Honeyed hot pepper Rounds

 Honeyed Jalapeño Rounds

Although the jalapeño is probably the most popular chile in North America, the many

cultivars sold today vary so much that some are barely recognizable as jalapeños. Big ones,

looking more like Anaheims, are meant for stuffing. Others have had all their heat bred out of

them. For this pickle you want traditional jalapeños—small and hot, but not too hot. If you

can’t find them, consider using serranos instead. The pickle will be particularly appealing if

you mix green and red peppers.

You can seed the peppers or not, as you wish (but wear gloves if you do). After cutting the

peppers into rings, you can take out most of the seeds with a grapefruit spoon (a pointed

teaspoon with serrated sides) or a swivel-style vegetable peeler. Then put the rings into a

colander, and rinse off the seeds still clinging to the peppers. Some people cut the peppers

into rounds and then seed each round with the tip of an apple corer.

Though popular with my readers, this recipe has frustrated me: The peppers soften too

much. To keep them a bit firmer, you can add a pinch of Pickle Crisp (calcium chloride; see

here) to each jar just before processing. For still crisper peppers, you can treat the pepper

rounds with lime, as recommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation:

Soak them in limewater (1 1/2 cups pickling lime to 1 1/2 gallons water) in the fridge for 18

hours, stirring occasionally; rinse them; and then soak them three times in cold water, for 1

hour at a time, rinsing between soaks.

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s version of this recipe the peppers are “coldpacked”—

that is, they are put into jars raw. Cold-packing may lessen softening, but it can

also cause the peppers to float in the jars. For cold-packed pepper rings that don’t float, try

the variation that follows.

Pickled jalapeño rounds are usually used as a table condiment, to spoon right into tacos or

black bean soup.

Makes 8 to 10 half-pints

24 to 30 whole black peppercorns

8 to 10 small garlic cloves, sliced

2 tablespoons Mixed Pickling Spices

1 quart cider vinegar (5 percent)

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons pickling salt

2 1/4 pounds jalapeño peppers, cut into 3/16-inch rings and, if you like, seeded

4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Put three peppercorns and a garlic clove into 8 half-pint mason jars. Have 2 more

half-pint jars ready in case you need them.

2. Tie the spices in a spice bag or scrap of cheesecloth and put it into a saucepan with

the vinegar, honey, and salt. Bring the contents slowly to a boil. Add the pepper rings,

and bring the contents back to a simmer.

3. Divide the peppers among the jars, and pour the hot liquid over them, leaving a little

more than 1/2 inch headspace. Discard the spice bag. Pour about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive

oil into each jar and close the jars with two-piece caps. Process the jars for 10 minutes

in a boiling-water bath.

4. Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 weeks before eating the

peppers.

Cold-Packed Jalapeño Rounds

Follow the recipe, but toss the peppers with 4 teaspoons salt and let them stand,

preferably in the refrigerator, for 2 to 3 hours. Drain them well, but don’t rinse them

unless you’re trying to reduce your family’s salt intake. Heat the vinegar with the honey

and spices but without added salt; let the mixture simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Put

the pepper rounds into the mason jars with the peppercorns and garlic, and pour the hot

vinegar over. Add the olive oil, and process the jars

Notes:

cut to 1/4

I used hot Hungarian wax peppers