Holy Jalapeno Relish: The Condiment You Didn’t Know You Needed

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Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

I saw a big basket of jalapeno peppers at the farmer’s market last weekend and I bought every single one – woohoo!  A lot of people might say, “What the heck can a person do with all of those hot peppers?”  Well, let me introduce you to my favorite condiment (which also makes a great Christmas present for the spicy food lover in your life!)

This will also save you, when all the jalapenos in your garden ripen at the exact same time, sparing you the pain of burning a hole in your tongue trying to eat them all.
Holy Jalapeno Relish is what we’ve dubbed this.  You can adjust the end result spiciness as noted in the recipe below.  Use this delicious condiment to top up the heat on anything you’d like to have spicier.  It’s great on chili, tacos, sausages, etc! This relish gets a workout at our house because some family members like spicy food and some do not, so we can customize the heat to suit ourselves.
WARNING: Hot peppers are the evil vindictive uncles of the vegetable garden family.
Handle them with care because when you cut them up, they fight back.  Use rubber gloves and do not rub your eyes, nose, mouth or any other mucous membrane (that I don’t want to hear about) after handling them.
Most of the heat is in the seeds.  Use or do not use the seeds accordingly to turn up (or down) the heat in your finished product.  If you do happen to get the juice or seeds on your skin (owie!) and you’re still having issues after washing the area, sometimes a milk compress can provide some relief. Generally, though, you just have to wait it out.
You can find this recipe and many more in my PDF book, The Seasonal Kitchen Companion.

 The Fresh Version

The following photos show how to make half a pint of jalapeno relish. The canning version of this recipe can be found below.

1.  Wash your freshly picked jalapenos.

j

2.  Cut off the stems, then cut the peppers in half.

j p step 2

3.  (Optional) Wash a handful of cilantro leaves (amount to taste) and add

them to the bowl of the food processor.

jp step 3

4.  Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 2-3 teaspoons of

sugar to the bowl of the food processor

jp step 4

Step 5: Using the pulse function, puree the mixture until it reaches a chunky

consistency similar to that of hamburger relish.

jp step 5

Using a funnel, put your beautiful, bright green jalapeno

relish into a jar.  This will stay good in your refrigerator for 2-4 weeks

(if it lasts that long – you may find that you make foods specifically

in order to top them with yummy jalapeno relish. )

jalapeno relish

The Canning Version

Want to keep some of this emerald-green goodness for the winter? Here’s how to use your water bath canner to put some of this deliciousness back. This is just one of the super-delicious recipes in my book, The Prepper’s Canning Guide.

Ingredients:

 

  • 5 pounds of jalapeno peppers
  • 2 cups of sugar (white sugar or turbinado)
  • 4 cups of white vinegar
  • ½ cup of cilantro leaves (optional)

(Another option, if you want a condiment with less heat, is to replace up to half of the jalapenos with green bell peppers.)

Directions:

  • In a food processor, finely chop the peppers.  Don’t turn them into a pureed mush – make them the consistency of relish.

  • Meanwhile, in a large cooking pot, stir the sugar into the vinegar and bring to a boil.
  • Immediately reduce the heat and stir in your hot peppers.
  • Use your food processor to chop the cilantro leaves, if you are using them, then stir them into your relish. (Be sure to use the leaves only – the stems are bitter and unpleasant.)
  • Bring the relish back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until heated through.
  • Ladle the relish into sanitized pint jars allowing ½ inch of headspace.
  • Process the jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.  Be sure to adjust for altitude.
Picture of Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived, and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. She is widely republished across alternative media and  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses. You can find her on FacebookPinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

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  • I accidentally covered my hands in jalapeno juice a couple of months ago because I didn’t know to wear gloves (although now it seems really obvious!). Fat free yogurt all over my hands, especially around cuticles and under the nails, worked like a charm. Just in case anybody else runs in to my previous problem. But seriously, I’m going to wear gloves this time.

  • I put a spoonful of cooking oil (olive, coconut…) in my hands and vigorously rub them, making sure to get some under the fingernails and massage around the cuticles. I do this for a couple of minutes, then I rinse and use dish soap to wash them. This always works to remove the pepper oil for me.

    • just use CTRL+P and you can print what is on your screen. Or you can highlight all the text and paste into a document and then print.

  • I read yesterday that the heat is in the pith and ribs that are around the seeds, so I quit obsessing about getting every last seed out.

  • Canned this. Loved it. 4# of jalapeños and 1#-onion, garlic glove, red pepper, cucumber -total and mustard seed. Would like to know how to thicken or less runny, like store bought that I no longer can get. This is going to make a hit for gifts. Thanks for recipe.

    • Judy – you could probably soak the jalapenos in the vinegar (sliced) in the fridge for a few days before canning it. Then mix in the other ingredients and drain off the excess vinegar to get the texture you want. I haven’t tried it but I believe that will work.

  • I am from Mexico and never have I seen anyone adding sugar to a condiment or salsa of anykind. If you want orginal flavor, never add sugar or sweet ingredients to any condiment or salsa that is made.

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