Pickled Hot Peppers for Winter, No Sterilizing
Make a marinade with character! Hot peppers put up for winter are a wonderful appetizer alongside any strong drink! This preserve is simple to make, needs no sterilizing, and keeps beautifully for several years thanks to its heat and the vinegar in the brine!
Cooking method
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Step 1:
How do you pickle hot peppers for winter? Gather all the ingredients. Canned hot peppers aren't a very popular preserve, and you won't eat a lot of them, so we'll make a small batch in the smallest jars. The peppers can be any size, shape, or color. I'd suggest choosing smaller varieties — bite-size ones. Small round hot peppers or bell-shaped ones work great.
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Step 2:
Wash the peppers and prick them in a few places with a toothpick. Many hot pepper varieties have very thick walls, and we want the marinade to get inside the peppers too.
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Step 3:
Sterilize the jars however is easiest for you. I simply put jars with a little water in the microwave for 5–7 minutes. But you can also sterilize them in the oven at 212°F (100°C) for about 30 minutes, hold them over steam, or pour boiling water over them. For the lids, a few minutes of boiling is enough.
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Step 4:
Fill the jars with the peppers.
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Step 5:
Pour boiling water over them, cover with the lids, and leave for about 10 minutes.
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Step 6:
Drain the water into a separate pot.
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Step 7:
Add the salt.
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Step 8:
Add the sugar.
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Step 9:
Pour in the vinegar. This recipe uses 6–9% vinegar; if you only have vinegar essence, dilute it with water at a 1:8 ratio. Bring the marinade to a boil.
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Step 10:
Pour the boiling marinade into the jar and seal the lid tightly or process it shut. No sterilizing needed.
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Step 11:
Enjoy!
- Remember that ingredients like salt, sugar, and vinegar (or its substitutes) are used in winter preserves not just for flavor but, above all, as preservatives. So never reduce the amount of salt and sugar, and never replace the vinegar (essence) with a weaker concentration than the recipe calls for — otherwise the vinegar (and salt/sugar) won't do their preserving job and the batch will spoil.
- For making it, it's best to use filtered or bottled water with a neutral taste. If you use tap water, keep in mind that it can give the dish an unpleasant off-flavor.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Wine vinegar (3%) - 9 kcal/100g
- Vinegar 9% - 11 kcal/100g
- Balsamic vinegar - 88 kcal/100g
- Apple cider vinegar - 14 kcal/100g
- Vinegar - 11 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Chili pepper - 40 kcal/100g
