Pickled Hot Cherry Peppers

I love Peppadew peppers but they cost around $6 at the store. A repeat from last year, I grew my own hot cherry peppers (from directly sown seed) in the garden and canned them. This time I kept it simple, not adding any other "distracting" spices except for peppercorns. There are still plenty of green peppers out in the garden, I am hoping they turn red soon!

One thing I learned from this recipe is that you should put the peppers in the boiling liquid. This will help soften them so you can pack more into the jar. I probably could have fit 20 peppers!

Makes 1 pint (2 cup jar). I happened to use a wide-mouth jar.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound hot cherry peppers, washed well and dried (9)
• 14 whole black peppercorns
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 TB sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cut the stem tops off the cherry peppers. Use a small spoon to scoop out the core/seeds. Leave some seeds if you want it really hot. Put peppers and peppercorns into 1 pint-size sterilized glass jar.
   
2. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves. Pour hot pickling liquid over peppers, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at tops. Can in water bath for 15 minutes.