Peppadews (Piquanté Peppers): The Pickling Recipe - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Step 1
500 -750 g piquante bell peppers (peppadews, red-ripe)
60 g coarse salt (koshering salt)
600 ml water
Step 2
375 ml vinegar (white grape vinegar preferred, not spirit vinegar)
300 ml sugar, white, granulated
250 ml water
4 pieces ginger, fresh, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled, whole
10 ml peppercorns (we like the mixed peppercorns)
4 bay leaves
2 small hot peppers (hot chillis, only remove stem, and keep whole)

Preparation

DO wear surgical gloves (from any pharmacy), as the seeds start stinging the hands after a while!
Do the 1st Step the night before. Believe me, you'll find it is necessary!
Cut off the stem side of the peppadews, and carefully scrape out the seeds with a small teaspoon. Rinse. Try to remove all seeds.
Let the salt dissolve in the water. Then add the prepared peppadews. Make sure they're all in the brine by putting a plate or similar on top. Leave overnight at room temperature.
Next day, using squeaky clean bottles and caps, put on a firm tin and into a cold oven. Heat oven to between 160 - 170 deg Celsius
Now rinse the brine off the peppadews, rinse briefly with cold water, and leave in a colander to drain.
Measure out into a large pot all the ingredients given in Step 2 (except the little green chillies), and stir well over low heat until ALL the sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a rolling, foamy boil.
Add peppadews and chillis and boil them for only about 1 minute.
Take hot bottles from the oven (be careful). First fill the bottles with peppadews, and then fill to about 1 1/2 cm from the top with the boiling liquid.
Carefully wipe bottles round the top, and screw on the tops.
(My sister and I used bottles with metal tops, the kind in which some pasta sauces are sold. The bottles should pop softly as they seal. If any do not seal, keep to use first).
If sealed, will keep indefinitely.