Early last December, I stopped by the farmers market and picked up the very last jalapeños of the season, all red and green. They seemed like an anomoly, something you’d expect in late summer lingering a season late at the market.
I took them home, popped them into my fermentation crock let them alone for a few months. Fermentation is a long process, and slow, too.
Why Pickle with Fermentation?
Pickling is a method of preserving foods either through fermenting them in brine, or immersing them in vinegar. Either way, it’s the acid that preserves them.
When they’re fermented, beneficial bacteria eat up the carbohydrates naturally found in the vegetables, and transform those carbohydrates into lactic acid which, in turn, preserves the vegetables just as vinegar would – with one key difference: the process of fermentation increases key nutrients like B vitamins.
Where to Find a Fermentation Jar
Fermenting vegetables in a crock or jar designed to minimize airflow. They keep oxygen out, while allowing the carbon dioxide that naturally builds up during fermentation to escape.
Large crocks (like these) are designed to ferment several gallons of vegetables like sauerkraut or sour pickles at a time. For small batches of fermented vegetables, like these brine-pickled jalapeños, glass jars equipped with airlocks (you can buy them here) work particularly well.
Brine-Pickled Jalapeños
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
- 4 cups warm water
- 8 ounces jalapeños
- 4 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Dissolve the salt into a pitcher holding four cups warm water. Allow the water to cool to room temperature.
- Drop the peppers and garlic into a quart-sized fermentation jar, and then pour enough water into the jar to completely submerge them. Seal the jar, and allow it to sit at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, at least four weeks and up to eight weeks, or until the jalapeños achieve a sourness that you like. Transfer to a mason jar, and store in the refrigerator up to six months.
Heather says
Can I slice these up before I put them in the jar?
Jenny says
You can try and let us know how it goes.
Nancy Dennis says
Can you also pickle sweet peppers? What I really wonder is if you have to remove the skin first. I’ve heard they taste bitter if you don’t.
Jenny says
You could try and let us know how it goes.
Michael Sierchio says
Apologies in advance, but I’m always leery of pickling recipes that measure salt by volume rather than weight. It would be good to know what the optimal salinity is for chiles. For pepper mash, it is very high (10%). For bell peppers (split, seeded), it’s 2.5-3.5%.
Got a gram balance?
Suzanne says
I have lots of whole jalapeño peppers I picked from my garden last season in my freezer, has anyone tried using frozen peppers for fermenting?
Nina Martin says
Hi! These look delicious, just wondering if it is safe to use the stem of the jalepenos?
Jenny says
Yes, it’s safe to use the stem of the jalapeno.
Gloria says
Can the liquid from fermenting be reused to pickle a new batch and just add more water and salt proportionately? Or is the old liquid not able to ferment a 2nd time?
Also did not see a reply to an earlier question about whether the jalapeños can be sliced.
I’ve followed your recipe for a few years now and most of the time the jalapeños are great – crunchy and hot. Sometimes though they turn out all mushy and I have to discard them. Am I using too much salt? Or maybe it is just the quality of the peppers. Organic works best from my batches.
Thanks and look forward to your reply.
Gloria
michael says
Excuse my ignorance, but what is a “vegetable fermenter”?
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Felix Domestica says
The key to fermented pickles is getting the salt balance just right. You want it high enough to kill off most things, but low enough that the lactobacillus are still happy.
If that’s correct then, yes, all it takes is tossing the veg in and making sure they’re completely covered by the brine. so you don’t get something else growing on the exposed ends. (You may need to weight them down to keep them submerged, if they don’t wedge nicely into the jar.) The jar doesn’t even have to be sealed, though a loose cover may make you feel better.
When they’re done, standard advice for extending their life is to drain off about a quarter of the liquid and refill with vinegar — which will kill off the lactobacillus and stop the process.
I’ve had salt pickles keep for many months when refrigerated. But even without refrigeration… many of us still remember when supermarkets had open barrels of pickled cukes for customers to snarf their own cuke from. Remember, the whole point of pickling was to preserve things before refrigeration or hermetically sealed jars were available.
That doesn’t mean you can be careless — if it looks wrong or tastes wrong, chuck it — and in my experience not every batch cooperates. But if you get the salt right, it’s easier than you may think.
cindy says
hi! Curious to know if after adding vinegar to fermented peppers whether they still have the same health benefits?
Thanks, Cindy
Jenny says
Hi Cindy, No, vinegar pickles don’t have the same benefits of fermented pickles.
Ann says
So if I understand this, I can’t see the picture. The jalapeno are whole with stem, onion in sliced and garlic is in cloves? This in brine will give fermented peppers?
Socorro Rivas says
Hi Jenny
I absolutely love the idea of fermenting the peppers instead of just pickling them with vinegar. I’m so glad I checked here first before starting the process.
One question: Can I add carrots to the pickled jar?
We used to buy the canned pickled jalapenos with carrots and I ate the carrots while my husband ate the jalapenos. So I’d love to add carrots to this. Can I ?
toby delgiudice says
i’ve been making lacto fermented peppers for several years. mostly jalapeno, and pepperoncini. i have also tried other types but the green jalapenos give the best results .i store them in my wine cellar, which stays between 55-70 degrees. am eating peppers put up in 2009, they are crisp and hot, and taste very fresh.
Terry says
Are you canning them after fermenting?
Mark says
Hello,
Last fall I tried your pickled jalapeno recipe. Instead of fermenting at room temperature, I immediately put them in the refrigerator (thinking they would still ferment, just at a slower rate because of the colder temp.). I had lots of jalapenos, so I made several pints. I still have a few jars in the refrigerator, but mold has developed on top of the jar. I can easily scoop the mold off the top (it is one big clump). Would these pickled jalapenos still be safe to eat, or should I be concerned about botulism?
Mark
jeff says
Im new at all this. if your using a mason jar do you put the lid on and seal it or leave it loose to allow gas to escape? Thanks, Im excited to try the pickled jalapenos.
MELINDA says
QUESTION?
When we lived in So Cal. We used to get pickeled jalapenos and carrots at some of the small independent Mexican restaurants. Do you think that it could be done the same way??
Rachel says
I have two questions. Could I dice up my jalepenoes, instead of keeping them whole and then follow the same process? What would my
proportions be?
Also, I have green habeneroes, too. Could I do the same amounts and process, too? Grind them, salt them, etc?
Okay that’s four questions…
I’m basicly trying to make a pepper mash fermented safely with salt as opposed to vinegar.
Thanks,
Rachel
anne says
if you google ‘homemade sriracha’ you’ll find some great recipes for fermented hot sauce/pepper paste. Thanks for the recipe…I’m going to pickle peppers today!
Katherine says
I have been wanting to pickle peppers for a while but didn’t know how. I ran across your site and now I think I’m going to try out a few of your recipes.
Do you know if you can mix different kinds of peppers (jalapeno, banana, sweet bell) and get the same result? Also, what about chopping the peppers instead of leaving them whole?
Thanks – Katherine
hillary says
Every time I open a jar of pickles or kimchee I salivate–literally. Funny enough, I actually got the same sensation just reading this post. Yummm!
Jenny says
Jenn –
I did these in a mason jar because my big crocks were busy fermenting sauerkraut. I just made sure to wedge the peppers beneath the lip of the mason jar so that they stayed below the waterline and it worked just fine. I hope you like these!
– Jenny
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen says
Jenny, if you just use a mason jar, do you follow the same directions? I made pickled peppers recently – but the canning way, which taste great, but I am interested in trying different modalities!
lo says
Love this, Jenny –
We’re a couple of complete chile-heads, so this is right up our alley. Pickled, spicy, AND fermented??? How can it get better than that?! Could you do this just as easily with sliced jalapenos? Any clue how that might impact the final product?
Jenny says
Larry –
I store mine in the fridge and I imagine they’ll last about 6 – 8 weeks, similarly to sour pickles. If you have cold storage, that would be a good place for the fermented jalapenos too.
Take Care –
Jenny
Victoria says
Jenny, do you transfer the peppers and the brine, or just the peppers to a mason jar?
Jenny says
Hi Victoria,
You should transfer the entire contents of your batch to a mason jar.
Jenny says
Chandelle –
I find that while the fermented jalapenos do have that classic pickled pepper taste, they’re remarkably fresher which is kind of neat. Very good, I think and I can see we’re going to make use of them a lot in our kitchen.
Take Care –
Jenny
Chandelle says
Oh, these look SO good! I’ve been wondering if I could prepare jalapeños this way. I love pickled peppers but I’m trying to avoid the bottled ones now. Thanks!
Larry says
After the jalapenos culture for 5-7 days, do you store them in the fridge or on a pantry shelf? Also, how long can you keep an unopened jar of them? Thanks, sorry if these are dumb questions, but I’m new to this.