These canning directions concern plain jalapenos, blanched and packed in water.
There’s a separate recipe for Pickled Jalapenos.
Quantities of jalapenos needed
Numbers are approximate guidelines.
Allow ½ kg (1 pound) raw whole jalapenos per half-litre (1 US pint) jar.
The recipe
Jar size choices: quarter-litre (½ US pint) or half-litre (1 US pint)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: varies
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
Processing time: Either size jar 35 minutes
Canning jalapeno peppers
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash peppers.
- Cut into quarters, removing stems and seeds.
- Put in a large pot of boiling water and when the water returns to the boil, let boil for 3 minutes.
- Remove from pot with slotted spoon.
- Pack into ¼ litre (½ US pint) or ½ litre (1 US pint) jars.
- Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons vinegar to each ¼ litre (½ US pint) jar; 1 tablespoon vinegar to each ½ litre (1 US pint) jar.
- Top up each jar with clean boiling water (such as from a kettle, for instance), maintaining headspace of 3 cm (1 inch.)
- Debubble; adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
- Processing time: either size jar 35 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Processing guidelines below are for weighted-gauge pressure canner. See also if applicable: Dial-gauge pressures.
| Jar Size | Time | 0 to 300 m (0 - 1000 feet) pressure | Above 300 m (1000 ft) pressure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ litre (½ US pint) | 35 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb | |
| ½ litre (1 US pint) | 35 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb |
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
More information about Salt-Free Canning in general.
Storage life of home canned goods
Recipe source
This recipe comes from both the Ball Blue Book (37th edition, 2014, page 115) and the Bernardin Guide (2013, page 104).
Their preparation directions stemming and seeding, cutting into large pieces, a brief blanching, and, adding a bit of vinegar to the canning jars.
It is unclear what purpose the vinegar serves. (The Ball / Bernardin Complete Book does not call for it. [1]Kingry, Judi and Lauren Devine. Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. Toronto: Robert Rose. 2015. Page 391. )
Nutrition
Serving size: 250 g, drained (about one half of a ½ litre / US pint jar, if 500 g went into the jar.)
Per 250 g: 78 calories, 10 mg sodium
Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 250 g = 0 points (plain jalapenos are free on Weight Watchers).
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
Pickle the jalapenos if you don’t want to pressure can them
You cannot water bath or steam can plain jalapenos packed in water. For water bath or steam canning, they must be pickled to be safe from nasties, and we provide such a recipe for Pickled Jalapenos.
References
| ↑1 | Kingry, Judi and Lauren Devine. Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. Toronto: Robert Rose. 2015. Page 391. |
|---|
Amanda
Can citric acid be substituted for the vinegar? Are those two things interchangeable?
Thanks
Healthy Canning
We’re not actually sure why Ball and Bernardin even have the vinegar there at all, given that this is a pressure canning recipe, and the USDA doesn’t call for any acid when pressure canning peppers. So, we’re not sure what to say. Maybe ask Ball directly via their FB page?
Paul
I do not understand the need to boil the peppers for 3 minutes. If the jars are going to be pressure cooked for 35 minutes it seems redundant. I will try both approaches, boiled and not, to see if I can detect any difference.
I have used the Blue Book recommendations for lots of years. But some things I believe need to be explained with a little biology and chemistry. Spoiled canned food can be dangerous as well as repugnant. But the criterial for growing Clostridium botulinum toxin is a pH above 7, closer to 8, and anaerobic conditions. Botulinum is present in soil fairly widely but conditions there are aerobic. It is my understanding that at the pH and salt levels of pickling brines that few bacteria can grow. And the sinister toxin producer, botulinum, cannot grow. Salty and acidic substrates can grow bacteria but usually it is obvious and repugnantly.e one taste and you spit it out. My experience is that fungi is the greater culprit in these briny foodstuffs. Discoloration often accompanies these microorganisms actions on foodstuffs. Just a few thoughts.
Healthy Canning
Hi Paul, this is a good question that raises a few points.
The writers of these tested recipes often don’t explain the *why* of things. Whether it is because they are constrained by allotted ink space (remember print books used to be super expensive), or they just don’t because they think everyone knows, or they just expect people to do as they are told, who knows. Maybe they explain somewhere else in the book or website (as is often the case on Healthy Canning. We make lots of WHY links in notes below the recipes, but oftentimes we wonder if people take the time to read them based on the questions they ask.)
The purpose of boiling is to drive out oxygen, which shortens the storage life and quality of canned foods. By doing so, it also reduces the size of the food a bit, making it easier to pack into the jars. It also means less air being released from the food during processing, which can impact your final headspace.
>> But the criterial for growing Clostridium botulinum toxin is a pH above 7,
The criterion for growing C. botulinum toxin is actually a pH above 4.6.
Connie
Doesn’t the addition of vinegar add some acidity to the contents?
Healthy Canning
It would add a teeny bit, but not enough to make the product safe without pressure canning. We’ve never been able to get a straight answer from anyone at Ball or Bernardin why they do this — the USDA doesn’t.
Ericka
Can the jalapeños be left whole?
Healthy Canning
The directions in this recipe are to stem and seed the peppers. Here’s a recipe, though, that doesn’t call for seeding the peppers: Pickled Hot Peppers, and says that small ones can be left whole.
Kate
Can you use smaller jars? Like the 4oz or 1/4 pint?
Healthy Canning
I have tried, but getting a seal is not reliable. Just too much headspace required in relation to the size of the jar, it seemed. Safety wise there is no issue (use the processing times for the larger jars), it was just the issue of getting a seal.
Ann
I have heard of people canning by pouring boiling water over lets say jalepnos then inverting the jars, letting set, and considering them canned. I’ve been canning for many year. This doesn’t seem safe?
What is your opinion?
Healthy Canning
Some people are always looking for new ways to kill themselves. Don’t follow their example.
Julie B
Your reply to Ann on 8/27/18 is hi-larious!
I so appreciate how precise you are with your directions, processing times, clear, and shooting from the hip!
Canning jalapeños or any non-acid food is serious business!
I think the only time I would ever call something “canned” by putting a hot jar sealed and flipped over might be a jelly that’s been boiling for an hour! But despite all the sugar in jelly, I’ve seen that go bad, too, so I still think I might water bath even that!
Thank you!