Preserving peppers. They can also be combined with gherkins

Gherkin season is slowly drawing to a close, but the peppers are still growing. If we take a look at many of the plants, we’ll see that they’re starting to flower again and there’s no doubt that more fruit will appear. These ‘ram’s horns’ certainly still deserve some attention. The same goes for jalapeños, habaneros and many other varieties, some of which are even hotter. It’s certainly worth preserving them. If you’ve got a few cucumbers left over as well, it’s a no-brainer – after all, these two types of vegetable can be successfully combined. We’ve done just that and are happy to share the details with you.

A brine suitable for both types of vegetable

The basis for preserving any vegetable is undoubtedly the right brine. We used the following to prepare it:

– 2,700 ml of water,

– 450 ml of vinegar,

– 120 grams of sugar

– and 45 grams of salt.

We mixed all the ingredients together and slowly brought them to the boil. We ended up with a brine that was just right.

Photo: Radek Stepan

Preparing the peppers and gherkins for the jars

Whilst the brine is boiling, it’s easy to prepare the gherkins and peppers for the jars. We prepare the preserving jars and gradually fill them with gherkins, peppers, a little onion and carrot. I add a few allspice berries, whole peppercorns and some mustard seeds. Once the jars are packed full, it’s time for the brine.

Filling the jars with brine and sealing

Once the jars are packed full of vegetables, you can easily pour the brine over the peppers and gherkins. The brine should reach right up to the top of the jar. Then screw the lids on the jars tightly and bring a large saucepan of water to 80 degrees. We sterilise the mixture of peppers and gherkins at this temperature for just 5 minutes. This should be more than enough, and we can be sure that the delicate peppers, in particular, won’t overcook. The mixture will look perfect in the end, as you can see from our photos. The flavour is also absolutely phenomenal.

Sources: Author

Photo and photogallery: Radek Stepan