When late August folds itself into September, peppers begin to arrive in our CSA box. A beautiful assortment of both common and obscure peppers appear, and one of the best ways to preserve them is to toss them into a fermentation crock and let the good bacteria do their work. This recipe for fermented pepperoncini is a great way to get started.
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Preserving Hot Peppers
When hot peppers appear in abundance in late summer, and they always do, there are many ways you can preserve them. I tend to favor drying the peppers or fermenting the peppers, as both methods use very little energy and take only minimal effort in the kitchen.
- I dry many of them in my dehydrator, and then grind them into hot chili flakes using a spice grinder. We season our foods with the dried chili flakes all winter long, just as we'd use black pepper.
- I puree the peppers and ferment them in classic salsas like this Fermented Salsa.
- I make Fermented Hot Chili Sauce from the red jalapenos and brilliantly colored Scotch Bonnets.
- I pickle jalapenos and peperoncini whole using the method below.
How to Ferment Peppers (brine-pickling)
I use two primary methods in preparing fermented vegetables: shredding the vegetables or pickling them in a simple brine. I like the charm and appearance of a whole jalapeno or whole pepperoncini pepper served in a dish of antipasto, so I typically ferment hot peppers much, in the same way, I'd ferment true sour pickles: in a saltwater brine, seasoned with garlic, herbs, and spices.
