pepper onion relish

[FINE]

There are conflicting directions for processing this. Some say water bath is fine, others insist it must be pressured canned.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

 

Pepper-Onion Relish

 

6 cups tomatoes, skinned, diced and drained

6 large red peppers diced

8 cups sugar

2 TBSP salt

2 small boxes pectin

3 cups white vinegar

1 tsp ground red pepper

2 jalapenos seeded and diced

3 large onions diced

 

Mix all ingredients together, except pectin and bring to a boil.

 

Turn down and simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until thickened

 

Whisk in the 2 boxes of pectin and boil for 1 minute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Violet]

Why do you need pectin in relish ? Where did you get the recipe ? I need to know where it came from in order to help you more.

I would think the BWB, not a pressure canner since it is all vinegar.

[FINE]

Violet,

 

the recipe is posted in many places on the internet as a copy cat recipe for a Harry and David brand relish. The pectin is included in everyone I've seen. I think the finished product is more of a jam than a relish. I don't know the original source though.

 

The argument for pressure canning was that the ratio of low acid veggies to vinegar wasn't safe enough for water bath canning.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Violet]

 

There are plenty of recipes from Ball and also the university extensions, etc. for things like this that are known to be safe. I would not recommend using recipes from sites from people who have no food preservation safety training.

If you just found it on the internet, how do you know if a recipe is safe or not ? Please, don't just use recipes from a bunch of sites online for your safety.

I have no idea who made up this recipe.....

One of my big concerns is that it is thickened. The other, how long would it be processed ? A lot of necessary information is missing here.

I am not saying it is safe. Please, don't think that I was, I was asking where it came from, etc. Then, according to a "jam" recipe with low acid things that much acid should be safe, but again, this is a strange recipe that someone has made up. It is like a jam recipe and relish recipe someone combined.

[FINE]

You concerns and questions are exactly why I questioned the method of processing.

 

Many people wb can it,we both know many people do things that aren't safe.

 

The pressure can instructions I saw were to can for 15 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. I'll look through my ball book to see if I can find something similar. Thanks again.

[Violet]

The University of Georgia has one without tomatoes.

Pickled Pepper-Onion Relish

6 cups finely chopped onions

3 cups finely chopped sweet red peppers

3 cups finely chopped green peppers

1-1/2 cups sugar

6 cups vinegar (5 percent), preferably white distilled

2 tbsp canning or pickling salt

Yield: 9 half-pints

 

Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

 

Procedure: Wash and chop vegetables. Combine all ingredients and boil gently until mixture thickens and volume is reduced by one-half (about 30 minutes). Fill sterile jars, with hot relish, leaving 1/2-inch headspace, and seal tightly. For more information on sterilizing jars see "Sterilizing Empty Jars". Store in refrigerator and use within one month. Caution: If extended storage is desired, this product must be processed.

 

Process according to the recommendations in Table 1.

 

Table 1. Recommended process time for Pickled Pepper-Onion Relish in a boiling-water canner.

Process Time at Altitudes of

Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft

Hot Half-pints or Pints 5 min 10 15

 

 

Ball has one, too. No tomatoes, though.

 

Could you make this relish then add some tomatoes when you open the jars ?

[FINE]

that's so nice of you to look for those recipes!

 

I can use a different recipe. The one I posted was one I stumbled across and had good reviews.

 

Is pressure canning an option, or is that still questionable? I may make a reduced quantity and store it in the freezer. All this energy for a recipe I've never tried! lol!

 

On the plus side, I canned 30 pounds of Chicken breast and 7 pints of Ball's Bruschetta in a jar today!!! Go me! :-)

[FINE]

oh man..what is with my double posts these days??

[Violet]

This is not a professional answer, but a personal one..... this is off the record.

I would leave out the pectin and then pressure can for 35 min. to be honest. If you want it thicker when you open it, then stir in some instant clear jel and it will be thick. I don't see the reason for the pectin. If you pressure can pectin it will not gel anyway. Never thicken something like this before canning. Sure, there are some jam recipes with low acid things, but this is just a really different recipe.

Freezing it would be great ! You can freeze any cooked jam recipe, so you could indeed use the pectin and then freeze it.

 

I have made the BBB roasted red pepper spread, which is wonderful, but not the bruschetta one yet.

No ripe tomatoes yet. I sure hope some ripen !

 

that's so nice of you to look for those recipes!

 

I can use a different recipe. The one I posted was one I stumbled across and had good reviews.

 

Is pressure canning an option, or is that still questionable? I may make a reduced quantity and store it in the freezer. All this energy for a recipe I've never tried! lol!

 

On the plus side, I canned 30 pounds of Chicken breast and 7 pints of Ball's Bruschetta in a jar today!!! Go me! :-)

[FINE]

the pectin thing makes a lot of sense. I'll do a reduced quantity and freeze it.

 

I figured that pressure canning might work, but the timing is so variable, too risky. When I first read water bath for 10 minutes, I thought- "No Way!"

 

I did pretty well with tomatoes this year. I planted 13 roma tomatoes in zone 6. I'm starting to clear the garden now.