Pepperoncinis

[sandyullom]

I just polished of a jar of these wonderful little peppers tonight and got to thinking that surely I could make my own next year. Wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of peppers I should grow and how to pickle them properly (if that's what you call it). I've never canned before but had planned to start with some basics this year (dill pickles, tomatoes, not sure what else).

 

[journey11]

That's what the pepper is called, pepperocini. I think I saw some in Baker's Creek seed catalog. I'm not sure what the brine recipe would be to pickle them, but I'm sure it won't be hard! Probably very basic, I imagine. I'll try to look around and see if I can find one.....

ETA: Ok, wasn't Baker's Creek.... Gonna look in my pile of catalogs.

 

[digitS']

Peperoncino is on page #40 of my Totally Tomatoes catalog. I ordered that variety for the first time, this year!

I know that there are other spellings but use that one for a search. You can find Totally Tomatoes and the other sister catalogs at egardenersplace.com.

In 'o9, I had the good fortune to grow Fushimi Japanese peppers. They were wonderful ! Perhaps like you, I've only had Peperoncino - pickled, in jars. After enjoying the Fushimi, I wanted to try some of these other mild, little peppers. I'll grow Fushimi again, too.

Best of Luck,

Steve

 

[journey11]

I found you a recipe here: http://walnutspinney.blogspot.com/2008/09/pickled-pepperoncini-peppers-or-hot.html

I canned a lot of pepper mustard (butter) and hot banana pepper rings this summer and thought about doing pepperoncini's too. They really are eat-the-whole-jar good!

Still can't figure out where I saw the seeds though... I have too many catalogs lying around!

 

[sandyullom]

Journey11 - could you share your banana pepper ring recipe with me? I have plans to try those this year as well.

Thanks all for the pepperocino info. If they don't have them at our local farm store, I'll order them from Totally Tomatoes. I've bookmarked the recipe and hopefully will have a good report to share later this fall!

 

[journey11]

This is the one I used for the pepper rings, from the Ball Blue Book... http://www.conknet.com/~planter/recipes/peppers_pickled.html
But it wasn't as pickled-tasting as I'd like. Focused more on the hot side, but they are still good baked on a pizza.

The other recipe is quite a bit different and can be used for any peppers, and should work well for banana pepper rings too. I think the horseradish should make them more interesting!

There is another recipe in the Blue Book for a brined pickled pepper, and I think I will try that one next time. It lets them ferment a bit before canning, 12-18 hours, and I think that might yield a result more like I had in mind for a pickled pepper. Here's that one: http://www.recipecottage.com/preserving/pickled-peppers01.html

 

[HunkieDorie23]

I canned the pickled peppers in the ball blue book for my husband and he thought they were a little mushy. Am I doing something wrong? My cucumbers are fine, but I soak them in lime for 12 hours before hand. Should I do this with my peppers?

 

[partyfowl]

Hello, Im new!

I also canned pepperchinis (pepperoncinis) last summer using the ball pickled pepper recipe. They were also mushy, gross mushy! However, I did have extra that didn't quite make a pint so I just put them in the back of the fridge for 6 weeks without processing and they were FANTASTIC!!! This year I will NOT process them, just ferment them in a gallon bucket like resturants do. Oh. you can buy seeds they Peaceful Valley Groworganic.com

Katie

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Having the responsibility of purchasing the second largest amount of pepperoncini for a restaurant chain (Papa John's is the biggest), they are never processed in a jar or can for commercial use. They are only brined.

Greece grows the most of them. Spain is #2. They harvest them all at once, in the early summer, then vat them up in a very very very unedible brine. Its important to note that these peppers are 'needled" - that is they are all punctured all over so that the brine enters the cavity of the pepper.

They sit for about a year. Then next year, the processors all over the world book their needs with the Greeks. These containers come over by boat, dock into NY and then get trucked to the pepper processors. Once they arrive, the peppers are washed, then washed again. This is to get rid of the horrible salty brine.

My specs for the chain I worked for, was a triple wash. Then they are packed into fresh brine again, in vats, but a fraction of the size of the Greek containers. Upon order, the peppers are repacked into jars, pails, plastic bags, etc and distributed to the distributors who sell them to the restaurants. The specs were water, salt, vinegar and a preservative to retain color. We also allowed tumeric to retain/enhance the color.

Due to the salt and vinegar percentages, they were shelf stable. You can check the internet for exact proportions.

 

[digitS']

Welcome, Katie !

Isn't it great to have Murphysranch with some expertise in this area!?!

I feel like I'm ahead of the curve for once in my life . . . I just went out and counted my Peperoncino plants - there are 20.

I doubt if I'll set them all out in the garden, whenever it is that I can get away with that. But, there does seem to be a big problem, now:

I haven't a clue how to pickle anything!! Oh yeah, I've tried - fail, fail, fail! Sauerkraut, dill pickles, salt pickles, even pastrami! Fail.

I'm hoping that no one is expecting me to know what I'm doing with these peppers! My intention from the 1st was to find out how similar they are to Fushimi. So, I'm planning on putting them in stir-fries . . .

Now, there are going to be TEG people wanting to slap me upside my head !

Steve