I've recently discovered how much I enjoy the pickle peppers on sandwiches. I would like to learn how to pickle the peppers I grow this year if anyone has seeds they can send me. I have read that the Hot & Sweet Peppers are different then the Hungarian so I would like to try & grow all three varieties. While I wait, I'm on a mission to collect all the canning/jarring equipment to be prepared for the harvest to come! I'm excited to learn more but wait patiently for seeds. Have a look at my list to see if there is anything I have that you would like to exchange.

Hey, Steve, you can start eating them as soon as they've developed a nice, even yellow. If you wait, all the pods will turn red on the plant. It's actually quite attractive, with the shades of yellow, orange, and red all at the same time. The yellow pods will turn red after they've been picked, of course. About a week ago, deer got into my garden and munched my Hungarian and my Thai peppers in half. Thankfully, they left me one Hungarian....so I took a pic, and then ate it immediately. This is a second-year Hungarian that I over-wintered, and the peppers are slightly hotter this year, I believe. Third fruit I've harvested. Don't worry, this plant is on its way to recovery. Josh

Once your HHW peppers start turning orange, they will go to red relatively quickly. They start out more of a green yellow but soon turn to yellow as they grow to mature size. They then will sit in the yellow stage for some time even after reaching mature size. Then you will go out one day and notice a subtle coloring change on a pod or two. And within a day or so, you will notice a definite orange tinge appearing. It will go to a bright orange and then a week or so later will begin its change to a beautiful Red with a slight orange hue. It will stay that way for a good two weeks before you would have to pick it. The actual length in each stage is hard to nail down due to differences in soils, temps, sunlight, nutrients, etc... but they sit in the yellow stage for a long, long time. If you want max heat, you will just have to wait, but they are still quite stout in the yellow stage. Here is a photo of some of my HHW peppers from last year in early August. It shows all the color stages pretty well. Oh, and one other thing I have noticed about HHW peppers is that it seems like the smaller peppers ripen quicker than the larger ones.

Yah, they are actually "Cold Canned". It is simple, with no heat so the peppers stay crunchy, but they need to be kept in the fridge after canning. This is my third harvest this year so I have a fridge full and my family and friends have been lucky recipients as well. The ones you buy in the super market are hot canned the regular way but that makes them all mushy. These come out of the jar just like they go in. They are awesome on sandwiches.