It’s International Incident Party time again and this month the theme is SALT. Now we have a love hate relationship with salt in our modern society. We are told salt is bad…yet without salt we would not be alive. Salt was one of the few methods of food preservation before the invention of the “ice box”. Salt was so rare and expensive it was used for trades, salt created empires and unleashed wars. Funny how the precious can become so common over time.

If you are a regular reader then you know right now I am kitchen challenged i.e. it has been demolished and being rebuilt s-l-o-w-l-y. So I needed something very basic, easy, requiring a minimum of space and equipment to prepare. I had a large amount of jalapeno peppers that I was not going to get through before they went bad so I found a few leads on how to preserve them in salt. PERFECT!

But before we get to the recipe, I got curious and I rounded up all the salts I owned to see if I had a lot. These are the ones I located. Yikes! I have Kosher salt, garlic salt, black lava salt, tea smoked salt, salt with espelette chili, black sea salt, hickory smoked salt, fleur de sel and baking soda. Yes baking soda is a salt technically…from sodium jut not the common table one.

On the right is a book I just bought, Salt, which discusses salt throughout history. Of course first I have to finish about 500 page of my current 1000 page book,Pillars of the Earth. Phew.

Salt Preserved Jalapeno

enough fresh jalapeno (or any chili pepper you have) to fill your jar
coarse salt
opt: a sweet pepper for color contrast

  1. Wash and drain peppers then cut into thin slices or pieces, seeds included.
  2. In a sterilize glass jar drop in the bottom 1 tbsp of salt.
  3. Add a layer of jalapeno and sweet pepper if used.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach the top of the jar. Close lid tight.
  5. Leave in a cool place for a couple of weeks before using, then store in the refrigerator once opened.

TIP: Use a pair of disposable medical gloves when slicing to protect yourself from burning your hands. You can usually get just a couple of pairs in the hair dye section of the drugstore.

 

Super easy and quick, perfect for me right now. Oh and this would make a perfect holiday gift for a friend with a spicy pallet! Use any chili pepper you like, mix em up or add some herbs too.