Pickled Peppers

1. Cut off stem and deseed unless you want burning hot peppers. It's best to use surgical gloves, as the peppers can make your fingers burn. Cut off the stem end and scrape out the seeds with a small teaspoon. Try to remove all the seeds. Dissolve about 4 tablespoons sea salt in just over 2 cups water. (We have metric measurements: 60g salt to 600ml water.
2. Drop peppers into brine after deseeding, and leave them in for a few hours or overnight. (Increase brine mixture according to volume of peppers!) Put a plate or other weight on top if necessary, to stop them from bobbing on top.
3. Before continuing, be sure your jars, caps and rings are very clean and sterilized in boiling water. Leave in the hot water until ready to fill the jars.

Syrup ingredients:

1. Combine the syrup ingredients in a non-reactive pot that is large enough to hold the peppers. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Then bring to a rolling boil. Take care, as the mixture does foam up a bit.
2. In the meantime, rinse the brined peppers. Place in a colander or sieve and shake to remove as much moisture as possible. Add the peppers along with the green chili peppers to the boiling syrup. Boil for a minute or two. Use a slotted spoon to fill the jars with the peppers. Push them in; you want to fill the bottles nicely! Then pour over the boiling hot mixture. Use a small rubber spatula along with gentle tapping and rotation of the jars in to fill the pepper hollows with the syrup. You can add a green chili to each jar for decorative purposes if you like. Final filling should be to 1/2-inch of the top.
3. Wipe the rims of the jar