I got some seeds for these since Tom and I like them so much and they are so expensive, but I never thought to make sure I could find a recipe to pickle them. Did a search and came up with the following possibilities. They look like they have a long way to ripe, but it looks when they come in, I'm going to have way more than all of
South Africa could handle. I've been doing so many small batches, I haven't used the crocks yet this year - looks like this will be my chance. All the recipes require a brining step and from the recipes looks like they might be hot. The flavor of the Peppadew fruit is sweet, with mild heat of around 1200 SHU on the Scoville scale, so about half as hot as a jalapeno.
Peppadews (Piquanté Peppers): the Pickling Recipe Step 1
500 -750 g piquante bell peppers (peppadews, red-ripe) 60 g coarse salt (koshering salt) 600 ml water
Step 2
375 ml vinegar (white grape vinegar preferred, not spirit vinegar) 300 ml sugar, white, granulated 250 ml water 4 pieces ginger, fresh, peeled 4 garlic cloves, peeled, whole 10 ml peppercorns (we like the mixed peppercorns) 4 bay leaves 2 small hot peppers (hot chillis, only remove stem, and keep whole)
DO wear surgical gloves (from any pharmacy), as the seeds start stinging the hands after a while!
Do the 1st Step the night before. Believe me, you'll find it is necessary!
Cut off the stem side of the peppadews, and carefully scrape out the seeds with a small teaspoon. Rinse. Try to remove all seeds. Let the salt dissolve in the water. Then add the prepared peppadews. Make sure they're all in the brine by putting a plate or similar on top. Leave overnight at room temperature.
Next day, using squeaky clean bottles and caps, put on a firm tin and into a cold oven. Heat oven to between 160 - 170 deg Celsius
Now rinse the brine off the peppadews, rinse briefly with cold water, and leave in a colander to drain. Measure out into a large pot all the ingredients given in Step 2 (except the little green chillies), and stir well over low heat until ALL the sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a rolling, foamy boil. Add peppadews and chillis and boil them for only about 1 minute.
Take hot bottles from the oven (be careful). First fill the bottles with peppadews, and then fill to about 1 1/2 cm from the top with the boiling liquid. Carefully wipe bottles round the top, and screw on the tops. (My sister and I used bottles with metal tops, the kind in which some pasta sauces are sold. The bottles should pop softly as they seal. If any do not seal, keep to use first). If sealed, will keep indefinitely.
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Pickled pepper (peppadew) recipe from South Africa
Cut off stem and deseed unless you want burning hot peppers. It's best to use surgical gloves, as the peppers can make your fingers burn. Cut off the stem end and scrape out the seeds with a small teaspoon. Try to remove all the seeds. Dissolve about 4 tablespoons sea salt in just over 2 cups water. (We have metric measurements: 60g salt to 600ml water. Drop peppers into brine after deseeding, and leave them in for a few hours or overnight. (Increase brine mixture according to volume of peppers!) Put a plate or other weight on top if necessary, to stop them from bobbing on top. Before continuing, be sure your jars, caps and rings are very clean and sterilized in boiling water. Leave in the hot water until ready to fill the jars.
Syrup ingredients: 1-1/2 cups good vinegar, grape or wine or malt (5% acetic acid) 1-1/4 cup sugar 1 cup water a few pieces sliced fresh ginger some fresh garlic cloves 2 tablespoons crushed peppercorns (the mixed peppercorns are nice) some bay or lemon leaves a little sea salt
Additional ingredients: 2 whole green chili peppers, reserved, optional extra small whole green chili peppers for garnish
Combine the syrup ingredients in a non-reactive pot that is large enough to hold the peppers. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Then bring to a rolling boil. Take care, as the mixture does foam up a bit.
In the meantime, rinse the brined peppers. Place in a colander or sieve and shake to remove as much moisture as possible. Add the peppers along with the green chili peppers to the boiling syrup. Boil for a minute or two. Use a slotted spoon to fill the jars with the peppers. Push them in; you want to fill the bottles nicely! Then pour over the boiling hot mixture. Use a small rubber spatula along with gentle tapping and rotation of the jars in to fill the pepper hollows with the syrup. You can add a green chili to each jar for decorative purposes if you like. Final filling should be to 1/2-inch of the top. Wipe the rims of the jars. Cap the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1000 feet, 15 minutes from altitudes of 1000 to 6000 feet, and 20 minutes above 6000 feet. Leave for about 2 - 3 weeks before use.
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from a Johannesburg newspaper
PICKLE YOUR PEPPADEWS TODAY
THE STAR / 7 APRIL 2013, 3:37PM /
PICKLED PEPPADEWS
1.5kg Peppadews
250ml coarse salt
2 litres cold water
boiling water
750ml white wine vinegar
15ml mustard seeds
4 whole cloves
5ml peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
2-3 red chillies
250ml sugar
Make a slit in the peppers and remove seeds.
Dissolve salt in cold water and soak peppers overnight. Weigh down with a plate to keep them under the water.
Drain and rinse in fresh cold water. Drain again.
Pour boiling water over peppers and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Drain.
Pack into sterilised jars.
Heat vinegar and add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour over peppers.
Seal jars and leave for 2-3 weeks before using.
l Use less sugar to make a tart pickle.
Peppadew Chutney 2 410g tins apricot jam - figure I could use peach jam??? 2 big onions diced ½ cup brown vinegar ½ cup brown sugar 8 pepperdews seeded and diced Method Place all the ingredients in a pot and simmer over a moderate heat until the onions are translucent and the sauce has reduced slightly. Pour the sauce into sterilised glass bottles. Submitted by: Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius