Farmers Market Adventures – Jingle Bells Rock!
Actually, they don’t. And that title was a little too obvious. Not very imaginative or exciting at all. Lacking creativity. It’s as cliche as small sentence fragments when you’re trying to make a snarky point. Unimaginative is also what I think about how I prepared them.
Jingle bells are multi-colored little bell peppers about an inch or two big. When I saw them at the market, they looked promising.
The problem is that they’re sweet, not spicy. If they had some heat to them I could grill them and grated some cheese on them. I also could’ve thrown them in a bottle of vodka or, at very least, dared someone to eat one plain. And they’re actually not even that sweet, either. It’s not like a Jolly Rancher or a Hershey’s.
So I just pickled them. Don’t get me wrong – they still tasted fantastic. They turned out to have a great combination of sweetness and spice. But I think pickling them is just a little too obvious. Oh well.
I completely winged this recipe, so the measurements are approximates. I made them in the early evening threw them in the fridge and they were ready to eat the next morning. I have no idea how long these will last because I’m not actually canning them. I’ve never canned anything in my life but know that it involves boiling mason jars or something else that sounds completely tedious but is meant for long-term food safety reasons. Threats of food poisoning never stopped me before, and it didn’t stop me now. So if you get sick on this method, just don’t blame me. Deal?
Sweet Pickled Jingle Bell Peppers
– Peppers
– ½ cup sugar
– 2 cups white vinegar
– ½ cup water
– 2 Tablespoons pickling spice
– 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
– 1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper
– A few cloves of garlic, peeled
1. Place washed peppers in a pot of boiling water for about 3-4 minutes. Drain.
2. Bring the rest of the ingredients, to a boil
3. While that’s happening, place the peppers in an airtight container.
4. Pour the pickle ingredients over the peppers and allow to cool overnight.
5. Open and enjoy, either by themselves, in a salad or on a sandwich.
See, kinda boring, eh? How would you have prepared them? Are there any canning veterans who can estimate when I’m going to die of eating old, improperly canned peppers?
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4 comments on “Farmers Market Adventures – Jingle Bells Rock!”
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wine century
Doppel Member, Baby!
they are adorable and I would love them — hot peppers are not for me
Great idea to pickle these. I grew mini chocolate bells this summer which look very similar to those jingles you have there. They basically have no flavor impact until they are perfectly ripe. Even then, they are best fried, stuffed, or pickled. If you throw a hotter chile in the pickle jar, you’ll give some heat to all of those bells. They do look really cool.
Damn, u r the peppermeister! Didn’t think to throw a hot one in there.
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