If your garden looks anything like ours right now, it’s bursting with more hot peppers than you know what to do with.*

Because the squirrels ate almost everything else you planted that isn’t spicy.

It seems like every year we’re faced with what to do with all the chiles that seem to ripen ALL AT ONCE, and somehow, planting fewer plants is never an option. Last year, we made a quadrupled batch of habanero salsa. This year, we’re flush with pounds and pounds of jalapeños, and the best way to deal with all that heat? Add a little sweet.

This recipe is about as simple as it gets–simmering jalapeño slices in a flavored syrup–but the flavor is unforgettable. Make it once, and you’ll be hooked, which is totally fine because  these little spicy-sweet slices are delicious on just about anything. Our default is pairing them with goat cheese and crackers, but really anything goes. Sandwiches, scrambled eggs, pizza … Can them & put them up for the year, or just bag them up for storage in the freezer. They’ll last about a year that way, but good luck keeping them around that long.

CANDIED JALAPEÑOS

3lbs. jalapeños
2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Wash the jalapeños & pat them dry. Slice them into 1/8″ thick rings. You’ll want to break out your mandolin, if you have one & gloves, if your skin is sensitive. Don’t touch your eyes. Once all the jalapeños are sliced, set aside.

Add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery salt, garlic powder & cayenne to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let bubble away for 5 minutes.

Add the jalapeño slices and bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer once more for 4 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure all the peppers are cooking evenly. After 4 minutes, transfer the jalapeños to a large bowl using a slotted spoon.

Turn the heat back up to medium-high and let the remaining liquid boil hard for 12 minutes. Let cool, then add to the bowl with the jalapeño slices.

At this point, we divide the jalapeños and liquid evenly among quart-size freezer bags and keep them in the freezer for up to a year. You could also can them if you’d rather they be shelf-stable.

recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

*If you’re garden’s already done for the year, go ahead & bookmark this–you’ll want to have it handy next year. 🙂