Cowboy candy: sweet, spicy jalapeño rings. They're a part of Mark's childhood. We're headed to the kitchen to make a small batch without any need of a steam- or pressure-canner.

This recipe comes from our book, COLD CANNING. It's all about making small batches of preserved, pickled, or fermented things for the fridge or freezer without the need of the pressure- or steam-canner. If you'd like a copy of the book, please click this link.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:30] Our one-minute cooking tip: add fat to lean meat for better, grilled burgers.

[02:47] We’re making cowboy candy!

Here’s the recipe!

3 cups (600 g) granulated white sugar
2 cups (480 ml) distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound 7 ounces (650 g) fresh jalapeño chilis, stemmed and cut into ¼-inch-thick (½-cm-thick) rounds

Put the sugar, vinegar, and salt in a large saucepan. Set it over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Stir in the jalapeños. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes from the time the liquids come back to a boil. The chilis should morph from bright green to a dull, dark, olive green.

Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the jalapeños into four clean ½ pint (236 ml) jars, two clean 1 pint (472 ml) jars, or one clean 1 quart (1 l) jar. Pour the syrup from the pan into the jars to cover the jalapeños and come within ½ inch (a little less than 1 cm) from the top of the jar. (There may be excess syrup, depending on the jars or containers you’ve used. See the more section of this recipe) Cover and seal, then cool at room temperature for 2 hours before refrigerating.

[21:19] What’s making us happy in food this week: Thai massaman curry and raisinets!