Red Pepper Relish

Red Pepper Relish is a tasty sweet relish that is nice on cheese (especially Brie…warm or room temperature), pate or even as a spread for sandwiches. You could also use it in my Red Pepper Jelly Cheesecake, which is a savory cheesecake to serve with crackers.

Each time you make it this relish, you will end up with a different amount of prepared pepper/fruit/vinegar mixture because not all the peppers, peaches, pears and apples are the same size. That is why you need to measure the mixture after it has mixed overnight, to determine how much sugar to add to it.

Peppers are a low acid vegetable, so you either need enough vinegar and/or sugar to preserve them.

This recipe makes a Red Pepper Relish that is the consistency of jam and just as yummy.

Enjoy!

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Serves	8 -12 cups depending on the amount of fruit
Inspiration	Kathy Bourque via Chris

Ingredients

12 - 13 sweet red peppers (seeds removed and ground)
2 ripe peaches (skinned, pitted and chopped)
2 ripe pears (peeled, cored and diced)
2 fresh apples (peeled, cored and diced)
1/2 Quart (litre) apple cider vinegar
3/4 Cup sugar for each cup of prepared fruit/peppers/cider vinegar
1 Large lemon

Optional

1 jalapeno pepper (seeds removed and diced)
water bath canner

Directions

Mixture Preparation

Wash the peppers, cut in half, remove the seeds and then cut into chunks. Place in a food processor or blender in batches. Grind the peppers up. You may need to use a little of the apple cider vinegar to aid in getting the peppers ground.

Add to a large bowl along with the peaches, pears and apples and jalapeno pepper (if using). Add the remainder of the apple cider vinegar and mix together. Cover and leave overnight in the refrigerator.
The "Jamming" Stage

Measure the amount of fruit/pepper/vinegar mixture and measure out 3/4 cup of sugar for each cup of the mixture. Add the mixture and sugar to a large stainless steel stock pot. It needs to be large, because the mixture will triple in size when it is at a rolling boil. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for at least 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat, so that it just continues to boil. It should take about an hour to get to the "jam" stage. Stir frequently.

Once it is the consistency of hot jam, cut the lemon in half and using a fork in the cut halves, squeeze out the juice. Continue to boil 5 minutes more. It will be even more like jam.
Canning

Prepare you sealer jars, while the relish is cooking. Wash the jars and lids thoroughly in soapy water. Rinse and then fill with boiling water. Put the sealer lids in boiling water and heat for 2 - 3 minutes to activate the rubber.

You do not necessarily need to use a water bath canner, but you are more likely to get all the jars to seal, if you do. While the relish is cooking, fill the canner about 2/3 full with water and start to heat the water.

When the relish is ready to be canned, empty the water out of the jar with tongs and place on a dessert sized plate. Ladle the hot mixture into the jar, leaving about 1/4 inch of head room. Wipe the top of the jar with a clean cloth, to remove any relish that might have spilled on it when it was being ladled in. Using the tongs, remove the sealer lid from the boiling water and place it on the jar. Using your finger to keep it in place, screw on the sealer's ring to hold the lid in place.

Continue to do this until all the relish has been used up. If you do not have a boiling water canner, you can leave the jars on the counter and they will most likely seal. The canner just gives you a better result. Any that do not seal should be kept in the fridge.

Place 8 jars at a time in the rack for the boiling water canner.

Using oven mitts, lift the rack into the boiling water.

The water should cover the tops of the jars.

Put the lid on and process the bottles for 5 minutes.

Then remove the rack from the canner and place the jars on a heat proof board on the counter. The jars should not be moved for at least 12 hours, so that they can cool and set the lids.