Storing a large harvest for future use

[capsaicin]

Last year I saved some red habs by chopping them and then mixing in sea salt and just barely covering the mix with hot vinegar.I guess this is simply a pickling process, but the peppers still have good flavor(though a little mellower) and a low pH.

Can anyone see any disadvantage for using this method for a large quantity of peppers for future hot sauce making vs. the fermentation of a mash?

Thanks for any and all feedback.

 

[chsy83]

is there a way to keep some crunchiness if I wanted to pickle them and try to keep them a little more crunchy and not mushy.. or am I SOL for that?

As far as pickling and retaining crispness/crunchiness, I believe there are additives added (usually in sweet pickles) that could be tried to cause the peppers to be crunchy after pickling. Ermm . . . may be wrong, but I think alum?

 

[lostcoast]

Alum is the additive for crunchy pickles; apparently you can use grape leaves (which is what I use in my dills) as well. I'm not sure how effective it is though, my dills come out plenty crunchy but I also bring them to 180 and hold in the water bath which also is supposed to keep things crunchy when pickling - doesn't help for my pickled jalapeños however (haven't tried adding grape leaves though).

 

[chsy83]

Soaking in lime as well. Calcium Dications help strengthen the polygalacturonic acid matrix between cell walls . . .