About the Recipe
Ingredients
20 large tomatoes (or 1 peck)
4 large yellow onions
4 large green peppers
3 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
Preparation
Grind tomatoes, onions, and peppers through a hand grinder or food processor. Medium to small grind.
Add all ingredients to a pot and boil until thick.
Put thick sauce into pint jars leaving a ½ inch airspace.
Wipe jar tops clean with a clean rag (some people use vinegar to wipe) and put sealing lid* on jar. Make sure that the bottle doesn’t have any chips on the top, or it won’t seal. Screw ring on evenly and firmly, but don’t overtighten.
Place sealed jars in a water bath pot with a rack in hot (but not boiling) water. Lower the rack and cover the bottles with about 1-2 inches of water above the jars.
Put lid on the pot and bring water to a boil.
After it comes to a boil, process quarts for 10 minutes** (depending on your altitude, see note below). Keep on a gentle, but steady boil.
After the bottles have finished processing, remove them from the pot and place on a cloth surface about an inch from each other, and let cool. Do not disturb the bottles until they are completely cooled.
After jars are cooled, wash them off in warm water and carefully remove the lid bands.
Test the seals. Store the bottled Chile sauce in your pantry. So yummy!
*To prepare the sealing lid, pre-simmer in hot water so that the seal is warm when you put it on the quart jar. It will help create a better seal.
**The water bath processing time noted above is for altitudes under 1,000 feet above sea level. You will need to increase your processing time according to your elevation. I’m at 5,400 feet and so I process mine for 20 minutes.
To find your elevation, go to https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/find_altitude.html