Homemade Pickled Bell Peppers and Banana Peppers Recipe

When I was a kid, I wasn't the biggest fan of spicy food. I thought I was daring when I'd put a little bit of mild salsa on my tortilla chips! But hot peppers made me run! I hated the burn!
But there was one spicy food that I did like- pickled banana pepper rings! I'd eat them by the spoonful, and enjoy every second of it. Yes, other people enjoyed them on hot dogs, etc... but I enjoyed my banana pepper rings plain, burn and all. The sweet, the sour, the spice, the mild crunch- heaven.

I recently acquired a huge amount of yellow peppers, peppers that needed to be dealt with quickly, otherwise they'd spoil. I wanted to pickle them, but wasn't able to find a recipe that appealed to me. And then I saw a recipe for pickled banana peppers. Oooo, that sounded so good! I really wanted to be able to make those, alas, my peppers were the sweet variety, not the spicy kind!

But I decided to try them out anyhow. I healthified the idea, using only healthy ingredients instead of the lab produced and overly processed ingredients that I saw in the original recipe. I don't remember where the original recipe was, I'm sorry, but I changed it so much that it doesn't even resemble it anymore...
I added a dash of hot pepper to mine- and with that extra touch, they taste exactly like the banana peppers I grew up with. If you prefer no spice, leave out the hot pepper, and you'll still have a very delicious snack.

Homemade Pickled Bell Peppers and Banana Peppers Recipe

Ingredients:
Enough yellow or orange peppers to fill a 2 quart mason jar (about 20 or more)
4 1/2 cups kombucha vinegar or apple cider vinegar (or 3 cups white vinegar)
3/4 cup coconut sugar (or 1 cup white sugar)
1/4 cup honey (leave out if using white sugar)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar and honey are dissolved.

3. If using kombucha or apple cider vinegar, you'll need to boil it down because its not as concentrated as white vinegar). Keep it boiling for 20 minutes.

4. Cut peppers into strips or rings, and pack tightly into a jar.

5. Pour boiling vinegar mixture over the peppers, and cover.

6. Let sit on the counter for 2-3 days, or until soured, and then refrigerate. They should last a long time in the fridge.

Do you like spicy food? Are you a fan of sweet and sour spicy pickled peppers? Does this seem like a recipe you'd try? What do you do when you have surplus peppers?