Hot Pepper Relish ~ Notes from Leisa Land

Hot Pepper Relish

I have an "ahem" locally famous (among family and friends) hot pepper relish. I've not made it since 2017--quite a hiatus. I recently visited some friends and I was gifted a 12 pack of half pint jars with a lovely "I love your hot pepper relish, and I want to give you some jars not take full ones from you."

I, too, have missed this relish.. I put it on everything sandwiches and hot dogs as well as tuna, egg and potato salad. This past weekend I bought 15 lbs of jalapenos and and some red onions. We picked all the sweet and hot peppers ready in the garden, and I went to work.

Many years ago, I used to handcut the hot peppers into rings. It is tedious--and I recall that I forgot to wear gloves. The capsicum was embedded in the skin of my hands and burned. Plus, my hands, back and legs were tired from standing and chopping for hours on end.

I later started grinding them in my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment. A tedious and long process. However, when I started processing my dogs' food and purchased a #22 Weston grinder, grinding peppers became a game changer. I can ground 15 lbs of pepper in about 10 minutes! Takes longer to set the grinder up than grind the peppers.

I simply chop off the tops. For about 1/2 the peppers, I slice them in half lenghthwise and use an apple corer to slice out the wall and seeds holding it in line with the pepper and scooping from end to end. It is the best tool for this. I use one gloved hand to handle the cut pepper leaving my right and free to use the knife.

For the balance, I keep the seeds and the wall and that creates more heat. I allow the peppers to drain so that they are not so soupy. Below is the University of Georgia's Recipe which I follow. You can get their guide by going here. I also add juniper and allspice berries (just a few per batch). I am a stickler for relationships of base to additives. Measure your pepper/onion base and your vinegar (5% acidity, do not pick up cleaning vinegar which is lower) and sugar accurately.

Some tips.

Wash your jars and all the stuff that you plan to use in hot soapy water.

I wash my jars well, rinse and do a FINAL RINSE in a large pot with hot water and some vinegar. Vinegar removes soap residue. It may be extra work, but I do it so I have hot peppers not Dawn peppers.

Keep your jars warm so they are not temperature shocked when you add your hot liquid.

I use have a wide, low round pan that I put water in on two burners (your range real estate will dictate what you can do). I put my jars upside down. I place my lids in stainless steel colander in the water. I have two stainless steel jar funnels...one for wide mouth and one for narrower. The cheap plastic are just that. If you can get the stainless; they are inexpensive and last forever. I use

Use 2 jar handlers. You really need two jar handlers if your jars are upside down in hot water and you have to grab them and turn them. Small expense for having tools that will keep you from breaking jars and burning your fingers.
Start your water bath right away and use a lid. You must have enough water to cover your jars the recommended amount. I couldn't use my canning rack because I couldn't find the @!%$#^@#$%&& pot it went in. I did have the diffuser that sits on the bottom. You have to put your jars on something besides the bottom of your pan.
Fill your jars as noted in your recipe and ensure that you take a non metal object (plastic knife, chopstick) to release any air bubbles.
Do you have a digital snakey-probed thermomenter? Use it. (And for heaven sake get one...they will ensure that you never overcook expensive meat).

Put it in your water bath so that you can monitor when your water returns to 212...full boil v. a simmer boil, after you have added your jars which drop the temp. Processing times are based on full boil. Your you can begin your timer (and it has one) once the temp reads 212 (yes I cheat a degree and will accept 211). Note, too that these probes sometimes have to be calibrated.
Process timings: make sure that you know your altitude. There are 3 gradations of timing to account for <1000, 1000-2000 and >2000. You want to be precise here as a matter of safety--and again....begin timing once it reaches full boil.

Do not overtighten jars going into your bath. Once they cool, you will find they have loosened. come people store without the ring band. I leave it on, and finger tighten again. Not too much or you will warp the lid and break the seal. Make sure all your lids have sealed.
Put your jars on a surface that has a towel on it to prevent temperature shocks to your jar (and to absorb the water).

How long does it last in a jar? Convention is that it should be consumed in a year. I've had it 2 years out without any diminished quality that I could find.

Because I'm anal about some things, I have a label maker. I label my batch with the date made and what it is.

I don't can much. Hot pepper relish is really the only thing that I make. I don't can't tomatoes. The ones that I get from the store are better quality than most canned versions to my taste. I'd rather have Italian tomatoes than the ones from my garden! Those belong on a BLT!

I personally vouch for the recipe below. It is the only one that I use. Note, too, that you can get the best FREE publication from the National Center of Home Food Preparation here. Also you can check with your local extension office...and many of the ag colleges (like UGA) have some great recipes.

Final note: I have made this recipe adhering to the ratios including peaches, ground green tomatoes. I have also just used a gardener's mix of hot/sweet peppers v. the ratios you see here. Hot peppers and sweet peppers ratio does not matter...they both have the same PH profile and do not affect the sugar/vinegar amounts. Even though tomatoes are acidic, I still use the same ratios for the non acidic peppers/onions.

UGA Sweet hot Peppers - Master Recipe

Serves: 1

Ingredients

5 cups ground peppers 3-4 lbs before grind
5 cups ground jalapeno peppers 3-4 lbs before grind
1.5 cups ground onion
2.5 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups sugar
4 tsp pickling salt
4 tsp mustard seed

Directions

Procedure:
1. Wash and rinse canning jars; keep hot until ready to fill. Prepare lids and ring bands
according to manufacturer’s directions.
2. Rinse bell peppers well; trim to remove stems and seeds. Slice stem end from jalapeño
peppers; grind remaining jalapeño peppers with seeds. Peel, rinse, and trim onions. Cut
peppers and onions into large pieces. Coarsely grind peppers and onions (see Notes).
3. Measure 5 cups of the ground bell peppers with their juice, 5 cups of the ground
jalapeño peppers with their juice, and 1½ cups of the ground onion, also including juice.
Combine the measured peppers and onions with the remaining ingredients into a large
stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil
for 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching.
4. Fill the hot relish into prepared hot pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. If needed,
remove air bubbles and adjust headspace to ½-inch. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened,
clean paper towel. Adjust lids and bands.
5. At altitudes under 1,000 feet, process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. At
altitudes of 1,000 feet and above, process according to recommendations in Table 1, on
page 16.
Notes: For recipe development, peppers and onions were ground using a stand mixer
grinder attachment with the coarse blade.
This is a fairly hot pepper relish. It would be good stirred into cooked greens or beans, or
served with cream cheese on crackers. In order to adjust the hot pepper intensity of the
finished product, the proportion of sweet to hot peppers may be adjusted according to taste
and the variety of hot pepper provided that the total amount of measured ground pepper is
not altered. In other words, with all other ingredients measured as specified in the recipe,
there should be no more than 10 cups of ground peppers.

Notes from Leisa Land

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