Pickled peppers question

[cganzer]

Hoping someone here who's done this before can help me out, as I've never done this before.

I pickled 20 pounds of Hungarian wax peppers yesterday. Sterilized jars and lids and all that, and the seals all seem to have taken.

Here's my q: there's at least one jar (haven't checked them all yet) that, when upright, appears to be full of brine. However, when inverted, it only looks to be half full. Should I be worried?

[Lisa Shock]

How acidic was the pickling liquid?

[cganzer]

I used two brines, one 5:1 vinegar:water, one 3:1.

[Lisa Shock]

They should be acidic enough to prevent botulism.

I think that the big concern is that half of the peppers aren't being soaked in brine. I'd turn them frequently and try to use them as soon as possible. You may also have some problems with discoloration.

You probably figured this out, but, next time, put a small slit in the peppers so that the liquid gets inside.

[cganzer]

Thanks! I definitely appreciate it. I think I probably just packed at least one jar badly.

I didn't pick them whole apart from the very smallest ones (which I did cut slits in), so I'm not that worried about the solution penetrating; I pickled the vast majority in strips and they're not that thick to start with.