Wow - That looks really good. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Wow,you have been busy ! I am sure it is very tasty.

I think you said 78 jars? OMG!

It must be good stuff.

Jim

Do the skins of the peppers come off when cooked?

Marie

Marie,
No, the skins do not come off. The peppers are ground up just like pickles in a relish.

shirley, sounds scrumptious!

What's H&D, by the way?

Zabby

Zabby, I think that's Harry and David. I've had a couple of people ask me to "recreate" that relish, so Carol (readinglady) sent me a jar. The jar I got nearly blew the top of my head off, it was so hot. LOL

That kind of ruined my attitude about "recreating" it and I just let that project go by the wayside. Now it looks like I can just use Shirley's recipe!!

Annie

Annie,

Removing all the seeds from the hots will give you a nice tasting relish. All my family and friends use it just as we do the red pepper jam, poured over a block of cream cheese and served with any type of cracker. It can also be stirred into softened cream cheese for a nice cracker dip or mixed with sour cream for chip dip.

Shirley

Thanks for posting the final version!

Mmm, I just got around to opening a jar of H&D pepper relish that sat on the shelf for two years. It's delicious spooned over cream cheese on a triscuit, very sweet but tangy & hot too. Mine is hardly hot at all, but that might be the years in it, because I suspect Annie can take more than I can...her salsa is sometimes painful to me, and I'm scared of habanero gold!

Shirley, thanks for the recipe, I'll save it to try next year.

Melissa

Annie and I were talking about the fact that my jar, bought at the same time, is only mildly hot. I guess I lucked out!

Harry & David's "Pepper and Onion" relish name is really misleading, because it's actually a tomato relish with jalapenos, dried onion and bell pepper. I'm guessing a bit of pickling spice or at least cinnamon and clove as a backdrop with some mustard seed. It has pectin, so it's in the "pepper jelly" range but probably 2/3 the sugar and not as thick as a jelly. In addition there is distilled vinegar and water. I'm still thinking about how the water might play into the creation of the recipe.

Carol

I took a jar to my daughters this evening. She brought out a block of cream cheese and some nice crackers and we started the taste testing. She loves the real H&D's .
She thought mine was as good but a tad hotter than the real thing. I didn't think it was very hot. Suppose I could take a few more seeds out of the hot peppers.

Shirley,
I made test batch tonight. I am a happy girl. I took the seeds and ribs out of the red peppers that I used so it is not scorching hot. I was wondering about the list of ingredients from the original:

Tomatoes, sugar, water, jalapeno peppers, distilled vinegar, dehydrated onions and red bell peppers, pectin, salt, natural spice flavors.

What do you suppose natural spice flavors are? I was wondering if adding a minced garlic clove to the big batch would be good? I really don't remember tasting any hint of cinnamon in it, and I really don't like clove. There aren't any discernable mustard seeds. After I taste test it with the cream cheese, I'll decide whether I want to add more tomatoes next time. I still like the idea of using just a few sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed, of course). I only have oil packed ones on hand so I didn't try it this time. A friend is having a wetting down party next weekend so I'm thinking the relish (in it's dippy form) will have to make it's debut there.

Next, I may have to work on their country cranberry relish. It is really good over baked brie. It has sugar, cranberries, corn syrup, orange peel, walnuts, port wine, pectin, spices, and locust bean gum.

That was what I tasted, but it was very subtle, and of course I could be quite mistaken. Also, I'm sure, as Annie said, the flavors do vary from batch to batch. I think because my jar was less searingly hot than Annie's it was easier to detect certain flavors in the background. I don't think, though, there's anything sitting in the relish itself. I had in mind either a pickling spice mixture of some kind in a bag which is then withdrawn, or perhaps more likely for a commercial application, essential oils, like oil of cinnamon. It only takes a drop in home recipes. It's the kind of thing where you know something's there; you're just not sure quite what.

But you might figure out a spice combination quite different from what I imagined that comes much closer to the original.

It is intriguing to see all the different ways people come up with their own delicious variations.

Carol

Melly,
This is my third year trying to duplicate the H&D's. A batch I made last year needed something extra. Could not put my finger on just what, so I added a few celery seeds. Big mistake, for me anyway. I didn't like it at all. My daughter loved it. Go figure.

Shirley

Melly, completely off topic, what is a "wetting down" party?

Annie

It is a Navy tradition. When an officer gets promoted, he/she throws a party. Here's a wikipedia entry that can explain it better than I can. And then I won't get in trouble if I get the details wrong.

Here is a link that might be useful: wetting-down

Annie, I forgot to mention that they are having the wetting down in conjuction with another Navy tradition - a hail and farewell party. That should be pretty self explanatory. Although this time it is only a hail. We had a farewell and no hail earlier this summer before the new folks arrived. Any excuse for a party. And there aren't that many Navy folks here so we have a good number for a party.
Melly

Thank you, Melly, for the explanation.

A million years ago, in another life, I was engaged to a guy in the Navy, stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base. I think I dumped him way before he could get promoted, though.

Too bad, I missed the party!!

Annie

OMG

finally found this post again, after Ringlady was nice enough to type this in for me this AM. I tried Shirley's recipe today. It is to die for. I actually think I like this better than the roasted red pepper spread, and I am pretty die hard when it comes to that. First thing this morning I tried the recipe but instead of tomatoes, which I didn't have, I tried peaches and poured cider vinegar instead of the white one. (10 peaches instead of the tomatoes if someone is interested). It is amazing, and much closer to what I wanted when I tried the peach salsa last year as far as peachy taste is concerned. Fairly hot too, and I removed all the seeds from the peppers. Next, this afternoon, I tried the tomato version with white vinegar. Hummm, this is when I am in trouble. I cannot decide which is the version I like best now. I think I am almost inclined to go with the tomato version, though the other one is real interesting. Strangely, the tomato mix is not as hot. So I guess I will have to sit with a spoon and try both until I can make up my mind.... or maybe someone else care to try them and let me know? LOL. I guess the alternative is to invite lots of people and let them try....but that means opening all these little jars... ooooohhh....

Anyway, thank you for an amazing recipe. I will be making lots of it tomorrow.

Marie

I was eating some last night. I have a sweet tooth, so I might increase the sugar just a smidge the next time. My test batch of hot'n sweet pepper jelly had too much sugar. It has started to crystalize again in the jar. I'm going to have to try to fix it. Fortunately it was a test batch so there's only a jar of it.

Wondering if anybody has tried this with splenda? I need a sugar. Free version

I noticed you did not use any thickeners? Does it do it on its own?