I have tried and failed miserably. Not that they were mushy, just not close to tasting like Rosa or Cento. They use preservatives like benzoate of soda (whatever that is) & sodium bisulfite. They claim the rest is just vinegar , salt & water. I donno. If u figure it out, let me in on the secret please. I just re use the juice from the store bought stuff. Yeah, I cheat! So?

If you are only making one jar, do not bother boiling it. If you are canning a bunch, I know you have to boil it to seal the jars.

I made a batch of pickled pepperoncini a few days ago. I harvested 31 peppers and poked holes in all of them with a fork. I placed them in jar. I then boiled a 3 to 1 ratio white vinegar and water and then poured that liquid into the jar. I then added about a half teaspoonful of salt, about a teaspoonfull of peppercorns and about a tablespoon of finely minced garlic. And then put that jar in the fridge to chill.

Mine were crunchy the next day and the next couple days after. They are eaten now :)

Redsox, maybe you left that boiling mixture on them too long before chilling? and cooked em.

Like the other guys said maybe it aint neccesary to boil that liquid if ya planning on eating em in the near future and want an off the plant crunch. Me personally i enjoyed mine. The boiling liquid and the into the fridge to chill made em a good texture for me. They werent soggy by no meens but definetly still had a crunch to the texture.

yeah well, I did make a bunch of jars, so eating right away isn't an option. I just don't get it how do they do it for store brands? I also cut a small slice in my whole peppers. I have about 100 more peppers ready and want to try again but know the same thing will happen! Its obvious what is happening (the boiling water is cooking the peppers), I just don't know what to do to stop it. I'll just keep posting until somebody comes across this that knows the answer to making crispy pickled pepperoncini's!!! Thanks everyone

I think the vaccuum process allows the pods to stay crispy.

Josh

Keep posting! Good luck with that! Yeah, you're obviously cooking them. Try cooling your brine first. You are obviously bitter about the whole thing. Relaaaaax! You're supposed to be enjoying this!

Sorry if I seem bitter, I just have a ton more ready to be jarred and I want to get it right. If I cooled the brine, the jars wouldn't seal right, would they? is there another way to seal the jars?
I do definitely enjoy gardening, its the jarring that throws me a curve!

No need to appoligize. Yes, the hot brine seals the jars but it's cooking the peppers making them mushy. You said u have tons of them so try just for one jar, cooling the brine before pouring it in the "Hot" jar, then when everything is in place & sealed, try a hot water bath. I experemented with this tecnique using hot cherry peppers (I had the mushy problem) and I worked. So just give the jar of peppers & cooled brine a hot water bath for a few mins. It should seal the jar. I'm new to all this as well so I may not be giving u the best advice but someone suggested this to me & it worked. We're talking about 2 totally different animals here (banana & cherry), but it may work.

redsox, you might try asking over at the harvest forum. I bet someone over there has a cool trick to keep your peppers from getting mushy.

here you go. This is a great recipe and it works like a charm. If you add a small (early spring pea) size piece of alum, it stays even crisper. But if you don't add it, they will keep well for a year anyway. Don't pickle red peppers, they get soft every time. Use green ones only.

4 Pint jars, canning rings and lids

sliced peppers, hot banana, pepperoncini, jalapenos, big Jim, or whatever kind you want to use, If you use whole peppers, cut a large slit in the sides of each one so brine can get inside.

1 1/2 quarts water (6 cups)

2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup pickling salt

In clean jars, place the sliced peppers, filling each jar about 3/4 full to allow room for peppers to expand.

Mix the water, vinegar, and pickling salt and bring to a boil.

Pour boiling brine over the peppers to 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Place 2 jars at a time in microwaveand heat on high for about one minute. Immediately, Seal the jars with the canning lids that have been boiling in a pan of water.
set the jars on a towel on the kitchen counter. They should seal on their own at this point. They will keep at room temperature for at least a year. Keep out of bright light to preserve color. If they don't seal, place jars in refrigerator and use within 3 months of opening jars.

Well thank u sandy! Very easy step by step instructions! One question. Do they taste like the store brand? That was the reason Redsox posted this. Peppers don't taste like the store brands.

Maybe look into that label on the store bought stuff and find what "preservative" they use. Maybe that will give it the "taste" yer looking for.

Just made 31 more a few hours ago and half the jar is gone already, lol. I love em and my 7 old daughter loves em too.
I dont think ill have a need to long term preserve these peppers at the rate they fly out of the fridge.

On a side note, i did the same proccess as before, boiling vinegar and water and pouring into the used pickle jar over the slit peppers with some sea salt and garlic and peppercorns. I promptly put that jar in the freezer to chill.

After 15 minutes in the freezer i pulled them out to taste one. This particular jar actually sealed im thinking cause when i opened the lid it made a popping noise.

Yes, they stay crispy, for a long time. I haven't kept them over a year yet, but they were still crisp at the end of 6 months.
The jalapenos and hot banana peppers pickled that way taste just like the store ones. Don't use any peppers that are turning red though. Those are the ones that get mushy.
I have been having a problem finding the exact same type of pepperoncini as the store ones though. The ones that I grow always end up a little longer and less fat at the top.

Use the mushy peppers in Original Homemade Italian Beef
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/original-homemade-italian-beef/Detail.aspx

Use the mushy peppers in Original Homemade Italian Beef
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/original-homemade-italian-beef/Detail.aspx

Around here all the old Italians that pickle their wax peppers use a very simple ratio.

In pint jars 2-3 cloves of garlic sliced
jar packed tight with peppers
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1 teaspoon sugar
heat lids in warm water just to a boil
screw on lids and let sit for about a month

no hot water bath as long as you use new lids we have never had a problem

I also experimented with the 3-1 ratio as stated above and had good results the garlic wasnt as rank and I like the flavor better. I poured the brine over the pepper hot and put the lids on similar to how I do jelly as they cooled it sealed the jar no hot water bath needed.

I would think that the rapid cooling methods some stated would jeopordize (sp) the seal.

lots of ways to do it search for recipes get a ball blue book and then do it your own way

but definately get a ball blue book 8 bucks at wal mart or OSH

"Around here all the old Italians that pickle their wax peppers use a very simple ratio"

What do they add it to, the vinegar/water solution? A little more info, please. Any recipies to brine these and store in olive oil?

I can tell you why the peppers are getting limp and soft.
There is a product made by BALL called Pickle Crisp Granules
It is 5.5 oz's and is in a small plastic squaty jar with a green lid
with the canning stuff. This is calcium chloride which takes the
place of liming. I have used this product for 2 years and I use
more than the amount on jar. My peppers and pickles are wonderful.
I use a 1/4 teaspoon rounded to each pint and a rounded teasptoon to
Quarts. I use Mrs Wages kosher pickle pkg & extra dill, red pepper and jalapeno etc. to spice up pickles. This same pkt. Is great for peppers!
Mrs Wages has wonderful premeasured packets of ingredients for spaghetti
Sayer, sweet relish, kosher pickles, bread and butter pickles and salsa.

Are you a spammer huntergirl?

---

"I can tell you why the peppers are getting limp and soft. "

Low testosterone??

;)

Kevin

Huntergirl is right about the pickle crisp, although I've still had soft pickles using it. Maybe she's right about using more than the jar recommends. That's what I'll try next time I pickle (which should be later today.)

The secret to a crisp pickle is no secret.
Calcium chloride is one of the ingredients.
There are other things like young grape leaves, cherry leaves... These are the stuff that contain TANNIN , a natural preservative that prevents the enzymes and bacteria to change the composition.

ANOTHER NOTE:

When you fill the jar with all the ingredients and pour the brine/vinegar mix, there is still a lot of air inside the peppers. It will take a while for the solution to penetrate and get into the peppers. As it happens, a lot of air will be accumulated on the top of jar. To remedy this, I will keep the jar in the frig for a while and keep adding more of the solution(Hopefully you saved some extra !)

I have not done this with pepperoncini (never had) but have pickled shishito(Japanese), which is similar in shape and texture.

TYPES OF PICKLES:

There are 2 methods : (1) Refrigerated & (2) Fermented.

I do the (1). The (2) requires good canning/sealing practice. For me that I make one jar, it is not worthwhile to go through all the troubles of fermenting process.

The secret to a crisp pickle is no secret.
Calcium chloride is one of the ingredients.
There are other things like young grape leaves, cherry leaves... These are the stuff that contain TANNIN , a natural preservative that prevents the enzymes and bacteria to change the composition.

ANOTHER NOTE:

When you fill the jar with all the ingredients and pour the brine/vinegar mix, there is still a lot of air inside the peppers. It will take a while for the solution to penetrate and get into the peppers. As it happens, a lot of air will be accumulated on the top of jar. To remedy this, I will keep the jar in the frig for a while and keep adding more of the solution(Hopefully you saved some extra !)

I have not done this with pepperoncini (never had) but have pickled shishito(Japanese), which is similar in shape and texture.

TYPES OF PICKLES:

There are 2 methods : (1) Refrigerated & (2) Fermented.

I do the (1). The (2) requires good canning/sealing practice. For me that I make one jar, it is not worthwhile to go through all the troubles of fermenting process.

Does anyone know what the secret to a crisp pickle is?

Could it be a pinch of V i a g r a ?

You guys have lost your minds.

LMAO.....Phildeez you're killing me.

Tim