OK, these aren't from our garden, one of 2nd Man's coworkers grew them and gave us a full bag...which quickly became a "full bowl" on the counter.
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| Bowl of Banana Peppers |
Yellow banana peppers...
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| Closeup Banana Peppers |
They certainly are beautiful but we don't know much about them (mild? hot? sweet?). I'm not sure how easy they are to grow but if we like them we might have to plan for some of them next year.
Sure we could just Google some recipes or ideas, but we always like to hear firsthand experiences and suggestions...sometimes those are the best!
I grow Sweet Banana Peppers every year in my spring-summer garden. The “Sweet Banana” variety has very little, if any, heat. If you leave them on the plant, they will turn orange, then red. I love the variety of colors they add to a dish. I use them with, or instead of, bell peppers - in chili, okra gumbo, stir fry, etc. To preserve them, I chop them up and freeze them for later use. Some people pickle them - wouldn't the various colors look beautiful in a jar?! You could also probably dehydrate them. Even in this triple-digit Texas heat, they are still surviving in my garden. They will survive and produce until the first frost.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a Hot variety but I have never grown it.
DeleteYay! I wondered how easy they were to grow. And funny you mentioned the color, as we had them in the bag, some started changing too. Great ideas!!! Thanks!!! Definitely planting them next year. Maybe a bed with jalapeƱos and those.
DeleteI have grown the sweet banana peppers and have used them in making/canning banana mustard.
ReplyDeleteCan also mix up a cream cheese/sausage filling and stuff the peppers. http://www.thatsquareplate.com/cheese-sausage-stuffed-peppers/
(can omit the sausage and just stuff with cream cheese,wrap in bacon and bake in oven or put on the grill.) Or use and make a dip.
Other recipes: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/banana-pepper-recipes/
banana mustard? Cream cheese sausage? Gosh we love you! ha! Thanks for the link!
Deletethese are great stuffed with a sausage/ground meat mixture and cooked in tomato sauce with provolone on top. around here, they are served on rolls as a sandwich!
ReplyDeleteUm, helz yeah!!!! Thanks for that tip!!!
DeleteBest thing to do is cut a bit off of one and taste it. The hot ones are not super hot, like habaneros or those types of peppers (which I would NEVER taste on it's own!). Hot banana peppers are similar to jalapenos. I grow hot wax peppers which are also referred to as hot banana peppers. These are the multi-coloured type (yellow, orange, red) you find cut into rings and pickled at the grocery store. You use them on things like pizza, Mexican food, etc. The plants are super productive and a couple of plants is more than enough to keep us in pickled hot peppers for the year. At the end of the season if I have enough of the pickled type or don't want to bother with canning, I also freeze them (cut into rings, remove the seeds & freeze in baggies so you can take out however much you need).
ReplyDeleteThese weren't hot so that was good. Like the idea of the prolific plant, might definitely have to look into that. I never thought about those being the ones on pizza. Good point! Thanks!!!
DeleteI stuff them with a mixture of really good sausage (uncooked) bread crumbs, 1egg, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, grated carrots, and a little parsley. Bake them covered until the peppers are soft and the meat mix is done. If the peppers are hot I serve them in a soft warmed tortilla with a sprinkle if grated cheese and salsa. If they are sweet I serve them with chili sauce on top ( homemade version of the Heinz stuff)
ReplyDeletealong with rice and a green salad
They seem kinda small to stuff but I guess that's the point huh? What a great idea. Thank you!!! Dang, now I'm hungry!!
DeleteSometimes, people give these to me. Any heat is over my limit, so I have never tasted one. However, I slice them in vinegar. Leave them alone in the vinegar, sliced in rings or put a dash of salt and pepper and add a clove of garlic. You can drop them, sliced into rings into a jar of dill pickle juice.
ReplyDeleteI have never tasted one of my concoctions and never had anyone tell me specifically what to do. However, these make a nice addition to dinner table for company. If it is just exbf here, I use a fork to put some on his salad or plate with a meal. He loves them, so I suppose what I do is fine.
We've had some these are definitely not hot. IN fact not even sure they had ANY heat. That being said, as was said above, there is a hot variety so don't take chances!! I like your idea with the pickling. Thanks!
DeletePickled pepper rings! They are great on sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs salads and pizza.
ReplyDelete5- 1 pint sterilized canning jars, lids, and rings
water bath canner
ice
colander
6 cups (1 1/2 lbs) Banana peppers
4 cups (1 lb) jalapenos peppers
1 cup (1/4 lb) serrano peppers (or other peppers to your liking)
2 tablespoons canning/pickling salt
3 clove of garlics, peeled and lightly crushed
6 cups white distilled vinegar
2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon Ball's Pickle Crisp Granules per pint jar
Wash and slice your banana peppers into 1/2 inch rings, taking out any seeds and pith during the process.Toss peppers with canning salt and place in a colander. Cover with some ice (crushed is better). Place into the sink to drain.
Wash and sterilize jars. Place jars in a 225°F oven.
Fill water bath canner to the appropriate level and heat water to almost boiling. (Also get a small pan set up for the the canning lids).
In a non-reactive pot, bring your brine ingredients to a boil (the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed and turmeric). Once it starts boiling, boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat, remove and discard garlic.
Rinse (several times) the salted peppers with cold water. Drain well.
Remove jars from oven and have water bath canner boiling.
Firmly pack peppers into the hot jars. Ladle hot pickling liquid over peppers to 1/2 inch headspace. Gently poke packed jars to remove trapped air bubbles. Add additional brine to maintain the 1/3 headspace if needed. Add the 1/8 teaspoon of pickle crisp granules to each jar.
Quickly wipe the jar rim before placing the heated lid (tap off excess water before placing) on jar. Add ring to jar, finger tight.
Place jars in canner, submerge until covered and process at a full boil for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid at end of 10 minutes. Raise canning basket, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars to a draft free area, cool overnight and store.
Remove rings, check lids for any flex, immediately refrigerate any jars which didn't seal. Wipe down any haze from jars, label and store for up to 1-2 years
Typo-- *maintain 1/2 inch headspace*
DeleteAdjust the ingredients to your liking or scale based on quantity of ingredients.
Thanks 4 sharing your recipe Tonya.
DeleteI do know of a couple of son-in-laws who would love this. Me and my husband aren't hot pepper eaters but I do enjoy canning up things like this for our SIL's so Thank You. This will be something different for them. :}
I can't take all the credit for this recipe. It is a modified Ball Canning recipe. I find that I can't leave any recipe alone and have to always tweak it, ha
DeleteTonya, yes, exactly what Colleen said, thanks so much for sharing , even modified, what a great idea. I love the idea and of course I DO have he new canning stuff! Ha. Thanks again and Colleen let us know if you make some!!
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