Sweet Jalapeno Relish

Source: Pepperfool.com
Makes about 6 pints

1 1/2 quarts finely chopped jalapeño peppers (6 cups)
1 quart finely chopped cucumbers (4 cups)
2 onions finely chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsps salt
5 1/4 cups sugar
3 cups cider vinegar
4 tbsps pickling spices tied in cheesecloth bag.

Combine jalapenos, cucumbers, onions and all of salt in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Cover with cold water and let stand for 2 hours. Drain thoroughly, pressing on the vegetables to remove excess liquid. Combine the sugar, spice bag and vinegar in a large non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove spice bag. Pack into hot jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

I should have noted that you can control the heat in the above recipe by seeding some of the peppers before chopping them up.

The pith, the whitish part near the seeds is also very hot. A mixture of different heat peppers can offer even more complex flavor.

thank you! Wonder if I could sub chopped green tomatoes for the cukes? (always have plenty of green tomatoes at the end of the season here in Ottawa!)

There's a Pickled-Pepper-Onion relish in this document (see link) you might also be interested in. It doesn't call for cucumbers; here's the ingredient list:

6 cups onions, finely chopped
3 cups sweet red peppers, finely chopped
3 cups green peppers, finely chopped
1-1/2 cups sugar
6 cups vinegar (5%), preferably white distilled
2 tbsp. canning or pickling salt
Yield  9 half-pints

You could sub any amount of hot peppers in the mixture as long as the total amount of peppers doesn't change.

You'll also see some other pepper recipes at the link that you may want to try.

If you decide to can the relish kayskats posted and want to use some green tomato instead of cucumber that's fine.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Let's Preserve Peppers