# 12 Carrot Jalapeno "Risky" Relish and was it worth the burning of my hands?

When I was a little girl I would always call jalapenos "jap-a-lan-o's". Yea, yea that is sooooo cute but I am pretty sure I was well into my teens before my mom corrected me.  "Karly, it's 'Ha-lo-peen-no's' HA HA-lo-peen-no's." I like to imagine what it was like going food shopping with me when I was a little girl, it must have sounded something like this:

Me: Hey ma, how many of des here jap-a-lan-o's do you want? How come deem der people are talking dat funny lanwidge, ma?  MA?

So FUN FACT EVERYONE! Jalapeno's burn the shiza out of your hands! If you are like me and think you have strong hands, you don't. Not when it comes to jalapenos and habaneros. IT. WILL. BURN. FOR. HOURS! At first it lightly burned and then it got sooo bad that I thought some lotion would help, nope.  Hydrogen peroxide, nope. Milk, nope. As I sit here typing I still have a mild burning sensation on my fingers! So wear gloves!

So after that...fiasco I was contemplating the risk verse the reward, that being the relish. So when my husband came home we sat down to delicious Kayem hotdogs and we hereby declared that the Carrot Jalapeno Relish was.....a success!!! My husband described the relish as "surprisingly delightful edition to a hot dog" and rightfully so! The relish is unique since the base is carrots, so it is slightly sweet and spicy.  I could see this being added to potato salad, deviled eggs, or a grilled cheese sammie!


Recipe from Tart and Sweet
Alls you need:
3 lbs of carrots, cut into coins and then pulverized in a blender
2 red onions diced
2 tbsp of minced garlic
5 jalapenos, seeds removed and thinly sliced
4 habaneros, seeds removed and thinly sliced

Brine:
4 cups of water
8 cups of apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 bay leaves

Satchel:
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp mustard seed
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 tbsp ground black pepper

I know it looks like a lot but once the carrots are pulverized in a blender the recipe goes smoothly, added that you are wearing gloves while cutting the hot peppers.

Combine carrots, hot peppers, onions, and garlic into a large bowl and mix so everything is evenly distributed.

Create a satchel from cheesecloth and add in the cinnamon stick, mustard seed, coriander seed, and ground black pepper.

In a big ole pot combine the water, vinegar, brown sugar, and bay leaves to create the brine.  Add the satchel into the brine and bring to a boil.

Take your sanitized hot jars out of the canner and pack in the dry ingredients, this being the carrot/hot pepper mix. Shove everything down real good.  Then ladle the boiling brine into the jars. Seal and process for 10 minutes or according to altitude.