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! Â A lot of people might say, “What the heck can a person do with all of those hot peppers?” Â Well, let me introduce you to my favorite condiment (which also makes a great Christmas present for the spicy food lover in your life!)
 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. Â Wash your freshly picked jalapenos.
2. Â Cut off the stems, then cut the peppers in half.
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3. Â (Optional) Wash a handful of cilantro leaves (amount to taste) and add
them to the bowl of the food processor.
4. Â Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 2-3 teaspoons of
sugar to the bowl of the food processor
Step 5: Using the pulse function, puree the mixture until it reaches a chunky
consistency similar to that of hamburger relish.
Using a funnel, put your beautiful, bright green jalapeno
relish into a jar. Â 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. )
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.
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.
Woot!! I’m making this for Christmas presents!! Thanks!
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.
you should put a print button on your articles so we can print off the info we would like to save.
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.
Hey Judy…I used a slotted spoon to transfer to my jars…less liquid. And added the liquid as needed.