The Jalapeño is one of the best known peppers in the world. It is named after the city of Xalapa in Mexico. The standard Jalapeño produces 3" thick walled fruits which ripen from green to red. They are usually eaten in the green stage, but when allowed to fully ripen, Jalapeños become a little sweeter.
The thick flesh makes drying by conventional methods difficult. To circumvent this, when fully ripe (red) fruits are dried by smoking over hardwood. This product is called chipotle.
Most often used fresh in salsa, they are easy to pickle and refrigerate for later use. I love them stuffed with meat or cheese and either grilled or oven-baked!
INTERESTING TIDBIT: A jalapeno's heat level can vary widely, even fruits on the same plant. The heat flucuations are caused by either excessive water (flavor is diluted and heat level decreases) or lack of water (the heat is concentrated causing inflated heat levels).
Chef's often use serrano's due to their consistent - albeit higher - heat levels. If you intend to make large batches of salsa, I would urge you to grow at least one serrano (and use less).
Sold in a 2.62" wide x 3.5" deep pot.
JALAPEÑO
VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: C. annuum
HEAT LEVEL: Medium
FRUIT COLOR: Green > Red
ORIGIN: Mexico
SCOVILLE HU: 8,000 -10,000REFRIGERATOR PICKLED JALAPENO
Wash peppers, remove stem and slice remaining fruit into rings (either removing the seeds or not). Prepare brine, bring to a boil and then pour over tightly packed jars. Once cooled, refrigerate.
BRINE
WaterApple Cider Vinegar
Salt
Olive Oil
This is not an exact science recipe because it's designed to use on the fly. 95% of the brine is water, 4% is apple cider vinegar and 1% is olive oil. Salt is minimal (1/2 tsp for pint jar).