How to Preserve Jalapeño Peppers

If your garden yielded a bumper crop of jalapeño peppers, you have the great opportunity to preserve them and make them last several seasons. Keeping jalapeño peppers for later use couldn't be easier. With a few things you have around the house already, you can save your peppers for spicy winter chilis.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Freezer bags
• Sterilized jars and lids
• Sugar
• White wine vinegar
• Peppercorns

1. Pick your peppers and wash them well. Be sure to rinse off all dirt and any insecticides or fertilizers you may have used in your garden.

2. Dry the peppers if you like. Leave them out or tie them together and let them hang to dry. It will take several weeks for the peppers to dry out, after which you can grind them or save them for decoration. Some people opt to remove stems and seeds and hang strips of peppers to dry.

3. Take out some freezer bags and fill them with washed peppers. Jalapeños will last a long time in the freezer. When you use them throughout the year, don't be alarmed when they seem soggy. This is OK; the peppers will still give good flavor. These peppers do well in stews, chilis, sauces and similar foods.

4. Can pickled peppers, using sterilized lids and jars. Be sure you follow all canning instructions so your food will be safe to eat. There are several recipes available online. Some recipes call for pickling slices of peppers while others are for pickling the entire pepper.

5. Keep them in the fridge. This method is like canning but without the pressurizing. You'll need sterilized jars and lids. Bring to a boil a half cup of sugar, a cup and a half of white wine vinegar, and a handful of peppercorns. Fill each jar with whole peppers and pour the hot mixture over them before replacing the lids. This will keep for about a year.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wear gloves or plastic bags on your hands when cutting hot peppers. Their heat lives in the stem and seeds. If the oils from the inside of the pepper get on your fingers, they'll burn and anything you touch-- like your eyes-- will, too.