Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
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This Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish recipe 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. This Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish makes the perfect gift and has always been a hit with everyone.
If you’ve ever tried the popular Harry and David Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish you know how delicious it is. It’s also quite pricey and you get such a small amount – which is pure torture because you want enough of it so that you can eating it without worrying about running out! Well this homemade version solves that problem. It yields 12 half pint jars and at a fraction of the cost! And I promise you, it tastes AMAZING! Slather this relish on chicken or pork before baking for a marvelous glaze or mix it with cream cheese and serve it with crackers – it’s fabulous!
Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish Recipe
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. Be sure to simmer it uncovered so that some of the liquid evaporates. 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. For this recipe I use 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 canner with the water covering the top of the jars by least 3 inches and process for 20 minutes.
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!
For more delicious homemade relishes try my:
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Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish (Harry and David Copycat)
Ingredients
- 6 cups skinned, seeded and diced tomatoes , first blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds for easy peeling (a few readers have reported success using the equivalent of canned tomatoes; drain first)
- 6 cups seeded and diced red bell peppers
- 4 cups diced yellow onion
- 4 jalapenos , seeded and diced
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 6 tablespoons Ball Classic Realfruit Pectin , or equivalent (I have only used and tested this recipe with the Ball product)
Instructions
- 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 1 1/2 hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add more cayenne to taste if desired. Add the pectin and quickly bring to a boil for 1 minute. ***See NOTE below.Remove from heat and ladle the hot mixture into hot, sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process the jars in a water bath canner with the water at least three inches above the jars, for 20 minutes. Remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Store in a dark, cool place. This relish will keep for up to a year.Makes about 6 pints or 12 half pint jars.
Notes
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet November 21, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Thanks, Kimberly. Not sure we would redo what we already made but we are going to make more soon so hopefully we will do a better job. Appreciate your helpful feedback :)
I’ve increased the pectin amount on the recipe. The feedback I’ve gotten is split down the middle in terms of pectin amount. For me, the mixture always cooks down and a lot of the liquid evaporates, requiring less pectin. But there can be quite a bit of variation depending on the kind of tomatoes used. I like to err on the side of too liquidy because it’s an easy fix. When I was developing this recipe I used too much pectin the firs time and it was a wreck! Next time try it with the adjusted pectin amount and do the “plate test” before canning it to see if it needs a little more pectin.
When we made it using canned diced tomatoes, we drained them and measured to 6 cups. No blanching. We had more of the relish then indicated in your recipe so we thought we may have done something wrong. We used pectin and it was new and ours was watery as well. Maybe there is a knack to using pectin. It has gotten a little thicker but still is so delicious. We plan on making again so maybe we will use more pectin and see how we make out.
Is it still watery? It can take a full 24-48 hours for pectin to set properly. Shake one of the jars and see if it’s runny. If it is, you can still “rescue” them by opening the jars (you’ll need to use new lids but as long as the rims aren’t bent you can reuse those), pour everything back into a pot, bring back to a boil and stir in more pectin. Then can again. You can do a test first: Put a small spoonful on a plate and wait a couple of minutes. Is it set or still running all over the plate? I’ve never made it with canned tomatoes so I honestly don’t know how that would impact the final results, but anything will set properly with enough pectin!
Mine was very watery even after the whole cook time. Will it thicken when it cools from the pectin?
Hi Mlink! It will get thicker, but if it was “very” watery after the cooking time and you added the pectin, then something went wrong. In blanching the tomatoes and squeezing out the seeds a good amount of water will also have been discarded. Important too is that the pectin isn’t expired and that it’s brought to a full boil, but only for a minute. If something went wrong and it’s too watery, you can add more pectin and boil it briefly. Be careful with the pectin though because it will get thicker as it cools and you don’t want it to end up like thick jello.
Do u cook the tomatoes first to peel and seed them?
Hi Melanie! Yes, they’re much easier to peel if you blanch them first. I’ve added that note in the recipe. Simply put the whole tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds and remove them. They’ll be very easy to peel that way.
I have been making this recipe exactly this way since 2014 and everybody loves it. One jar mixed with a brick of softened cream cheese makes a killer dip!
Thanks for posting:)
That’s so awesome, Melanie, thank you!
Sorry that should say 1/2 jar mixed with 1 brick cream cheese. I was wondering if I could make this recipe in the 4 oz jars? I think they would look cute as a gift with the recipe attached for the dip and a bag of gourmet nacho chips?
Hi Melanie, absolutely, you can use any size jar you like. Processing time will be the same for smaller sizes.
“score” the tomatoes first, s’even easier.
Mase these but we used canned, diced tomatoes which we drained. Turned out fabulous. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. We look forward to making more.
Canned tomatoes work great, too, Lyn. So happy you enjoyed it and thank you for the feedback!
Any particular type of tomato you would recommend?
Hi Jennifer! I use Roma’s because they’re more fleshy and less watery.
These look amazing. Great photos
Hi, Chris, thanks so much for visiting and for the compliment. Just paid a visit to your site and it’s lovely. I’m going to pop by again later when I have a little more time. Have a wonderful weekend!
This sounds like fun. A suggestion, if I might: when I was making jams/jellies/preserves, etc. that were processed in a hot water bath, the instructions I had said to stand them up top down for 10 minutes or so before turning right side up. This will help with creating the vacuum that seals the jars thoroughly. That was many years ago, but it still makes sense to me.
The instruction about having them upside down is for when you take them out of the water bath… :-)
I saw a presentation on canning tomatoes on the program “The Chef and the Farmer” and my friend cans some items suitable for water bath canning in the same manner. But if i understand correctly, this is only done if your sterilized jars are fresh out of boiling water therefore very hot and the product you are caning is still boiling hot. You would also want lids in hot water ready to use immediately and jar rings are ready to apply. I am not a food scientist or recommending this method but just passing on what I have seen (as I remember it) and heard about the method since you asked. I made this recipe once and it was good so making it again today with addition of double jalapenos.
That makes sense, Susan, and sound advice never comes with an expiration date – thank you!
I was taught to can by southern farm lady. She did the upside down method when reusing the lids on store bought ham and jelly jars