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Candied Jalapenos & Habaneros

Been busy processing my peppers since I had to pick them all do to frost. I was candying some today and I decided to take some pics & vids and share my simple recipes for it.

First the Jalapenos.

Jalapenos_bag.JPG


They are fair sized for Jalapenos.

Jalapenos_size.JPG


First thing we need is to get the sugar going. I'm using white cane sugar(Sucrose) so I really want to invert it so I'll have fructose, and glucose.
Which are simpler sugars ,sweeter tasting ,and much better are preserving our peppers.

sugar.JPG


Here I have 3 cups white sugar, 2 cups water ,2 table spoons apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon salt.
You can substitute practically any food grade acid you want for the vinegar. Lemon and or lime juice also
work great. But it can't be skipped it(Plus heat) is what catalyzes the inversion. You will what to bring the
mixture to a boil, and let it simmer about 30 minutes. If the bubbles start to become "larger" during the
30 minutes then drip some more water in., but not enough to stop the simmer.

(I used about 3 pounds of whole Jalapenos)
Ok while that's simmer you should slice your jalapenos. As you candy them they are going to shrink a lot.
So you will want to cut them fairly thick.

Jalapenos_cut_thick.JPG



Before you add your peppers to the hot sugar be sure to boil it till the bubbles start to become "larger".
Once you add the peppers the sugar will stop boiling and become very luquidy.

Add_peppers.JPG


Only add enough of the peppers to so that the top is out of the sugar. Like the picture above. As the sugar boils the bubbles will get large enough to
cover more of the peppers add the rest as it "raises"

This is what it should look like while it's cooking, but before it's done.

Jalapenos cooking

While+cooking.JPG


You will know when it's done when the sugars "texture" changes like shown below.

They're ready

Jalapenos_done.JPG


And some close ups on the the candied peppers texture after-wards.

Texture_01.JPG

Texture_02.JPG


Ok that's all for the jalapenos, I'm going to reply to this post with the Habaneros.
 
DaQatz said:
 
Ah, okies. They are not as well preserved that way. It's about as stable as jelly, or jam. I normally fully candy them. They take less space, and last longer. Though if you want them "soft, and puffy" you need to rehydrate them a bit.
I didnt know exactly how long to let it go didnt want mush either. They maintained a good crisp sweet heat - I packed hot, water bathed and sit for a week. I cut them thick they shrunk quite a bit and had a nice sugar boil prior - Great either way -
 
They actually get more "leathery/chewy" as they become fully candied. This is due to lack of water content. They soften up if you rehydrate them though. If you're eating them as quickly as you are saying, then yeah it's not an issue. The only real difference is they should be handled more like a jam/preserve at that stage. Well that, and you skip the rehydration when you use it.
 
I keep revisiting this thread.  I need to do this - they just look wonderful!
 
It's likely we freeze tonight.  So today should be the day.
 
DaQatz, Im going to do this at an upcoming hot sauce class. Do you remember how many 8oz jars you got from 3pounds of peppers?

SL
 
Thanks Catherinew! That gives me an approximation of yield. I need at least a dozen jars and a few extra would be good. Double the original recipe should be about right.
 
DaQatz said:
Prepare the peppers like above. If don't have much "syrup" left then make some more. bring the syrup back to a boil until it reaches 270 F at this point start adding
your peppers back in but only a few at a time
. Let them cook for a minute or two, then remove them, and lay out on parchment paper or tin foil. Once cool they will be
hard candied and dry, plus they will retain that special "look" to them they get when they're candied. Also be sure you sugar temp doesn't go to high or they can get
very hard. I like to keep it below 190 F.



 
 
Hello, great thread....
 
Do you bring sugar to 270.....then add peppers and let temp reduce to 190?
 
Or...
 
Bring sugar to 190 and do not go above 190?
 
Thanks....that helps clear it up :cheers:
 
Also...If I did use frozen (fresno's) do I really need to dry them for moisture? or will the sugar pull out the moisture possibly just have to cook it longer?
 
Or would longer cooking risk the chance of turning to caramel color.
 
I guess I could slice frozen then oven dry at 170* before putting in the heated sugar mix?
 
Masher said:
Thanks....that helps clear it up :cheers:
 
Also...If I did use frozen (fresno's) do I really need to dry them for moisture? or will the sugar pull out the moisture possibly just have to cook it longer?
 
Or would longer cooking risk the chance of turning to caramel color.
 
I guess I could slice frozen then oven dry at 170* before putting in the heated sugar mix?
 

The primary issue would be "beads"  of water on the peppers. The drips can cause violent bubbles in the syrup that can splatter and burn you. You can use another method if you need to put in wet peppers.
 
Assuming you are adding the peppers when the sugar is to temp. Start by adding a small handful of peppers first. Quickly larger bubbles will form. When you see these large bubbles them add the rest of the peppers for that batch. This will help prevent most of the splatter caused by adding wet peppers to hot sugar.
 
Bumping this thread because...it's getting to be harvest time for a lot of folks, and we were just taking about candied peppers in another thread.
 
Took this to a couple picnics recently-
candied red jalapenos (in the 8 oz canning jar)
cream cheese
hWheat Thin crackers
 
 
Smear a bit of cream cheese on the cracker, top with a candied pepper...YUM!  
  
 
spicefreak said:
I'm going to have to caution against doing this with supers, though. Whole family telling me never again and even I was coughing and spluttering after accidentally breathing in over the pan.
 
 
karoo said:
All time favourite !!
 
Jip , all pepper cooking in my house have been banned from the inside of the house due to fumes.
 
Here's a classic solution to the fumes issues~~~  :cool:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/24126-i-couldnt-handle-the-smell-of-dehydrating-so-many-hot-peppers/
 
Whenever I cook sauce for home use I drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and stir, and the oil binds with the capsaicinoids so they don't release as much into the air. That and a lid! :)
 
spicefreak said:
I'm going to have to caution against doing this with supers, though. Whole family telling me never again and even I was coughing and spluttering after accidentally breathing in over the pan.
 
Thank you for reminding me why it's GREAT to be single!   :dance:   :onfire:   :woohoo:
 
I love candied supers and love making them! 
 
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