It was meant to be, I guess.

The same bag of banana peppers I’d exchanged for a carton of mushrooms Tuesday morning was still in the swap box after everyone had picked up Tuesday night—along with a second bag of mixed wax peppers.

By now, you probably know what that means: it’s time to prep some jars.

Pickled Hoagie Peppers

Add some snap and heat to a sandwich, salad, or pizza with these thinly sliced pepper rings. Use banana or Hungarian wax peppers, and, if you want to pump up the Scoville volume, tuck a few pieces of cayenne, jalapeño, or other hot variety into each jar, too. I went with my go-to brine ratio of 1 cup water: 1 cup vinegar: 1 tablespoon salt, but if you’ve got another favorite, by all means use it. This batch yielded 1-1/2 pints, which I split into five small jars. If you have a bigger family—or if you make a lot of hoagies—make this easy process even easier by loading them into bigger jars.

• 8-10 banana and/or Hungarian wax peppers
• 1-2 hot peppers (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, slivered
• 1-1/2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 tbsp pickling or kosher salt

Sterilize glass jars and rings; simmer the lids to soften their rubber sealers.

Wash the peppers and slice into thin rings. Most wax-type peppers are pretty hollow, but if you need to, remove any membrane and seeds, since they’ll just get mushy. Note, though, that I left the hot “guts” in the cayenne slices because I’m mainly using those to flavor the brine.

Load a few slivers of garlic into each jar. Pack with the pepper rings.

Bring the water, vinegar, and salt to a boil.

Ladle the hot brine into the jars, leaving a half inch of headspace. Tap the jars lightly to loosen any bubbles. If necessary, use a chopstick to jiggle any big ones loose. Top off the brine if the volume has dropped.

Wipe the rims, apply the lids, and process in a boiling-water canning bath for 10 minutes. Let cure for a day or two before you bust in. Unopened, processed jars should last a year. Once you pop the seal, store in the fridge and enjoy in a month or two.