Katie Smith reporting from Scott County.

My banana pepper plants are heavy with so much fruit that the ripe peppers were practically falling off of their stems.  It seems too early to dust off the water bath canner, but with 8 cups of sliced peppers, I had to dig it out.

The following recipe from Food.com received was rated very highly and required few ingredients.  It was also very easy to double, or in my case, quadruple:

Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers

2 cups sliced banana peppers

2 cups white vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon celery seeds

First, I dug out about 7 chip free pint and half-pint jars, washed them in warm soapy bleach water, and then placed them in a 200 degree oven to sterilize and keep clean.

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Next, I picked out seven rings to fit the jars, inspecting each carefully for dents and rust, and placed them, along with new lids, into a simmering pan of water.  This sterilizes the lids and rings and keeps them clean until they are ready to use.

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To prepare the pickling juice, I mixed the above ingredients in a sauce pan and brought it to a rolling boil, keeping it very hot until ready to use.

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I stuffed all the jars tightly with the banana pepper rings and then poured the pickling juice over them, filling then to about ½ inch from the top.  Then I poked around inside the jars with a knife to let out any air bubbles. *The pepper rings don’t stuff very well, and the jars were only about half full after they had been processed.  I would probably stuff them even more next time.

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After filling the water bath with warm water, I placed it on my stove top to heat up.  Using the magnetic stick to pull the lids and rings out of the boiling water, I screwed them firmly on each jar.  Then each jar went into the water bath canner.

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I heated the water to boiling and processed for 10 minutes.  Here is my little helper showcasing two necessary canning tools.  This water bath canner has been in my family for decades.  I remember my mom using it to process peaches and pears, and now she has passed it on to me.  When I was a young child, my job was to pack the jars with peaches and pears and let the water bubbles out with a butter knife.

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After they processed at a rolling boil for 10 minutes, I removed each jar from the water bath and placed them on a clean, dry towel on the counter.

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The finished product should sit for about one week or more prior to eating on sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.

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What have other GA participants canned already this season?  Do you have any comments or tips?  I’d love to hear them in the comment section to the left! bankruptcy lawyer charlotte nc