Spicy Hot Pepper Pineapple Pickle
Vegan. Gluten-free.
Aids Digestion.
Use as a dressing, marinade, or to add a splash of spicy flavor to anything you want.
Ingredients
1/2 lb hot peppers (banana, serrano jalapeno, cayenne or a mix of your favorites)
3 spring onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root
1 inch piece of turmeric root (or 1 tsp turmeric powder if fresh root is not available)
1 tsp peppercorns and/or coriander seeds
8 oz white distilled vinegar
8 oz apple cider or banana vinegar
8 oz pineapple or pineapple-orange juice
2 TBSP table salt or refined sea salt 2 TBSP sugar
Utensils
Sharp knife
Heavy bottomed saucepan or pot large enough for all the ingredients
Clean jars or bottles with lids
Note: If you want to preserve some jars of this pickle for longer than 2 weeks, also have clean jars with fitting "pop-type" or "Ball-type" lids. Make absolutely sure the lids are new and have no nicks, dents, or signs of oxidation (rust). Do not use compromised lids when preserving food at home, ever. You will also need a large pot for sterilizing (boiling) the jars.
This recipe makes three 8 oz jars, four 6oz jars, or six 4 oz jars. I've included instructions for an easy hot water bath method that will seal the jars and keep the contents perfectly safe to consume for at least one year (or longer).
Directions
Mince the garlic, spring onion, ginger and turmeric.
Remove seeds and thinly slice the hot peppers.*
Fill a pot large enough to submerge the jars with water. Carefully place the jars and lids in the water and heat over medium high to bring the water to a boil.
Pour the white vinegar and cider or banana vinegar into the saucepan, reserving the fruit juice for later.
Put the peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and spices in with the vinegar and heat over medium.
As the mixture warms up, dissolve the salt and sugar into it.
Check the pot with the jars. Make sure they boil for at least two minutes. Then you can put a lid on the pot and turn off the heat, keeping the jars in the hot water.
Bring the vinegar mixture gently up to a boil and simmer for ten minutes. In the final two minutes of simmering add the fruit juice. Stir. Turn off the heat.
Working quickly, lift a jar out of the hot water with tongs and place in a bowl or sink to catch any dribbles.
Fill the jar with hot pepper/vinegar mixture leaving 1/2 inch of headspace at the top. Put a hot lid on the hot jar (use a towel or kitchen mitt) and lightly fasten it down.
Proceed in this fashion until all the jars are filled with hot mixture.
Tighten the lids and place the jars BACK in the big pot of hot water.
Bring the water back up to a boil and keep at a medium boil for ten minutes in altitudes below 1000m and 15 minutes for higher altitudes.
You will see small bubbles escaping the jars as they boil. This action forces out oxygen and seals the lids.
*WEAR rubber gloves when doing this to avoid burning the skin of your hands. Be careful not to touch your face or eyes. Remove and wash gloves in soapy water when you finish prepping the peppers.
Want to see the hot water bath method in action? Watch this video for a clear demonstration from the cloud forest kitchen at Sueño de Vida.
Kristen Krash is the co-founder and director of Sueño de Vida, a regenerative cacao farm and reforestation mission in Ecuador. Sueño de Vida works to educate and inspire everyday people about permaculture, sustainable living, environmental activism, and healthy living all in the name of living more in harmony with nature.
You can support the Sueño de Vida mission today by purchasing our cacao or by joining our Patreon and contributing to direct reforestation.
Thank you.