Hey,

I pickled ~1 lb of nice cayenne peppers today, think I did it right,
sterilized jars and
all. My only question is, the processing- after I poured in the boiled
(undiluted)
vinegar on top of the cleaned but raw peppers, I put the lids on and
processed in
a boiling water bath for about 15 min or so but the water didn't cover
the jars,
it came up to about half way on them. Is this a concern ? The vacuum
is good and
there's about a 1/3 inch airspace.

Thanks so much,

a soon-to-be pickling-more newbie

ps here's what I followed, recipe-wise:
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Garlic Pickled Chile Peppers

* 500g (1 lb) Cayenne peppers
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 1/4 teaspoon allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
* 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 3 cloves of garlic cut in halves
* 900ml (1 1/2 pints) vinegar (garlic vinegar if available)
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 8 peppercorns

Wash the peppers and place into hot sterilised jars. Mix the allspice
with the celery and mustard
seeds. Pack into the jars. Add the garlic. Place the vinegar, sugar and
peppercorns into pan and
bring to the boil. Pour over the peppers and seal the jars. Makes about
1.5kg (3 lb)