Thank you to Pollinate Media Group for sponsoring this post.
This Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish is my copycat version of Harry & David’s popular treat. It’s delightful mixed with cream cheese and spread on crackers or used as a glaze for pork and chicken.
And it makes a fabulous gift!
I always enjoy receiving homemade gifts. When someone takes the time to make something for you, whether it’s a simple plate of cookies or some elaborate craft, it says a lot. It makes you feel all the more unique, special, appreciated and loved. Cooking happens to be one of my biggest passions, and so naturally I particularly enjoy making gifts for people that are edible. Christmas cookies, as always, are on my list this year along with a few other goodies. And today I’m sharing a special one with you.
I picked up this month’s issues of Cooking Light, Real Simple and Sunset at Safeway and once the kids were in bed I enjoyed a luxurious evening thumbing through each issue. One of the recipes in Cooking Light is for glazed chicken that features red pepper jelly. The moment I saw that the light bulb came on. What a great gift idea – homemade red pepper jelly. As the wheels continued turning I thought about a red pepper and onion relish that I love from Harry & David that’s especially popular during the holidays. It’s delicious mixed with cream cheese and spread on crackers, or used as a glaze for pork or chicken. Those tiny jars of it are pricey for what you get and so I decided to make my own copycat version.
Back to Safeway to buy some more canning jars, pectin, and the ingredients for this relish. Then back to my kitchen to finish up the experiment. The end result: It’s fabulous! You’re going to love it and so are the lucky recipients of your gift! Just add a ribbon and a little tag and your gift is complete!
Let’s get started!
Combine all the ingredients, except for the pectin, in a large stock pot.
Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Now it’s time to add the pectin. You won’t need much because most of the liquid will have evaporated by now.
Add the pectin (I used and recommend Ball’s Realfruit Classic Pectin), bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Immediately ladle the hot relish into hot sterilized canning jars with sealable canning lids. Process in a water bath for 20 minutes.
* A note about the water bath process: There are specific canners for the job – this is the one I have. It’s deep enough to fully cover the bottles by several inches, it has rack with separate compartments that keeps the bottles separated so they don’t break by getting knocked against each other while boiling, and it comes with all the extra equipment you’ll need. If you don’t own a canner and don’t want to buy one, just use a large, deep stock pot and place the jars in it with the water covering the top by at least two inches.
Remove the jars from the canner and let them rest for 24 hours undisturbed before moving. This Sweet Pepper & Onion Relish will keep up to a year.
This recipe makes about a dozen 1/2 pint jars. For the ones you want to give away as gifts, just tie a ribbon around them with a little label. Are they cute or what?
Enjoy this relish mixed with cream cheese and spread on crackers, as a glaze for chicken or pork, or however else your imagination inspires!
- 6 cups tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced (first blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds for easy peeling) (a couple of our readers have reported success with using canned tomatoes - see reader comments below)
- 6 cups red bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 4 cups yellow onion, diced
- 4 jalapenos, seeded and diced
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1½ cups cider vinegar
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 4 tablespoons pectin (recommended: Ball's Classic Realfruit Pectin)
- *See NOTE if relish turns out too runny.
- Place all the ingredients, except for the pectin, in a large stock pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1½ hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add more cayenne to taste if desired. Add the pectin and quickly bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and ladle the hot mixture into hot, sterilized canning jars.
- Process the jars in a canner or large stock pot (see note on canners in post), with the water at least one inch above the jars, for 20 minutes. Remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Relish will keep for up to a year.
- Makes about a dozen ½ pint jars.
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Maria Fe Balta says
this sounds amazing… just a question… con much cream cheese do i need for the deep with one of this jars… thank you
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Maria, that’s purely personal preference but I’d recommend trying it with one 8-ounce package of cream cheese and give it a taste to determine if you want to add more cream cheese. Alternatively, you can serve it by spreading a bit of cream cheese on a cracker and then placing a small dollop of the relish on top. That also makes for a pretty presentation.
David Duell says
I have reduced this sauce down to one fourth. I use one can of diced tomatoes, I thicken the relish with cornstarch, I do not add the cay pepper. I split the relish when it is done and add a scorpion sauce to half. This way I have a sweet and a hot relish. This freezes well.
lou says
This is my 2nd season making this relish – last time with fresh tomatoes and this time with canned. I could not tell any difference in taste whatsoever so due to the amount of labor saved I will use canned, well drained tomatoes from now on. I will splurge for organic next time for this once a season event. I did use 5 good sized jalapenos as 2 aren’t quite spicy enough for me and cut back a bit on the cayenne pepper – a shake of nutmeg and turmeric is good too. This is an excellent recipe unlike some that call for an unbelievable amount of sugar :( I always use SureJell and it works great but just realized that I used 4T for the 1/2 batch I made and should have only used 2 but it turned out to a perfect consistency so will continue to double the pectin next time. This is every bit as good and maybe even better than Harry and David which I always bought before. I won’t look for another recipe – this one is perfect! – Thanks for sharing.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Lou, thank you! Thanks also for the feedback on the taste comparison of fresh versus canned tomatoes. Have a wonderful rest of the Summer! Best, Kimberly
Robyn Taylor says
USE A SALAD SPINNER TO REMOVE THE EXTRA JUICE FROM CANNED, DICED TOMATOES! Kim, this is my third time to make your recipe and as I have stated in a previous post, it is absolutely delicious. But I’d like to add a tip if I may. Like a few others that I’ve read, I too have used diced, canned tomatoes instead of fresh. I’ve used both and I can assure you, I cannot tell a difference with the diced tomatoes and the fresh. However I did something this year that I’ve never done before and it has really made a difference in how well my mixture firms up …….. Before I add my diced canned tomatoes, I drain them but then I put them in a salad spinner and remove any additional juice from the tomatoes. It absolutely works like a charm! I thought you might want to share this with others, hopefully it will make the difference in their mixture, as well. Thanks again for a recipe that is on point!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Robyn, I appreciate those tips as I’m sure our readers will. Thanks so much for taking the time to update us!
Robyn Taylor says
It’s my pleasure! Can I ask you a question? If you find that your recipe is still a little too watery, even though you have followed strictly by the instructions, it’s OK to ladel out some of the extra juice? I had a friend who made this and she followed right by the recipe but hers seemed a little watery. Your advice?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Robyn, there’s a note at the end of the recipe addressing this. I recommend using Ball’s Classic Real Fruit Pectin. But yes, rather than do that you can also ladle out some of the liquid.
Kim says
Hi Kimberly! Mine is not nearly as colorful as yours is, but tastes wonderful prior to canning and processing… Only changes I made was to omit the cayenne and drop the Jalapenos from 4 to 1 (am a pepper wimp!) chopped VERY small. Actually got 12 pint jars from the recipe. Am processing now, in batches… Cheers and thanks! Kim
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That sounds great, Kim, thanks so much for the feedback!
Rebecca Osting says
Can this pectin,I assume is a dry powder,be substituted with any brand of dry pectin?? I have used the liquid pectin before and did not really like the out come.Would Sure Gel work??
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Rebecca, yes, you can use another pectin but the amount varies according to brand and I’ve only used Ball for this.
Kelly R Carter says
I have made this twice now and absolutely love it! Thank you for such an amazing recipe to add to my favorites! Delish!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Kelly, thank you!
Kelly R Carter says
Kimberly, I also just bought all the spices to make Sag wat. So excited to try that this weekend! I think I need to check out all of your recipes! :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome! That’s a great one to make, Kelly, and I hope you enjoy everything you try! :)
Rob w says
Kimberly,
Thank you so much for developing this recipe. I received the H&D relish in a gift basket, and since I wasn’t familiar with it, it sat for quite a while. I opened it in a moment of desperation for guests, and I polished it off after they left. Two comments to add for others who try this dish. One, I used canned tomatoes, which I drained well, but I also chopped them because they seemed like bigger pieces then I wanted in the final product. Secondly, I purchased sweet peppers from Costco in the big six pack. They are red, yellow, and orange, so no green. Since these are a bit sweeter than green peppers, I cut the sugar down by a quarter cup. (By the way, the drained tomato juice made a fabulous scratch Bloody Mary while I waited for the cook time.). Unfortunately I forgot about the thickness test, and I really needed to add more pectin to firm it up before canning. It’s still delicious, and the little 4 ounce quilted jelly jars will make perfect holiday gifts for friends and family. I’ll have a better idea of what it should look like next time, and sure to check the thickness on the next batch. As I think about it, that second bloody Mary may have contributed to missing the step… Thanks again for developing this fantastic recipe.
Rob.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
LOL! :) That’s wonderful, Rob! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate the feedback, thank you! Perfect holiday gifts indeed, your family and friends will be thrilled. Thanks again!
Marlene says
If I try this recipe and plan to freeze it, would I just thicken with cornstarch instead of pectin?
Lyla says
When you pour back into pan, bringing it to a boil, adding more pectin. Then you need to reprocess for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Lyla, yes that’s correct.
Robyn Taylor says
I have made this recipe twice and am fixing to go for a third! I was amazed at the results – no one could tell the difference between this recipe and the original recipe from Harry & David’s! The only thing I did differently was to use canned diced tomatoes instead of boiling and dicing my own. I placed my diced tomatoes in a salad spinner to get rid of all the extra juice and it really worked, lol! This step saved an awful lot of time and it made no difference in the final results. Thank you for posting this recipe – it’s perfect!!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Robyn, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the feedback!
Pat Maravola says
My mother used to make a tomato peppers relish that everyone loved. No one has the recipe so I have been searching for one that closely matched. I’m going to try this one and see how close I can get. I will use Hungarian peppers instead of the green and cut by at least half. Also will add garlic and cut sugar. Will let you know how it goes.
Max N Banning says
We have not tried your recipe yet but will very soon. We were in Harry and David today and their price for this relish is now $6 a bottle if you buy 3. We usually buy a case because I love it on almost everything. But at $72 a case, we are thrilled to get your recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Max, I look forward to hearing what you think!