Chili Variations in a Tall Jar by Erich Stekovics
Chili Variations in a Tall Jar by Erich Stekovics are hand-picked chilies of many varieties, layered color by color into a tall bottle. The tomato vinegar binds the collection from mild to fiery together, turning the pantry staple into a display piece for the shelf.
Chili Variations in a Tall Jar are pickled chilies from Stekovics in Frauenkirchen, Burgenland. In the slender, tall bottle, 250 grams of red, orange, and yellow peppers are layered one on top of the other, hand-picked and preserved with sugar and salt in vinegar made from his own tomatoes.
A Tower of Color and Fire
The tall glass turns the colorful mixture into a column that makes a statement on the table all on its own.
Between red, orange, and yellow, the shape and size of the fruits change from layer to layer. When eating them, you first taste the fruitiness of the vinegar, then the flavor of the chili, and only then does the heat slowly rise. How far it rises depends on which variety you happen to pick.
Why the Heat Arrives Later
You taste sweet, sour, salty, and bitter with your tongue, while heat registers as warmth.
It acts on the nerves that otherwise signal temperature, which is why it takes a moment to arrive and longer to subside. The vinegar provides a fruity boundary, keeping the flavor of the peppers at the forefront. A sip of water helps little; bread and cheese, however, immediately neutralize the warmth.
Hand-Layered into a Tall Bottle
Such layering is only possible in a narrow, tall jar where every layer is visible from the outside.
Stekovics selects the peppers individually for this, placing them one by one in layers of color—a process that takes more time than bulk bottling. Use a long fork to take them out, and the structure will remain intact until the very last layer. The bottle is a popular gift because it is impressive even before being opened.
For a Snack Platter, Pizza, or Grill
On a platter with bacon, cheese, and dark bread, the bottle can simply be left open.
Sliced into thin rings, Stekovics' chilies elevate a simple pizza, a buttered slice of bread, or a pasta salad. Alongside grilled dishes, they provide the spicy punch that a sauce would otherwise offer, and in a stew, they slowly infuse their warmth into the broth. For a long evening with friends, place the bottle in the center and let everyone fish for themselves.
Retains its Crunch After Opening
An unopened bottle should be kept in a cool, dark place, where it can easily last a year on the shelf.
Once opened, it belongs in the refrigerator, and what remains should always be covered by the brine. Because the fruits are pickled whole and their skins remain intact, they lose hardly any crunch, even after weeks. Save the vinegar at the end, as it has absorbed the spice and fruitiness and will season any marinade on its own.
Every Jar Is Unique
Which varieties and in what order they are layered is decided by the harvest cart, not a desk-bound plan.
Sometimes yellow dominates, sometimes deep red, depending on what has ripened that week. The contents of a Stekovics jar remain colorful and varied, which is exactly what you expect from a product grown in the field. For a more compact option, try the Chili Variations in the small jar, or explore our Chili Specialties and the Habanero Mix.
Content 550 ml – Drained weight 250 g
