Hot Banana Pepper Rings

Things have been heating up here at Kim's Country Kitchen! Today, I canned 14 pints and 5 quarts of Hot Pepper Rings. I really need to learn not order so much from my Farmer's Market...lol. I honestly had no idea I would get so many jars from a 1/2 bushel (this is why I decided to keep a canning journal!) I also learned that "laytex gloves" do not work well...my hands still feel a bit of the burn. I highly recommend a good pair of traditional Rubber Gloves when canning hot peppers. This recipe is really quite easy though.

Ingredients:

1/2 Bushel Banana Peppers (or less!)

Wash, deseed, and slice peppers

Canning Liquid:

1/4 cup canning salt

1 quart white vinegar

3 quarts water

(For a 1/2 bushel of peppers, I had to make two batches of liquid, so really one peck basket of peppers would be plenty and still yeild about 12 pints)

Pack your sliced pepper rings into hot, sterilezed jars. I added a clove of garlic to each jar as well. Wipe your jar rims and seal. Process full jars in a boiling water bath for no more than five minutes (or you'll have mushy peppers)

And when all is done, you'll have beautiful jars of Hot Pepper Rings to enjoy with Chili, Italian Pasta dishes, or on sandwiches!

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Kimberly

Kosher-Style Dill Pickles

It's canning season here and I've been in quite a pickle! This weekend I canned Dill pickles and Bread & Butter pickles, and I have enough cucumbers left to start the seven day process for Sweet Pickles! Today, I'm sharing with you my recipe for Kosher-Style Dill Pickles pictured above. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 pounds cucumber approximately 3-4 inches in length with ends sliced

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canning salt (not table salt!)

1 quart vinegar

1 quart water

3 Tablespoons pickling spices (I tie these in cheesecloth)

Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a large sauce pot. Tie spices in cheesecloth; add to vinegar mixture; simmer 15 minutes.

Pack cucumbers into hot jars and add the following to each jar:

1 Bay Leaf

1 Clove of Garlic

1 piece hot red pepper

1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seed

1 Head of Fresh Dill

Bring vinegar and water to a boil. Pour hot liquid over cucumbers, leaving a 1/4-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts for 15 minutes in boiling water bath.

Yield: about 7 pints

Note: I used about a 1/2 bushel, or 2 peck baskets, of cucumbers. I had to make two double batches plus one single batch of liquid and I got 19 quart jars.