Pickling Peppadews - on request by Raymond

Hmm... obviously those Peppadew plants that Desmond gave you flourished, Raymond! When we lived in Shoal Lake in Canada, I had an Ukranian neighbour (Baba Stech) who taught me a thing or two about pickling. Just as well , because before long you'll too find that you'll be begging people to take a bag of Peppadews home when they come to visit! (At one stage Desmond would fill a bag with Peppadews every night and walk down to our local supermarket where he exchanged Peppadews for a loaf of bread and a litre of milk)

You have probably noticed that the green shaped ones will all turn red at some stage - I quite like the look of a combination of green and red in one jar.When pickling the Peppadews I use surgical gloves to protect my gentle hands (ha-ha) but I've also heard that it helps to rub sunflower oil ,or olive oil if you want to be wasteful, all over your hands as it forms a protective layer. Like any chili/pepper the burn lies in the pips, so you can make it less sharp by cutting off the stem and scraping out the pips with a small spoon. You have to cut off the stem anyway to allow the pickling solution to get in. If you leave it overnight in a brine mixture, it will prevent the chillies from becoming soft over time once bottled. Do not use table salt as this could make them go cloudy , but make a simple soaking solution of about 100gram pickling salt or coarse sea salt on 1 liter water. The next morning you drain them, give a rinse with fresh water and now you're in business:

I use my big stainless steel pot and add:

3 cups white wine (or cider vinegar)

2 cups white sugar

2 cups water

to taste: about tablespoon whole peppercorns, 3 to 5 bay leaves (try lemon or orange tree leaves for something different) + a few whole garlic cloves (I sometimes add peeled ginger too)

This you bring to the boil while stirring for the sugar to dissolve. When it is bubbling and jiving you add the Peppadews for about a minute and then start bottling:

You fill the jars with Peppadews, then ladle the pickling solution in to about 1cm from the top, (push the peppers down to allow the solution to fill their cavities)

Re. the bottles / jars : your mother will heat the oven to 180°C and put the washed jars and lids in there for at least 10 minutes prior to bottling. I just pour boiling water over the lids and pop the glass jars 3 at a time into the microwave oven for a minute...

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