Peppers, if frozen first, turn far to mushy when thawed to waste time canning them IMO. Really poor pickling quality.

But they freeze exceptionally well to use for later cooking so that is what we do with most of our peppers. Fast and easy to do.

But if it is pickled peppers you want then freezing isn't the way to go. Pickle them as they become available. JUst make up the brine and keep it in the fridge.

Just like cukes and other foods to be pickled, if you want enough to make a full batch at one time then you have to grow many more plants. It is the only way to have enough to do at one time.

Dave

Thanks for the quick reply, Dave. That's what I suspected. I'm afraid I am on my way to MANY more plants next year. I spent all morning researching different colors of cherry tomatoes for planting next year. I have the bug......(the good bug)......

One thing you can do to avoid processing one or two jars is to make another recipe that uses the same processing time (usually would be another type of pickle).

You can combine a few jars of each batch to get a full load, or at least closer.

Also, remember, you don't have to use a huge water bath canner. Use any pot that is tall enough to cover the jars with 1-2 inches of water. Just be sure you've got a rack or towel in the bottom to avoid direct contact between jars and pan. You can process smaller amounts this way, but still uses the fuel.

Freezing is a great way to go for cooking uses though as Dave said. I do many bell peppers and roasted mild chilies that way.

Deanna

I cut up and froze Jalapenos last summer and saved them in the freezer till I had enough to do candied Jalapenos they were not mushy they were fine I also saved some for making salsa I have not tried pickling them after freezing them yet

Right now Hatch Chilis are in the stores. I bought a bunch to make sauce and some to freeze for future meals. I love chili rellenos-type dishes and the frozen chili peppers work great. i also have jalapenos in the garden and hot Italians. Those and the some of the Hatches will all go in the blender to make a shaker-type sauce that will go on top of many dishes and will last about a year. (i'm using the last drop of the sauce I made last year.) The rest of the jalepinos will get tossed in a freezer container one by one as they get red/ripe. Chili peppers and tomatoes I have frozen for winter's meals.

The Hot Italian Pepper plant got water-logged by an errant sprinkler and is most stressed, perhaps dieing. I took off all the peppers to give it a chance at getting well.

All those peppers went into bags, were FoodSaver-ed, and tossed in the freezer for future reference. I didn't want to lose a one.