Recipe: Stuffed Pickled Bell Peppers

Paul: Your question peaked my curiosity. I am posting below two recipes that I hope will lead you to what you want. One is for fermenting cabbage into sauerkraut. The second is for pickling bell peppers.

The sauerkraut instuctions sound like the process used by your father. The pickled bell peppers sound like they would become sweet-and-sour like. Both recipes call for canning or pickling salt.

So, I am wondering what would happen if you used the fermenting instructions with the pickling ingredients for the kraut-stuffed peppers... I am not a chemist, but it sounds logical.

I found this information at http://foodsafety.org/can6.htm

United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service

I would very much enjoy hearing back from you.

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Pickled Bell Peppers

7 lbs firm bell peppers
3-1/2 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar (5 percent)
3 cups water
9 cloves garlic
4-1/2 tsp canning or pickling salt

Yield: About 9 pints

Procedure: Wash peppers, cut into quarters, remove cores and seeds, and cut away any blemishes. Slice peppers in strips.

Boil sugar, vinegar, and water for 1 minute. Add peppers and bring to a boil. Place 1/2 clove of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in each sterile half-pint jar; double the amounts for pint jars. Add pepper strips and cover with hot vinegar mixture, leaving
1/2-inch headspace.


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Sauerkraut

25 lbs cabbage
3/4 cup canning or pickling salt

Quality: For the best sauerkraut, use firm heads of fresh cabbage. Shred cabbage and start kraut between 24 and 48 hours after harvest.

Yield: About 9 quarts

Procedure: Work with about 5 pounds of cabbage at a time. Discard outer leaves. Rinse heads under cold running water and drain. Cut heads in quarters and remove cores. Shred or slice to a thickness of a quarter. Put cabbage in a suitable fermentation container, see "Suitable Containers, Covers, and Weights for Fermenting Food,", and add 3 tablespoons of salt. Mix thoroughly, using clean hands. Pack firmly until salt draws juices from cabbage. Repeat shredding, salting, and packing until all cabbage is in the container. Be sure it is deep enough so that its rim is at least 4 or 5 inches above the cabbage. If juice does not cover cabbage, add boiled and cooled brine (1-1/2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water). Add plate and weights; cover container with a clean bath towel. Store at 70 to 75 F while fermenting. At temperatures between 70 and 75 F, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60 to 65 F, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60 F, kraut may not ferment. Above 75 F, kraut may become soft.

If you weigh the cabbage down with a brine-filled bag, do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is completed (when bubbling ceases). If you use jars as weight, you will have to check the kraut 2 to 3 times each week and remove scum if it forms. Fully fermented kraut may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for several months or it may be canned as follows:

Hot pack--Bring kraut and liquid slowly to a boil in a large kettle, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and fill jars rather firmly with kraut and juices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Raw pack--Fill jars firmly with kraut and cover with juices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.