Pickled Peppers

Photo: flickr user lawtonchiles

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds Red and green bell peppers

pound or 2 ½ fresh hot chilies

(about 4 quarts)

1 quart Vinegar

1 quart water

4 teaspoons Salt (to make 8 pints)

Olive oil optional

Preparation

Wash the peppers or chilies thoroughly. Cut around the stem of each largepepper and pull out the stem with attached core and seeds. Leave the peppers whole of cut them into sections or strips, as desired. Hot chiliesmay be stemmed and seeded, of left whole with stems intact. Make two smallslits in whole peppers or chilies.

Mix the vinegar and water; heat to a simmer - 150 F to 160F. The vinegarshould NOT be allowed to boil. Add the salt

Pack the peppers of chilies rather tightly into jars. Pour the hot vinegarmixture over the peppers to within 1/2 inch of the jar rims. Or, if youwish to add olive oil, pour the vinegar to within 3/4 inch of the rim and pour oil to within 1/2 inch of the rims. The peppers or chilies will becoated with oil when they pass through the oil layer as you use them.

Cover jars and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.