Preserving is not an endevour to be taken lightly, since messing it up is potentially deadly. That said, it’s really a very simple, hard-to-screw-up kind of thing, and there is a wealth of information online to guide you.

Here are some photos taken by Jennifer of Operation: Jalapeno Relish.

Loading the relish into the jar. After filling the first jar I remembered to look around for my special canning funnel (looks like this).

You’re supposed to secure the lids, but not too tight because the air needs to be able to escape when they sit in the boiling water bath.

Bathtime!

Last weekend’s relish was my second attempt at preserving.

Attempt #1 (several years ago) went awry in the recipe department. I’d had the brilliant idea to start a homemade pickle company (kinda like what this guy did,) but first I needed to get just the right recipe. My pickled cukes weren’t going to be your boring, run-of-the-mill pickles; I used fresh and interesting ingredients, like fancy champagne vinegar, ginger root and kumquats. I remember spending a day in the kitchen preparing a dozen variations of a basic recipe. Then packing the jars and numbering them, keeping a written list of which number corresponded to which recipe variation.

I’m not sure where that list is anymore, but it doesn’t matter because it all ended up in the trash anyway. Jar #1 came out waaay too vinegary. I don’t remember what was up with jar #2. Jar’s #3-12 were still in my basement until a few days ago, some furry mold beginning to form around the outside of the lid. So sad.