Canned Pimentos

I've been trying to grow my own pimentos for the last two seasons and this season was a success!

Recipe Video Here!

Growing pimentos exclusively to make my own pimento cheese may sound silly but I've always wanted to see if homegrown would be better than the jarred pimentos everyone gets at the grocery store. They are.

Pimentos are super easy to grow but they take all season to ripen on the vine so they aren't going to be red and ready to can until August/September depending on your region. You can grow them in the ground, a raised bed, or even a container in your yard.

I'm in zone 6b and have frozen about 8 gallon size bags of pimentos the last few weeks from just two small plants and have a few left ripening that will hopefully be ready soon before it gets too cold.

Before I canned ALL of my hard earned pimentos I decided to can a small batch to make sure the recipe was tasty and it WAS! The recipe below is from A Simple Home Cook, who posts her mother and family's recipes.

The peppers have enough sugar to stay shelf stable with just water bath canning for up to 18 months. Water bath canning really is just so easy, if you haven't tried it yet you should! All you need is a big pot and a few basic supplies:

Supplies:

• Large Stock Pot

• Rubber Canning Mat

• 1/2 Pint Jars w/Lids and Rings

• Canning Magnet

• Jar Lifter

• Bubble Buster

Canned Pimentos Recipe

Ingredients:

• 12 ripe pimentos

• 1 1 /2 cups sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Cut pimentos in half and remove the seeds and membranes. Cut in half or thirds.

2. Stir to combine sugar, water, vinegar, and salt in a pot over medium-high heat.

3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.

4. Add cut pimentos and continue cooking until pimentos become pliable, but still relatively firm. (I did about 5 minutes)

5. Remove pot from heat.

6. Pack hot pimentos into hot, sterilized 1/2 pint jars.

7. Ladle/pour the pickling liquid over the pimentos leaving at least 1/4″ headspace.

8. Remove any air bubbles.

9. Wipe jar rim with a paper towel dipped in vinegar and place a sterilized flat lid and adjustable ring on the jars. Hand-tighten the ring, not too tight!

10. Process in a water bath canner for the USDA recommended amount of time for pickled peppers (currently boiling 5 to 15 minutes depending on altitude) for shelf-stable pimentos or place in the refrigerator for shorter-term storage.

Now I'll have my own organic pimentos all winter to turn into delicious pimento cheese for the holidays and I couldn't be happier about it. Check out my recipe for Classic Pimento Cheese if you're ready for the next step!

I hope you give water bath canning a try! There are so many amazing resources on YouTube and social media in general but I suggest checking out this book for beginners. You can can so many things!

I like to buy items on sale at the grocery store and canning them for our food storage throughout the year.

Did you notice my dyslexia kicking in on the jar? I definitely wrote the born on date month, year, day. Oops. Happy canning!