What I Put Away For Later

Pickled Peppers & Onions
For Cold Storage or Safe Canning

This is poetry with rules.
Because if you don’t get the acid right,
someone can get hurt.
And I’m not writing an elegy for a sandwich.

Yields: About 4–5 pint jars

Ingredients:

• 1½ to 2 lbs Anaheim chilies, washed and sliced into rings or strips

• 2 large Vidalia onions or red onions, slivered thin

• 3–5 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks (1–2 per jar)

• 4–6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

• 4–5 bay leaves

• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns per jar

• 3 cups raw apple cider vinegar (at least 5% acidity – check the label)

• 3 cups filtered, non-chlorinated water

• 3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt (non-iodized)

• 2 tablespoons white sugar (optional)

• Sterile pint mason jars

• Fresh sterile lids and rings

Tongs, towel, ladle, clean workspace

Safety First:

• Your brine must contain at least 50% vinegar with 5% acidity.

• Do not reduce vinegar or salt if canning.

If not canning, store in the fridge and consume within 2 months.

Instructions:

1. Make the brine:
   In a stainless steel saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar.
   Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve salt and sugar, and simmer gently. Keep warm.

2. Pack hot, sterile jars:
   Divide peppers, onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns evenly.
   Leave ½ inch headspace.

3. Add hot brine:
   Pour brine over vegetables, covering them fully while maintaining ½ inch headspace.
   Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic tool. Wipe jar rims and seal with lids and rings.

4. Processing Options:
   
   A. For shelf-stable canning:

• Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (for pint jars).

• Remove and cool. Check seals after 12 hours.

• Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.
  

5. B. For refrigerator pickles (no canning):

• Let cool at room temperature.

• Store in the refrigerator.

• Allow to cure at least 3 days before eating. Use within 2 months.
  

Kitchen Note:

This isn’t a casual kind of magic.
It’s intention, science, and memory held in balance.
I don’t play loose when someone might open this jar
and trust what I made.

A good sandwich starts in summer.
With salt, acid, clean hands,
and the will to keep going
even when the cold’s still months away