Sweet Pepperdew Peppers

Peppadew is a registered trademark.  These are nothing to do with them.  You can read more about peppadew here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppadew

Sweet piquanté peppers (such as those trademarked by peppadew) are available in many shops.  Bottled/Canned they go through a process which results in a mild sweet pepper.

Peppadew peppers are not available raw with seeds and have been patented in the US.  Which is quite mad from a gardening point of view.

Still, pepper seeds are available on an intriguing seed black market.  They claim to be 'pepperdew' peppers.  I don't believe these are the same peppers as mine are much larger than the Peppadew peppers you see available.  Mine are also 2nd generation and will have likely as not cross bred with other peppers I've grown.

They do taste very similar especially after being processed.

The sweet brine is also a secret recipe.  This instructable does not replicate this recipe but it tastes very similar.

Step 1: Grow Some Peppers! (or Buy Some!)

When I originally received my seeds from a friend, he'd not germinated any.  My first go was a failure.  Out of 20 seeds planted, I had one germinate.  It produced one edible fruit (the rest rotted before obtaining a reasonable size).

I rescued the seeds and planted again this year.  Again I put it in the same special watering system pot.  I fed regularly and this year was rewarded with a monster crop from one plant.

The picture shows pepperdew (left) and twilight (right - quite hot!).  The twilight is very interesting - it grows purple and has no heat.  Later on as it starts to change it gets intensely hot!

Step 2: What Else Do You Need?

I used:

1lb of pepperdew or sweet peppers
2/3 cup of sugar
1.5 cups of vinegar
1.5 cups of water
Pinch of salt

You'll also need;
Ice
slotted spoon
Saucepans
knife
teaspoon
Sterilised jar
Chopping board 

Step 3: Prep'ing the Peppers!

I always give my raw peppers a wash in the sink.  They're grown organically, they're not sprayed, but they may be dusty.  Also removes surface level insects.

I chopped the end of the peppers off with a knife, then used the end of the spoon to remove the seeds and innards.

Keep the seeds - you can grow more peppers!

Once hulled, you plunge into boiling water for two minutes.  Once done, use the slotted spoon to dunk them in ice cold water.  This stops the cooking and keeps the peppers crunchy.  It'll also kill any bacteria on the peppers so when you can/bottle them they won't spoil so quickly.

Put them into the sterlised jar - if you've not sterlised them before, I put them in the oven at 160'C for about 10 minutes.  The lids I boil.

Step 4: Making the Sweet Brine

Add the water, sugar, salt and vinegar into a pan.  Bring to the boil and keep it there for two minutes.

Add to the peppers making sure the last 1 cm is left clear.

Make sure if you've not sliced the peppers that they don't have pockets of air in them.  I poked them with a sterilised spoon until bubbles stopped coming up.

Add the lid and you're done.

Step 5: Done!

Leave in the fridge for 24hrs before opening.

They won't last long.  Well, theoretically they'll last 2-3 weeks.   But they're so tasty expect them to be gone in a couple of days.

Stuff with soft cheese, slice up and put on salads/pizzas etc.

Don't forget that those seeds are a start of new life.  Leave them on a plate with a bit of tissue to dry over the next few days.  Next year, about April time, get them in some compost and see what happens!