Pickled Jalapenos

This is another recipe that I made before our kitchen renovation started (so literally months ago) because we had a surplus of jalapenos in our garden and I wanted to be able to eat them while we were kitchen-less.

If you like heat (the spicy kind of heat and not the temperature kind) then this might be the recipe for you! For some ungodly reason, our jalapeno plants have been producing intensely spicy peppers. Like, so spicy that I got into a coughing fit after slicing one open and smelling the capsaicin. Yeah. I hadn't even eaten it yet and my tongue was already ablaze.

I thought an appropriate solution would be to pickle the peppers, since pickling would tone down the intensity of the spice and make it edible instead of painful.

Ingredients [makes 2 pint-sized jars]

8 to 10 jalapenos

handful of baby carrots

½ cup diced onions

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional; if your jalapenos just aren't that spicy)

1½ cups water

½ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup salt

2 tablespoons sugar

Start by making the pickling liquid. Add peppercorns, smashed garlic, sugar, salt, water, and vinegar to a saucepan. If your jalapenos aren't too spicy and you think you need more heat, you can also add in some crushed red pepper flakes. I omitted the red pepper flakes because our jalapenos were plenty spicy. Heat over a low flame, just until the sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside to cool.

While the brine is cooling, slice up the jalapenos. I decided to wear a glove because the last time I cut these up, my fingers were sore and spicy for hours. I sliced the peppers really thinly so that each individual piece could be eaten without setting my lips on fire. If you prefer thicker slices, if you don't like wearing gloves, then slice them thick and don't wear gloves.

Next, add the jalapenos to the jar. On top of that, add in the diced onions. And then on top of that, add in the baby carrots (cut into smaller chunks). I love the layers of color; it looks pretty and festive.

Pour the pickling liquid into each jar, making sure everything is submerged. If you can get a bit of garlic in each jar, that's a good thing.

Close up the jars and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. After a day, put the pickles in the refrigerator and they'll be ready to enjoy in 2 to 3 days. Obviously, I didn't sterilize my jars and seal them properly. In my house, pickles don't last v. long, which is why I don't bother getting fancy and sealing them. These will last up to a month in the fridge this way. Sterilized and sealed jars will probably last for much longer. My guess? Six months, maybe.

After 3 days, the color of the peppers will have dulled to a khaki green color. If you're wondering about the background, I took these pickles outside and did a "photoshoot" next to the plants that provided them. If you're unaware, since the beginning of August, we've been working on renovating our kitchen. These pickles were made just before our kitchen went bye-bye and then they were ready to eat after our kitchen was demolished. So, I didn't have my normal tabletop to take photos on.

Depending on your peppers, these pickles can be pretty spicy so just be aware (and warn fellow diners) before large forkfuls get chucked into any unsuspecting mouths. Ours were horror movie spicy; they broke me out into a cold and fearful sweat. No, I'm kidding, but they were decently spicy. And actually, the carrots were the spiciest bits so watch out for those.

Here's the recipe page: