Crunchy, with just a bit of a bite, these pickled carrots make for a super tasty and healthy afternoon nibble. And they look especially pretty piled up on a bright white dish. I love the pickled carrots and jalapenos that our local taco truck serves up, so for this month’s Tigress Can Jam*, I decided to try and do something similar. I found a pickled carrot recipe that called for peppers in my Small Batch Preserving cookbook. I fiddled with the original recipe a bit by adding in half a habanero pepper for spice and switched up the regular oregano for the more pungent Mexican oregano.

My only regret? I should have packed more carrots into the jars!

Spicy Pickled Carrots

Adapted from Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard

You’ll need:

¼ cup sweet red pepper, finely chopped

½ small habanero pepper, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

¼ tsp chile flakes

2 large cloves of garlic, sliced into quarters

1 pound carrots, cut into three-inch matchsticks

1 ½ cups white vinegar

1/3 cup water

½ cup cane sugar

1 teaspoon pickling salt

Instructions:

Bring a canner full of water to a boil. Sterilize two pint-sized jars by boiling them for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the red pepper, habanero, Mexican oregano, and chile flakes together.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove the hot jars from the canner. Divide the pepper mixture and garlic between the two jars. Tightly pack each jar with carrots, making sure to leave ½ inch between the top of the carrots and the rim of the jar. Pour the hot vinegar over the carrots, leaving ½ inch of head space. Wipe the rims of the jars, top them with lids, and screw on the rings.

Process the jars for 15 minutes (start timing after the water in the canner returns to a boil).

* I am participating in the 12-month-long Tigress Can Jam challenge. Each month I (and over 100 other bloggers) will be canning a specific vegetable or fruit. Last month the challenge was citrus. I made a really fabulous Honey Lemon Jelly and I can’t wait to find out what is in store for March!

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