Hot Pepper Relish

I have been getting a lot of peppers from my CSA share lately, especially hot peppers. Peppers are nutritional powerhouses! They are full of vitamins A, and C which are powerful antioxidants along with cancer fighting properties and immune system enhancers. They also have vitamin K which promotes proper blood clotting and protects the cells from oxidative damage. Hot peppers help fight bacteria and boost immunity.

My Husband requested that I make some hot pepper relish so that was my project for the day. Because I was making more than one jar, I decided to can them. I sterilized my jars in the dishwasher on the "Sani" cycle and the lids in boiling water. I added water to my stock pot to boil for canning when I was ready to put in the jars. Meanwhile, it was time to prepare the peppers.

I did have a recipe that I loosely followed. Here is the recipe that I used. It is from Food.com and was posted there by "Gator Lady".

Hot Pepper Relish

Ingredients:

4 large bell peppers, any color

2 red onions

5-10 hot peppers

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons corn starch.

I did not have the exact amounts of peppers the recipe called for. I wore latex gloves to keep the heat of the peppers away from my skin. I seeded the bell peppers and cut the tops off of the cayenne and jalapeno peppers, cut the onions, and peeled the garlic. I kept the seeds in the hot peppers. They can be removed for less "heat".

I then pulsed everything in my food processor so it was nice and fine and added it to a medium-size pot on the stove on medium-high heat while adding organic apple-cider vinegar, celtic sea salt, evaporated can sugar, and organic corn starch. I brought the mixture to a boil and then simmered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the peppers were cooked, I got my jars (which were still hot) from the dishwasher, dried the lids, and spooned the peppers into each jar. I have an improvised jar funnel taken from my juicer that works nicely for canning. I filled them with a quarter inch of room at the top of each jar and lidded them. I placed them into the boiling water of my stock pot using tongs, making sure the jars were covered with the water. I placed the lid on the pot and boiled the jars for 10 minutes. I then removed them with the tongs to a hotplate and dried the lids. They will cool overnight and then they can be stored. I can't wait to give a jar to my Dad! He loves hot peppers. This stuff is really hot!!!

It's time to spice things up!!

Enjoy!

~Sarah