> Also, as my late pepper harvest ripens (or rots) in paper bags, I'd like to > pickle some chiles. Just a reminder, in case your bags hold fully mature chiles: ripe (e.g., red) chiles tend to become soft in texture when pickled. Sometimes _very_ soft. Many consumers do not find this pleasing. For this reason, green chiles usually work best for pickling. Varietal differences do exist: some types get even softer than others. For example, red-ripe tabasco chiles are closer the 'Nearly Liquid' end of the Pickled Ripe Chiles Hardness Range, whereas red cayennes are closer to the other extreme of the range (merely 'Soft'). --- Brent