For weeks, nay months, almost a year (without any exaggeration), I’ve been looking for jalapeños in Bombay. On the rare occasion that I did find them, they looked as if they were sitting in the cling film wrapped box for weeks before they reached my hands. Yesterday while shopping at a supermarket, I was thrilled to find some jalapeños. And this time they were actually fresh!
Ever since I was introduced to pickled jalapeños years ago, I’d religiously buy a bottle every few weeks and make sure that I’d never run out of them. I especially love eating them in sandwiches, so slicing the jalapeños before pickling is more convenient. If you’d like, you can pickle them whole (just like I left the red one in the jar). When leaving them whole, the outter membrane needs to be pierced for it to absorb the pickling liquid. A nifty tip from my grandma for handling chillies so that you don’t end up with burning hands: Instead of using a knife that will result in squirts of the Capsaicin, use a needle to cut through the membrane, while you hold the chilli by its calyx.
This recipe fits perfectly in an 820g jar. If you’re using anything else, I suggest you first pack it with all the jalapeños and then add water until it reaches the brim. Now strain this into a measuring jug and this will give you the exact quantity of pickling liquid you need. Throw out half of it and replace it with vinegar. I found this method on Michael Ruhlman’s blog and I think this is just genius, and you will not need a recipe for pickling ever again if you remember theRatio (pun intended). All you need to do is add spice, flavour, and seasoning to this vinegar mixture.
Pickled Jalapeños Recipe
330g, whole or sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp peppercorns (I used pink because I like colour)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, lightly pounded
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp sugar
- Pack the jalapeños in a glass jar.
- In a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the hot pickling liquid over the jalapeños and let it rest for a few hours. Shake it up a little so that the peppercorns are evenly distributed.
- For a crunchy bite, you can start nibbling on them within a few hours. As for softer texture, let this sit for 4-5 days.
- Keep refrigerated for upto two months or can it according to jar manufacturer’s instructions.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
First of all, I'm so glad you spelled "jalapeños" correctly! haha Secondly, this looks fantastic! What a great idea to pick jalapeños. Thank you for sharing this information.
Oh i love them, i just bought a bottle last week, love them in sandwiches and now even pasta salads!
Mmm delicious!
This look very delicious. I would really like this with fried rice or fried noodles. That's how we eat in Malaysia. Thanks for sharing.
Great recipe. I like Jalapenos in my sandwich too so next time i run out I'll pickle my own. Have you tried masala stuffed jalapenos? They are lovely too.
those look beautiful! bet they taste much better than the bottled ones!!
Wonderful photos Shaheen. Specially the four-in-one photo. Liked the bright colors. Top view makes and interesting photograph in this case.
Was this (second photo) taken in Natural light? The white balance seems to be perfect and colors are very close to the true colors.
Peppercorns
In the second photo, the top right photo is specially appealing. Love the jar covered with peppercorn and jalapeños peeking from them makes an interesting photograph.
Thank you for sharing Shaheen.
I agree! Beautiful photography! Makes it very appetizing! Should go into a cookbook!
Wow! I just pickled some peppers and pearl onions few days ago. Isnt pickling a lot of fun??
Hi Shaheen. Thanks for posting the recipe. Can I use rice vinegar instead of apple cidar vinegar here. What do you think? Thanks
I love how the same ingredients are used in different parts of the world! I must try it with fried rice the next time.
Oh that sounds so interesting! I'd love to try that next time.
Hey Neel! Thanks for your note. All the photos are taken in natural light (I have surprised myself here!).
I really appreciate your analysis of the photos. I am always unsure weather the photos I take are good enough or not..
Oooooh pearl onions! I know what I'm pickling next!
Hey Nalini! I guess you can use any vinegar you like. I just like the taste of cider vinegar a lot. I've never tried rice vinegar.. so curious to know what it'd be like?
its a great idea to pickle jalapenos…great recipe
your recipes are great
http://infopediaonlinehere.blogspot.com/
Oh this is cool! I know a certain someone who would love this!
How coincidental! I just had a pickled green chili post up in my blog and people talked about pickled Japapenos!
I made it this weekend and it came out fantastic. Since rice vinegar is milder I used more than what was required and it was amazing. My 9 yr old son got additicted to the taste and keeps wanting to ieat it all the time
I am soo happy to hear this! Thanks for reporting back with your feedback.
I must say your son has a really good palate. 
Hi Purple foodie,
First time on your blog.. and wow what a Blog you have. Not only are you so talented in the things you do but your passion and love for your is so catching and overflows to us readers. There is so much energy in your posts and pictures that one feels like getting up immediately and going to the kitchen to whip up something.
Also I wanted to ask you about cakes since you are all into baking.
I love the texture and quality and the taste of the cakes/ pastries/ muffins in India. They are different than what we get in US. In US the texture is more crumbly and sort of "light" Its difficult to explain (may be too airy) But it doesn't feel as though you are eating anything.. it kinda melts in your mouth.
So how should I make a regular basic indian cake.. no muss no fuss type.
Thanks,
Vinita
Hi Vinita,
THank you so much for your comment! Sorry for taking this long to get back.
I am so motivated by your comment.. really. I need a dose of this from time to time – some assurance that I'm not just writing into empty space.
THe problem with the flour here is that it's a lot more coarse. Once instead of using 1 1/2 cup flour, I used 1 1/4th cup flour and the cake was soooo tender. Otherwise, for every cup of flour you cute substitute two tablespoons with cornflour? That's the conversion for cake flour. I haven't really tried it though.. I just cut back on the regular flour and don't add the cornflour.
You must try the Magnolia bakery vanilla cupcake recipe.. it's a keeper!
Thanks purple foodie. Mixing a little bit of corn flour( I guess the same we use for corn muffins?) seems like a great idea. That would give it some texture and bite. Never thought of that. Also I came across this post today where she has made with wheat flour.. do you think that would do the trick? http://the-cooker.blogspot.com/2009/03/good-day-sunshine.html
I forgot to mention in my last post but your photographs are stunning and that what attracted me to your blog in the first place and ofcourse reading the posts got me totally hooked.
Vinita
oh my dear! you have NO idea how this post makes me happy. I LOVE jalapenos with all my heart.
And I was even happier when I read you eat them sliced in sandwiches, just like us Mexicans, do.
oh, what I'd give if I could find some fresh jalapenos….
Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this also – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get anything done… Regards
I think, I would try this one. Its not really my thing but it looks so yummy in the pictures.
How long will this keep for?
Sorry, just noticed: 2 months in the fridge.
Hey
i want to pickle cucmbers.
Any idea where can i get pickling cucumbers in mumbai.
like this recipe so simple. you can also use spiced vinegar instead of all the spices added yum yum
Hi Shaheen, I made this a while ago and we loved the results … I’m so glad I can pickle my own peppers now .. thanks for sharing!!!
http://myhobbielobbie.blogspot.com/2011/02/pickled-jalapenos.html
Did ehow steal your recipe?
http://www.ehow.com/how_7373132_make-pickled-jalapeno-peppers.html
Oh hell, yes! Thank you for point it out to me.
We are growing peppers this year and I am excited to try your recipe. Do I need to blanch them first?
Hi, No you don’t need to. That will mellow the kick from the pepper, and all that lovely flavour.
Thank you! We picked them this morning and we’re looking forward to seeing how they turn out!
Hello Purple Foodie!
I am planning to make pepper jelly this weekend and the recipe calls for canned pickled jalapenos. I don’t have time to pickle my own before then so I will use the store bought ones, but I am also going to use this recipe and do another batch in a week or two and compare the results. Can you recommend a brand for buying? Or maybe a few brands in case my stores are as poorly equipped as I suspect they will be. I live in the New Hampshire, USA.
Thanks!
Lauren
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve just pickled two jars full of Jalapeños which I picked from my mother in law’s greenhouse – looking forward to trying them out.
I’m now going to search the rest of your blog for my yummy ideas.
Hi…I first came across ur site months ago when looking for pickled jalapeños..and boy! Was I hooked ! I loved ur writing, ur photography, ur enthusiasm….I subscribed the same day, and hv visited often, though never commented.
I finally tried ur jalapeño recipe today..and it’s turned out awesome, even if I say so myself. Thank you!
Hey Shubhi, Thanks so much for subscribing!
So glad to know you enjoy my blog.
Hi, this year I grew just two jalapeno pepper plants and ‘just left them in the garden’ until 2 nights ago when a risk of frost was announced. The result was a bumper crop of almost 40 peppers and I did not know what to do with them, so I was so glad to find this recipe. Luckily I have all the required ingredients on hand but what stumps me is an 850 g jar. We are metric here and I have volume mesurements for jars, not weight. Can you further clarify? Is it a Mason jar size?
Thanks.
Hey, Don’t get to flustered and stop at that. An 820g jar is what I had lying around the house. Like I mentioned in the post, if you’re using anything else, I suggest you first pack it with all the jalapeños and then add water until it reaches the brim. Now strain this into a measuring jug and this will give you the exact quantity of pickling liquid you need. Throw out half of it and replace it with vinegar.
I just made a batch to use as a Christmas present. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Tried your recipe , was pretty good ! Tried your recipe with a tsp of liquid smoke Mesquite flavor at the end , was really good !!!! Thanks for your recipe !
Thanks for the great, easy to prepare recipe. On a whim I bought 3 Jalapeno, 6 Cayenne and 6 Habanero plans for some colour for the garden. They’ve all flourished and now it’s time to pick the second crop of Halapenos. I pickled 2 jars worth a month ago and my mouth is watering at the prospect of the second batch. Thanks, and greetings from Australia!
I just noticed that the start of the recipe you leave out the main ingredient! It says: 330g, whole or sliced. Whole or sliced what?
Let me start off by saying, I have been in search for a good pickling recipe for awhile, and then I cam across this beauty. Absolutely wonderful. I changed out the apple cider vinegar for plain white distilled. Like the bite of that more. So far ice canned about 50 jars of these babies in the past 2 months.. wanna make sure I don’t run out!
thanks again for the recipe. Its a great one! 5/5 in my book!
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