Here’s an old Italian recipe for canning peppers, one of my husband’s favorites. Searching the internet, you’ll come across many variations — all probably good — but here’s a basic recipe to start you on your course. The kids and I canned these using the boiling method, though pressure canners might make the process easier. Not sure how, though, as this was as simple to do as it gets!
Unfortunately, I can’t give you too much direction on amounts. Apparently the Italians are like my mother in the sense they do everything “by taste.” I had my husband on hand to do the honors. Undoubtedly you’ll find your own guinea pig!
Now comes the fun part. First you cut your peppers and remove the seeds. The seeds are the hottest part and will overpower the flavor of your peppers. To begin, remove stems from your peppers and then cut them to desired thickness. I cut mine into about 1/4″ rings. Next, you must dry your peppers as well as you possibly can. Lay them out in a dish and liberally sprinkle table salt over the peppers. Best to remove as many seeds during this process as you can, then let them sit in salt for at least 3 1/2 hours. We let ours sit overnight.
This will dehydrate the peppers, leaving your dish full (relatively speaking) of water. Before draining the water, rinse the peppers thoroughly in water to remove any remaining salt. To drain, leave peppers in a colander. We pressed ours with a heavy weight to be sure the water drained out as much as possible.
Once drained, add oregano, garlic powder and canola oil to taste. Mix well.
Cold-pack the peppers in canning jars and be sure to follow manufacturer’s directions for safe and healthy canning procedures. We boiled water in a large pot, making sure there was at least an inch of water over and above the height of our jars. Also, place a wire rack on bottom of pot, setting jars on top. This allows for water to circulate beneath the jars for complete heating.
While water is heating up, keep your jars and lids warm (helps to avoid glass breakage when full jars are submerged in boiling water). The blue gadget is a funnel to make filling your jars easier. This one came in a kit I found at my local grocery store. Also, when filling, you may need to add more oil to completely cover peppers — but don’t overfill. You must leave room for expansion as food heats, so follow directions per your recipe. We left 1/2 inch of space at the top of ours.
Boiling time depends on what you’re canning and how large your jar is, so boil according to instructions. In our case, we used small jars and boiled for approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
Serve with fresh from the bakery Italian bread — or home-baked, if you’re the industrious sort. We enjoy ours on pizza.
RECIPE
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 6 jars
Ingredients
Large basket full of Hungarian Wax peppers
Table salt
Canola oil
Oregano
Garlic powder
Instructions
Remove the stems and seeds, then cut your peppers to about ¼” thick rings. The seeds are the hottest part and will overpower the flavor of your peppers.
Next, you must dry your peppers as well as you possibly can. Lay them out in a dish and liberally sprinkle table salt over the peppers, then let them sit in salt for at least 3½ hours. We let ours sit overnight.
Before draining, rinse the peppers thoroughly in water to remove any remaining salt. To drain, leave peppers in a colander.
Once drained, add oregano, garlic powder and canola oil to taste. Mix well.
Cold-pack the peppers in canning jars and be sure to follow manufacturer’s directions for safe and healthy canning procedures.
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Make sure the water level will be at least an inch over and above the height of your jars. Also, place a wire rack on bottom of pot, setting jars on top. This allows for water to circulate beneath the jars for complete heating.
While water is heating up, keep your jars and lids warm (helps to avoid glass breakage when full jars are submerged in boiling water). When filling, you may need to add more oil to completely cover peppers — but don’t overfill. You must leave room for expansion as food heats, so follow directions per your recipe. We left ½ inch of space at the top of ours.
Boiling time depends on what you’re canning and how large your jar is, so boil according to instructions. In our case, we used small jars and boiled for approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
Note: Best to refrigerate and consume within 2 – 3 days. For long term storage, low acidic foods (vegetables) should be canned via the pressure canner. Higher acidic foods (fruits and pickled vegetables) may be safely canned and stored using this boiling method.
I really enjoyed reading about Hungarian Wax Peppers! They sound like a great addition to the garden.