preservation Preserving Pepper in Vinegar

[peppamang]

I'm a total kitchen noob. The farthest I've gone in the past is flakes and some limited bbq knowledge. Today, I decided to embark on the journey of trying my first attempt to keep peppers overwinter, other than freezing them. 
 
 
Pic heavy, so prepare yourselves
 

 
Hand washing each pepper, then cutting and deseeding. I wore gloves thank god for this part. I learned the hard way last time I was plucking seeds bare handed out of reapers.
 

 
After Cutting the BOC and Reapers in half, I figured that would allow more vinegar to get to those hard to reach spots.
 

 
The jars and lids post sterilization of about 10 minutes. 
 
Poured in the peppers into the still hot jars, poured vinegar overtop and then proceeded to quickly screw the lids on tight. My question is, does the vinegar have to be hot before poured on? The recipes online for this procedure didn't say so, but I feel like I should have for some reason. 
 

 
Here's what I ended up with, along side some dehydrated BOC I'll probably make into flakes and powder. I've still got 30 pods on the plants between the two of them, I just don't know what else to do with them. 
 

 
Plenty of BOC seed if anyone wants some! 
 

 
My final question is, is this air gap going to give me problems? I filled it up to the brim before screwing on the lids but my guess is that there were air pockets between the peppers, which didn't fill until I turned them upside down. Is this going to cause mold or bacterial rot on the top where the floating peppers are touching the air? 
 
Thanks everybody
cheers

 

[karoo]

Every thing looks great. The air should not be a problem , as long as all the peppers are submerged.
DO NOT waste that vinegar after you have used all the peppers, great for pickled eggs or any other kind of pickles.

 

[Rajun Gardener]

I would put those in the fridge if you didn't heat up the vinegar. I have jars like that myself. I also make a chow chow by running the peppers through a food processor to make a rough chopped mash then adding enough vinegar to make a slurry, bring to a boil OUTSIDE then fill jars and cap them. They will be shelf stable for years and it only takes a little to season a dish.
 
Like Karoo said, save that vinegar or use it in dishes.Just the vinegar is good for many dishes and if the vinegar gets low I add more if it's my last jar.

 

[dragonsfire]

I never cook my vinegar since its natural ACV and that waould kill the natural enzymes. I just pour it in a jar with the contents and shelve it, Ive had jars 5 years old, contents soft but still hold together.

 

[Walchit]

I heat my vinegar up, it seals the jars that way, I also bump them around to try and get air out and add more hot vinegar to try and get them as full as possible. I'm a noob too though

 

[Walchit]

Oh I put a bunch of salt in them too, like 2 tablespoons per quart, I think I came up with that amount out of thin air though

 

[Chorizo857_62J]

I have canned directly whole and sliced peppers with a boiled water bath, which required no pre-heating of the peppers, and as long as the jars sealed, I was happy storing them in the pantry. 
 
I have also cooked sauces with vinegar, and jarred them and boiled them, with similar success.
 
My tendency is to reuse small jars with "poppable" lids, as long as I can get them sterilized and as long as I get  goo vacuum seal.  If I don't get a good seal, it goes in the fridge and is first up for dinner.  we also have some pressure canners, for which I will use mason jars and fresh lids.  This is all with the vinegar and salt approach, I have just embarked into the fermenting arena, so we'll see.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Would never use 100% vinegar, first ingredient should be water or they will simply taste of vinegar. Take a look at your shelf brands. Here's one. "Jalapeno Peppers, Water, Vinegar, Salt, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Garlic." Hope this helps.

 

[Chorizo857_62J]

Yeah, for a sauce I typically do a 50% vinegar and water mix, just because it is too tart, unless I'm just trying to make hot vinegar as a table condiment.  Not too much salt either, but since we boil bath them, it usually comes out nice.  I am after retaining as much pepper flavor as possible, but in the past, have come up with all sorts of wild results.  That's call Xperimenting.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Yeah basic pickle recipes are water first.