As promised when we made Pepper Jelly, we are now going to use the left-over peppers. When added to other peppers they will fit in nicely. Remember, never throw something away that may be used in a future recipe. That is being Frugal. Something I learn many years ago watching Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. I have save many dollars by following he way of saving and using things.
In this blog we are going to make Sweet Pepper Relish and Hot Pepper Relish. We will even do some Pepper Sauce at the end, not just Hot but Mild also.
I know these titles are not going to fit the product for some people. I have had people at craft shows sample Pepper Jelly (Green) and tell me that it is too "Hot". Sometimes people hear or see the word "Pepper" and no matter what it is, it's hot. These are the same people who want Kraft to make a mild Ketchup. Some people have very delicate taste buds. To these people, I say sit this blog out, we will be back to sweet and mild maybe the next blog.
First step in making any relish is to get all the ingredients, get them processed and ready to cook with.
Sweet Pepper Relish, you will need to buy (or pick):
Bell Peppers - enough for 8 cups chopped (a mixture of colors would make a pretty relish)
Cubanelle (a mild to medium type of pepper) or Sweet Banana Peppers - 8 cups
Vidalia Onions - 4 cups
Mustard seed - 4 tablespoons
Celery seed - 1 tablespoon
Salt (Kosher or canning) - 1 tablespoon
White Vinegar - 7 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
Don't cut the peppers or onions too small, you want it a little chunky. Thaw peppers taken from freezer. thaw on a folded paper towel to soak up and liquid. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook about 1 minute, stirring till everything is mixed very well. Don't over cook, everything will get soggy. You want your relish to have a texture. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars. (8 ounce or 16 ounce size with relish the larger jars are OK). Use the size you think your family will eat. Left-over relish goes back into the fridge for next time. Just keep the dome and rings clean. They will rust due to the vinegar, so wipe them off regularly. Mary Lynn has bought Plastic lids for canning jars at Wal-Mart and she replaces the metal with plastic after opening. This will make the jar last all the way to the end. She then saves the rings to use on other jars. You can buy domes and rings extra in a box. You can also buy domes and rings individually in boxes. So be frugal reuse what you can. Save those dollar$.
I love to use this relish on my hot dogs, it is awesome tasting on the dogs. Sometimes I even use the hotter relish, but I have never gotten the nerve to use the hottest. I guess I don't want my hot dog cooked more than one time before I eat it.
For Hot Pepper Relish:
Bell Peppers - enough for 4 cups chopped (a mixture of colors would make a pretty relish)
Cubanelle (a mild to medium type of pepper)
or Sweet Banana Pepper - 4 cups
Jalapeno' Peppers - 4 cups
Vidalia Onions - 4 cups
Mustard seed - 4 tablespoons
Celery seed - 1 tablespoon
Salt (Kosher or canning) - 2 tablespoons
White Vinegar - 7 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
If you really want a "Hotter" relish use the following in place of Cubanelle or Sweet Banana Peppers. You still want Bell Peppers in your hot for their taste.
Hottest Pepper Relish- use the following ingredients in addition to the others listed.
4 cups Jalapeno' Peppers
1/3 cup Red Pepper Flakes
2 cups - Habanero peppers.
The Habanero Pepper was the "Heat King" for many years. Now there are at least a dozen peppers that are hotter. People constantly cross hotter peppers with other types of hot peppers in hope of creating the next "King". I just read that growers in Australia have developed a pepper the is many times hotter the the Habanero. They call the pepper "Trinidad Scorpion". It looks almost like a habanero but the bottom of the pepper is pointed. When you cook your extra hot pepper relish, use the steps as above, but be careful the smell will get quite strong and will make your eyes water. When you are preparing any peppers, mild or strong, it is better to wear disposable latex gloves or some other type if you have allergy to latex. Always remove the seeds and white membrane on all peppers. Sweet peppers have a membrane, if not removed, will give a bitter taste to your relish. Make sure you remove ALL seeds from hot peppers, they will turn your relish into a super hot taste and no flavor. Seeds also usually don't go well with anybody. You see them trying to politely remove them from their mouth. So just don't put any in.
First find a pepper sauce bottle that looks nice (something that you usually set on the table or somewhere in your kitchen). You can buy bottles in various stores, you just have to look for them. Once you have the right bottle, decide what king of peppers you are going to use. Around the South, Cayenne is the pepper of choice, but I really like the flavor of Thai. One will need 15 or 20 small peppers, or 4 or 5 larger peppers. Leave the stem on if you like. OK, you have you peppers and the bottle. Let's get busy and make you pepper sauce.
Take a small knife in make a slice in the side of the peppers, this lets the vinegar get to the pepper and lets the flavor of the pepper out.
Push the peppers into the bottle, try not to stack them, this will cut down on the number of peppers you can fit.
Bottle with peppers inserted.
1 cup of vinegar (I use cider because of the taste)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of canning, kosher or sea salt
Heat the vinegar, water and salt. Just heat it slightly, as you don't want to cook the peppers. Carefully pour the heat liquid into the bottles. Let the bottles set for a couple of minutes. Now put the cap or lid on the bottle then roll it around at a angle and shake slightly (you are trying to get the air out).
Let sit for about a week, now you have really good pepper sauce to use on greens, fried veggies (like Okra) and just about anything else you want. A hint, don't use on cake, pie or ice cream.
If hot peppers don't appeal to you, if you would like something with taste but little to no heat. Mary Lynn put on her thinking hat and made a recipe just for you. In place of hot peppers substitute sweet banana peppers or every bell peppers cut into thin strips. The sweeter pepper sauce gives you everything the other has minus the heat. Enjoy both or either one.
So looks like we got in more than just Pepper relish. Well that is how I am, you always get more conversation than was planned. When I get to talking about cooking and eating, well there is just no way to shut me up.
 |
| Beautiful Pepper Relish |
I know these titles are not going to fit the product for some people. I have had people at craft shows sample Pepper Jelly (Green) and tell me that it is too "Hot". Sometimes people hear or see the word "Pepper" and no matter what it is, it's hot. These are the same people who want Kraft to make a mild Ketchup. Some people have very delicate taste buds. To these people, I say sit this blog out, we will be back to sweet and mild maybe the next blog.
First step in making any relish is to get all the ingredients, get them processed and ready to cook with.
 |
| Looks like a market basket of things to use |
Bell Peppers - enough for 8 cups chopped (a mixture of colors would make a pretty relish)
Cubanelle (a mild to medium type of pepper) or Sweet Banana Peppers - 8 cups
Vidalia Onions - 4 cups
Mustard seed - 4 tablespoons
Celery seed - 1 tablespoon
Salt (Kosher or canning) - 1 tablespoon
White Vinegar - 7 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
Don't cut the peppers or onions too small, you want it a little chunky. Thaw peppers taken from freezer. thaw on a folded paper towel to soak up and liquid. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook about 1 minute, stirring till everything is mixed very well. Don't over cook, everything will get soggy. You want your relish to have a texture. Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars. (8 ounce or 16 ounce size with relish the larger jars are OK). Use the size you think your family will eat. Left-over relish goes back into the fridge for next time. Just keep the dome and rings clean. They will rust due to the vinegar, so wipe them off regularly. Mary Lynn has bought Plastic lids for canning jars at Wal-Mart and she replaces the metal with plastic after opening. This will make the jar last all the way to the end. She then saves the rings to use on other jars. You can buy domes and rings extra in a box. You can also buy domes and rings individually in boxes. So be frugal reuse what you can. Save those dollar$.
I love to use this relish on my hot dogs, it is awesome tasting on the dogs. Sometimes I even use the hotter relish, but I have never gotten the nerve to use the hottest. I guess I don't want my hot dog cooked more than one time before I eat it.
For Hot Pepper Relish:
Bell Peppers - enough for 4 cups chopped (a mixture of colors would make a pretty relish)
 |
| Far from being the hottest peppers, Jalapeno' peppers are used in many recipes that want a little "heat" |
or Sweet Banana Pepper - 4 cups
Jalapeno' Peppers - 4 cups
Vidalia Onions - 4 cups
Mustard seed - 4 tablespoons
Celery seed - 1 tablespoon
Salt (Kosher or canning) - 2 tablespoons
White Vinegar - 7 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
If you really want a "Hotter" relish use the following in place of Cubanelle or Sweet Banana Peppers. You still want Bell Peppers in your hot for their taste.
 |
| Habanero peppers used to be the "Heat King" of all the peppers. |
1/3 cup Red Pepper Flakes
2 cups - Habanero peppers.
The Habanero Pepper was the "Heat King" for many years. Now there are at least a dozen peppers that are hotter. People constantly cross hotter peppers with other types of hot peppers in hope of creating the next "King". I just read that growers in Australia have developed a pepper the is many times hotter the the Habanero. They call the pepper "Trinidad Scorpion". It looks almost like a habanero but the bottom of the pepper is pointed. When you cook your extra hot pepper relish, use the steps as above, but be careful the smell will get quite strong and will make your eyes water. When you are preparing any peppers, mild or strong, it is better to wear disposable latex gloves or some other type if you have allergy to latex. Always remove the seeds and white membrane on all peppers. Sweet peppers have a membrane, if not removed, will give a bitter taste to your relish. Make sure you remove ALL seeds from hot peppers, they will turn your relish into a super hot taste and no flavor. Seeds also usually don't go well with anybody. You see them trying to politely remove them from their mouth. So just don't put any in.
Variations on the above recipes can be made with a multitude of peppers, sweeter or hotter. Don't change the other ingredients, as they make the relish have a great taste. Another popular pepper that has a great taste is the Thai peppers. They are the peppers that make Thai food so hot.
 |
Note the size of the plastic spoon in the peppers. They are small with a big shot!A hot pepper you can use, but use it sparingly is Thai Peppers. They will add a great flavor and a pile of heat to the party. Thai peppers don't look like much, but a little sure goes a long way.
Many people will not know what I am talking about, but here in Georgia, we like to eat Turnip Greens and Collard Greens. We also like to put Pepper Sauce on them to make them taste even better. If you have never had a Sunday Dinner of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, collard greens and corn bread, you have missed one of the Best Southern traditions. Not everybody likes "greens" but I am sure you can find other ways to use Pepper Sauce.
One of the things I like to make with Thai Peppers is Pepper Sauce. If you don't know what that is, it is the stuff on the tables with the little peppers in all that vinegar in the shake bottle. Thai peppers should have the stems remove and use a knife and cut a hole in the pepper for the vinegar to get in, other wise the peppers will just float. You can use different peppers for this, but the small whole peppers look best. Even with some Carrot added for taste and color.
One of the things I like to make with Thai Peppers is Pepper Sauce. If you don't know what that is, it is the stuff on the tables with the little peppers in all that vinegar in the shake bottle. Thai peppers should have the stems remove and use a knife and cut a hole in the pepper for the vinegar to get in, other wise the peppers will just float. You can use different peppers for this, but the small whole peppers look best. Even with some Carrot added for taste and color.
Making Pepper Sauce is very easy. Just be careful when you work with hot peppers.
 |
| Plain or Fancy Peppers Sauce Bottles |
Take a small knife in make a slice in the side of the peppers, this lets the vinegar get to the pepper and lets the flavor of the pepper out.
Push the peppers into the bottle, try not to stack them, this will cut down on the number of peppers you can fit.
Bottle with peppers inserted.
1 cup of vinegar (I use cider because of the taste)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of canning, kosher or sea salt
Heat the vinegar, water and salt. Just heat it slightly, as you don't want to cook the peppers. Carefully pour the heat liquid into the bottles. Let the bottles set for a couple of minutes. Now put the cap or lid on the bottle then roll it around at a angle and shake slightly (you are trying to get the air out).
Let sit for about a week, now you have really good pepper sauce to use on greens, fried veggies (like Okra) and just about anything else you want. A hint, don't use on cake, pie or ice cream.
 |
| Sweet Banana Peppers Great taste - No Heat |
So looks like we got in more than just Pepper relish. Well that is how I am, you always get more conversation than was planned. When I get to talking about cooking and eating, well there is just no way to shut me up.
This blog was a request from one of my cousins. Carline and Wayne have planted a big garden and have already made a beautiful jar of Pepper Relish, maybe they will try my recipe for the next batch of peppers. They are also busy making Bread & Butter pickles. I will cover them later on when I do a couple of blogs about pickles. Not many people dislike pickles. Lots of things to talk about and make just so much room on a blog.
I am open to most any request for the next blog or two or seven.
Pass my blog address along to your friends, and maybe people that are not your friends, I don't mind.
New blog link for you to: canucanit.com or canucanit.net save one of these links and you just have to click to see what is going on.
My next blog will be about Blueberries. So keep watching and cooking.
Pass my blog address along to your friends, and maybe people that are not your friends, I don't mind.
New blog link for you to: canucanit.com or canucanit.net save one of these links and you just have to click to see what is going on.
My next blog will be about Blueberries. So keep watching and cooking.
No comments:
Post a Comment