Use fresh banana peppers for quality taste.
A great way to preserve the taste and quality of your banana peppers is to pickle them in canning jars. Canning banana peppers lets you eat them throughout the year, and pickling enhances and preserves their strong flavor. Named after their similarity in appearance to the banana, these peppers are prepared in a variety of ways. Pickling your own banana peppers proves rewarding because they stay fresh for a long time, and it helps to preserve their color, texture and taste better than placing them in the freezer.
Instructions
1. Select the ripest banana peppers in your bunch. Discard soft peppers and peppers with imperfections, such as discolorations. Peppers measuring 1 to 1¼ inches in diameter tend to work the best.
2. Wash the peppers under warm water. This removes any dirt, debris or pesticides that rest on the surface.
3. Sanitize the canning jars. Place the jars, lids and rings in a large pot of boiling water and boil them for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Pour white vinegar into a pan. Place the pan over medium-high heat. You will need 2 cups of white vinegar for each jar of banana peppers.
5. Sit the rack in the bottom of the pressure canner. Add 2 to 4 inches of hot water into the canner, and place it over low heat. Leave the lid off the pressure canner, and follow the directions that came with your pressure canner to know what setting to use.
6. Cut the banana peppers into small round sections. Keep the sections no larger than an inch wide. Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers.
7. Blanch the banana peppers in boiling water. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and allow the peppers to blanch for three minutes. Pour them in a colander to drain, and sit a bowl underneath to catch the water. Pour this water back into the pot, and set it on the stove top to bring it to a boil.
8. Add the banana peppers to the canning jars. Leave 1 inch of head space at the top.
9. Pour 2 cups of the white vinegar into each canning jar. Still keep 1 inch of head space on top of the canning jars. Top each jar off with boiling water, and add ½ tsp. of salt to each jar. Place the canning jar lids on top, and screw on the rings.
10. Sit the canning jars in the pressure canner. Add water to the canner if the water dropped below 3 inches, and then place the lid on top without the weight or valve open.
11. Let the canner steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the steam stops coming from the pressure canner, replace the valve or close the vents.
12. Follow the directions that came with your pressure canner. Typically, banana peppers will need canned at 10 pounds of pressure, but it depends on your altitude. They will need 10 to 20 minutes of processing time, also depending on your altitude.
13. Remove the pressure canner from the heat. Allow the pressure to drop to zero, and then remove the weight or open the vent to remove the lid. Allow the jars to cool, and check to make sure that they sealed properly. Press down one each lid, and if you hear a popping or clicking sound, they will need processed again with new lids in the pressure canner.
Tags: pressure canner, banana peppers, canning jars, banana peppers, will need, boiling water
