Quick Pickled Jalapeños

Even though I am not a big fan of chilli, I like the mildly spicy, tangy flavour of pickled jalapeños. But have you ever tried buying a jar of those. The last couple of jars I bought, the jalapeños were several months old and kinda mushy. Plus every commercial pickle out there has some added sugar and I was looking for something with just salt and vinegar so I decided to make my own.

Most recipes I found on the net had sugar, but I finally settled on this quick and easy recipe by Valerie. As this happens to be my first pickling experiment, I started with only 3 jalapenos. The first step is to cut these chillis. Wash and wipe the jalapenos. Then chop the stem off and slice into thin rings. Make sure to wash the knife and your hands right after. And whatever you do, don't touch your face or eyes while you are chopping.

Put the jalapenos aside and mix up your pickling liquid. Mix 1/2 cup water with 1/4 cup vinegar. I used normal white vinegar but you can use rice vinegar or white wine vinegar as Valerie suggests. To this, add 1/2 tbsp. salt, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds and a peeled clove of garlic. Stir until the salt dissolves. Pack the jalapenos into a glass jar (and wash your hands again! with soap!). Pour over the liquid to cover the jalapeno rings and pop into the fridge.

I made this 3-4 days back. The jalapenos were ready to eat after 24 hours but the flavours are much better after a couple of days. These aren't your traditional canned goods so I am not sure how long they will last in the fridge. My batch is small enough that I expect them to be gone in a couple of weeks.

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