Probably sugar. It is just the peppers you used. Most people want exactly what you have.
You could make new brine, I suppose, and use in the opened jar. It may remove some of the heat, but I would taste the brine you have now to see if it is hot, too, or just the peppers themselves.

Agree. It is the variety of jalapeno used plus the growing conditions that determine the heat strength. Many of the jarred ones are TAM jalapenos (milder). Plus did you leave the seeds in? That increases the heat too.

Dave

the peppers themselves are HOT. the brine is definitely spicy- but not unbearably so, like the peppers. I put them in the brine sliced into rings, fresh from the garden - and got rid of a considerable amount of the seeds. I didnt add any sugar to the brine, so maybe i will do that first.

I feel like such a wuss now! I love spicy foods, but these are just so darn hot, i dont know what i would eat them with!

I read a lot of recipes that said to heat the brine to boiling before you pour it over the peppers. Would cooking them also reduce a bit of the heat?

They sound perfect to me, jalapenos are supposed to be hot. I'm always disappointed when I get wimpy, no heat ones. Nachos,tacos,anything that needs a kick...but if you really don't know what to use them on I can send my address and I'll pay for postage. J/K I'd find ways to use them.

Yes, I agree it's probably the peppers. Heating them I doubt will make them lose their heat. If they are too hot to your liking why not dice some finely and add to dishes?

I don't care too much for the taste of Jalapeno, I am a Serrano and my all time fav is the Thai chili.

In September a local farmer gave me some Big Bomb Peppers, I was really busy and only took enough for a pint to pickle. I don't know the heat index of them, but when I opened the jar at a party, all but myself and 2 of the men proclaiming " I can take it" were in tears in one bite.
I canned them whole, those cute strawberry sized red peppers. Even stabbed them numerous times with a corn holder and they were fluid filled with the brine, that did have sugar in it.

Mine got milder over time. It took about 6 months. But they did not get alot milder just more mellow. Still spicy though.

Good luck with your pepper experiments.
Cindy

I eat hot pepper strips on a cracker with a dab of cream cheese. Cream cheese and milk sauces dillute the "hotness" of pepper. Maybe use them in a nacho cheese dip (in moderation) or a enchilada casserole with a white sauce or cheese sauce. White chili. Mixed in moderation with refried beans and topped with melted cheese. Mixed with sour cream and some bland, mild salsa for a dip.

If you leave them alone, the heat will diminish over time - now that might be a couple of years, but it will diminish and eventually there won't be much heat left at all.

Normally i wouldnt mind a small batch thats too hot- but i had made up 5 lbs of peppers, and theres no way i could get through them all being so hot!

I actually took out about half the liquid, replaced it with new vinegar and spices- and then brought it to a boil, for maybe 5 minutes- put them back in their jars and let them cool down. Tried one yesterday and they are already milder. I think i may need to add more spices, but i will check them in a week and see how they are doing.

next time... smaller batches and more experimenting. what a bad idea to make one giant batch, the first time making them !

this year the peppers were exceptionally hot!!!

dean

I pickled some jalapeno slices a couple of years ago and when I opened the jars, the peppers were soft....so why were yours crisp and mine were soft?

Partly it depends upon the water. For example, it's easier for me to make crisper pickles because our water has a certain amount of calcium.

For crisp product you may need to add pickle crisp (i.e. calcium chloride). Also, product will soften over time so if you keep pickles longer than a year they will be significantly softer.

can anyone share the recipe for pickled jalapenoes? Thanks!

Here you go. There are several other pepper canning recipes at NCHFP too.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Pickled Jalapeno Pepper Rings

This is the recipe that i used, from the blog Homesick Texan- but did not cook in oil first and left out most of the vegetables (just a few carrots here and there).

Pickled jalapenos (escabeche)
Ingredients:
1 pound of jalapenos, cut into rings
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
3 carrots, peeled and cut into rings
1 small onion, cut into rings or slivers
6 cloves of garlic, minced (6 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon of canola oil
6 teaspoons of peppercorns
6 teaspoons of cumin seeds
6 sprigs of cilantro
2 cups of white vinegar
Salt
Water
Six pint jars, sterilized

Method:
1. Cook the peppers, carrots, cauliflower and onion in the oil on medium heat for ten minutes or until onion is clear.
2. In each jar, place the equivalent of 1 minced clove of garlic (1 teaspoon), 1 sprig of cilantro, 1 teaspoon each of peppercorns and cumin seeds.
3. Divide pepper mix between the six jars.
4. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to each jar and then fill the rest of the jar with water, leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Add a dash of salt.
5. Seal and then give jar a good shake.
6. Refrigerate overnight and they should be ready within 24 hours. Will keep in the refrigerator for a month. Makes 6 pints

Here is a link that might be useful: Homesick Texan - Cool off with Hot Jalapeno Pickles

Sounds interesting. Not enough vinegar for canning or shelf storage and I'd have trouble eating 6 pints up within a month but making up 1/2 a recipe for the fridge would be worth trying.

But I 'think' 1/2 cup for each of 6 pints would be 3 cups vinegar, not 2 cups as in the recipe.

Dave

It's a pain to do it when you are making rings, but the only way to make the peppers "not so hot" is to make sure you remove the seeds and white membrane inside at the time you are cutting them up. I personally cut up just about all of my jalapenos (the ones that don't end up in jars of B&B pickles or relish) and put them in the freezer. Since I use them probably five or more times a week (in eggs, cheese grits, sprinkled in soups, on sandwiches, in corn bread, in with sauteed vegetables, on nachos, and countless other ways), I think the quality is far better just having them frozen than canned, but I've done it. Pickle Crisp is great stuff for these.

Here's another thought--instead of decreasing the heat of the peppers, try increasing your tolerance for hot foods by slowly eating larger and larger amounts of them. None of us is born with a taste for hot foods. We have to acquire it thru exposure. I hated anything hot as a kid, but gradually began to eat spicier foods as I grew up. I find that the older I get, the hotter I like my food--my ideal breakfast is a scrambled egg practically swimming in hot sauce!

I canned up several jars of pickled Jalapenos for DH. Added nothing but vinegar and water. DH says they are too sweet. I noticed many recipes add garlic, which I did not. Would that have cut the sweetness? DH love hot, so they have the seeds in them. DH eats them right out of the jar.

Macy, one of my daughters especially loves very vinegary pickles. I used a different recipe this year that called for less vinegar and salt. She tasted one, expecting the older recipe, and was so surprised she spit it out and said, "Yuck, Mom, I hate sweet pickles." It was so funny, because she's so polite and this was very impromptu for her.

There was no sugar at all in the brine, though, but somehow they tasted "sweet" to her. I think it was just different. :)

Judi

I used 3/1 vinegar to water ratio. I'm not sure if that would be considered strong or not.