiling water to pour over all the peppers. Heat up your pressure canner and get it ready. Put the rack in the bottom of the canner, and put about four inches with hot water from the tap.
Next wash the peppers, cut them up and then remove the seeds. Then blister the peppers. Heat up a frying pan and lay your peppers in it, and when the skin blisters, you can cool them and peel the skin off easily.
Pack your jars and then pour hot water into every jar. Leave about one inch of space in the jars. Flatten your whole peppers and add a half teaspoon of salt to each jar if you want to (you don’t *have* to add salt – it’s a personal preference). Fill each jar with peppers, loosely, still leaving that one inch at the top of every jar open. Fill to within one inch of the top with boiling water, covering the peppers. Then put the lids and rings on. Screw the lids on snugly, but NOT with all your strength.
Put your peppers into the pressure canner. Let it vent steam for about ten minutes, on high heat. Then put the weight on and let the pressure begin to build up. Process for thirty-five minutes, adjusting the heat to keep them at eleven pounds of pressure.
Turn off the heat on your pressure canner, and let it get cool. After the pressure has dropped to zero, wait a few more minutes and then open the vent and let the steam escape.
Remove the jars from the canner and let them cool overnight in a draft-free location where they won’t be bumped. After the jars cool, you can check to make sure that they are still sealed. If you press in the center of the lid and it pops down and then back up, it is not sealed. Place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator, so you can still use them.
Enjoy your peppers through the winter months, and save money by not buying canned peppers at the grocery store.