How to Can Peppers: Why You Should be Pickling a Peck
Have you ever wondered how or why to pickle peppers? Or how many pickled peppers are in a peck? If you have, you’re in luck because October is Pickled Peppers Month! A peck is an old unit of measurement equal to one-quarter of a bushel, which is two gallons or eight quarts. Peter Piper had a good bit of picking to do to end up with that many pickled peppers!
Luckily, the pickling part is pretty simple. For a simple pickled pepper recipe, I sought the help of Pinterest and found hundreds of Pickled Pepper Pictures. There are a lot of pepper picklers out there. But, while you can pickle just about any pepper, I wanted to keep it simple and pickle a mix of bell peppers.
Why should you pickle? There are the preservation benefits, which is why our grandparents pickled vegetables. But besides the preservation of your fresh garden peppers so none goes to waste, pickled foods have health benefits as well. They’re a great crunchy snack that can take the place of less healthy munchies while also providing essential nutrients to your diet. Peppers (and other vegetables used in pickling) are packed full of vitamins. Peppers are particularly high in Vitamin C, with 25 percent of your daily allotment found in just 1/4 cup of pickled peppers.They are also a great source of friendly bacteria and enzymes that can help regulate digestion and ease some digestive disorders.
*Note that if you’re on a low sodium diet, you’ll want to be a tad wary of pickled foods, or use sodium-free salt substitute in lieu of salt in your pickling process.
Pickled Bell Peppers
Ingredients
2 pounds mixed bell peppers
2 large onions
6 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar or honey granules
1/4 cup salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup coriander
6 Tablespoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 teaspoons oregano
16 cloves garlic (about one head)
Method
Slice all of your peppers into strips. Slice onions. Mix peppers and onions and set aside.
Add remaining ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture over the peppers and onions, stirring to coat all of the veggies.
Let the mixture cool. You can place it in the refrigerator if you’re eating the pickled peppers the same day. You’ll want to allow about 4 hours for the flavors to marry. Otherwise, divide your pickled peppers among canning jars and process in a boiling water canner.
Yield: About 3 quarts
Keep in touch with Kristi on Twitter @VeggieConverter and on Pinterest
Image: jeffreyw
