Chili Sauce and Hot Peppers

Today is my annual chili sauce cook-off and the house smells like fall. With only three of us at home now, I do little in the way of canning. Not that I ever did a lot like my mother and my sister-in-law Shirley did in the past! The Becka loves, I should say LOVES this chili sauce and it looks like the entree when she puts it on her plate. She has eaten pickled things and all her veggies since she was a baby...but no meat please. Grandma made a big batch of chili sauce and I remember it being served as a condiment at almost every meal. Her recipe has lots of fruit in it as well as the peppers and tomatoes.

Grandma's Chili Sauce Recipe

As I love hot sauces, I substitute some hot peppers for the green peppers. Hot peppers can be so fickle. Sometimes a jalapeno pepper has no heat at all, other times it burns my eyes when I cut it up. Last year my husband bought me some hot peppers at the market. The vendor warned that they were really hot, but I was sceptical. I diced the peppers for a batch of chili sauce and a batch of salsa without wearing gloves. Hours later, my hands were burning so badly I could not go to sleep. I had washed them thoroughly but even ice water did not relieve the pain. In desperation, I filled a bowl with milk and soaked my hands for a few minutes. The milk relieved the burning quickly. It is no wonder that spicy Indian food is served with Raita as a cooling sauce for the mouth.
I used only 2 hot peppers in the chili sauce today and once again didn't wear gloves. But the peppers must be mild this year. I have posted a reduced sized recipe on my recipe blog.

Got to get back to the stove...!