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Candied Jalapeños

Source of Recipe

From "Food Gift Love" by Maggie Battista


Recipe Introduction

"I grew up in a household of women who filled warm corn tortillas with nothing but sliced jalapeños and a squeeze of lemon. I watched as a child thinking these women were absolutely crazy. Turns out they were on to something. I transformed that memory into something a little more palatable by adding vinegar and sugar. These Candied Jalapeños offer balance to my Smoky Chicken Soup, fancy up cream cheese and crackers, or satisfy simply tucked into a plain corn tortilla for a quick snack. I use this same recipe to make jalapeño simply syrup which, combined with lime juice and Orange Cordial, makes a spicy (and memorable!) Margarita."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  1 pound jalapeños, washed and dried
â—¦  3 cups (about 1 ½ pounds) granulated sugar
â—¦  1 cup apple cider vinegar
â—¦  1 (4-inch) cinnamon stick
â—¦  3 whole cloves
â—¦  1 star anise pod

Special Equipment:
â—¦  Kitchen scale
â—¦  Rubber gloves
â—¦  3 half-pint glass jars with airtight lids, sterilized
â—¦  Wide-mouth funnel




Recipe

Prepare the jalapeños:
To avoid burning your skin or eyes, wear rubber gloves when working with jalapeños. Slice them horizontally into ¼-inch rounds. Discard the stem end, and gently pull or slice out the seeds; use a little water to help clean them out completely. If you prefer more heat, leave the seeds just where they are. (I love heat, but for some, it's just a bit too hot.) Set aside.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon stick, cloves, and star anise. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook 5 additional minutes.

Add the jalapeños and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, watching very closely. When the first jalapeño begins to lose its bright green color, remove all of them from the pot quickly with a slotted spoon and place them in a medium bowl. Then, distribute the jalapeños among the sterilized jars. Remove the cinnamon stick from the pot and discard, but leave the rest of the spices in the syrup.

Return the syrup to a boil over medium-low heat and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally to help the foam subside. Remove from the heat. Ladle the hot syrup through a funnel into the jalapeño jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Let the cloves and star anise pod find a home in the jars. Tap the jars a few times to loosen any air bubbles. Wipe the rims and seal carefully, as the jars will be hot. If you're not preserving/canning the jalapeños, allow them to cool completely and then store in the fridge up to 3 weeks.

If you're preserving the jalapeños, place the jars in a single layer in your pot of boiling water. Once the water bath boils again, process the jars 10 minutes. Store up to one year in a dark pantry.

Makes about 3 cups