Instructions: Here is a sure fire :-) chile sauce....

Place the cinnamon, bay leaf, mustard seed, celery seed, cloves and peppercorns, in a cheesecloth bag, and tie as a spice bag, leaving a long string attached. Combine the tomatoes, onions, green and red bell peppers chile peppers, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large stainless steel or enamel pot, then add the garlic, ginger and nutmeg. Put this on high till it comes to a boil, add the spice bag, and tie the string to the pot handle and bring the mixture to simmer. Cook gently for a couple of hours until this is reduced by at least half volume, stir once in awhile to prevent burning or sticking....taste at this point for seasoning, bearing in mind that when it is hot it will not taste as it will when cold, and mellowed. This should not require any more seasoning. This amount will do about 8 half pint(250 ml) jars. Processing!Important!! Fill a boiling water canner with water, and place 8 pre-washed 250 ml jars in it, and bring it up to boiling. Put the mason jar snap lids in boiling water in a sauce pan, boil for a few minutes to soften the rubber on the lids. Spoon the chile sauce into the jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head room, make sure no air bubbles remain in jar, wipe the jar rim, and place the lid on jar. Turn the screw lid on hand tight, and place jar in canner. When all the jars are filled, the same way, return the water in the canner to a boil, cover canner, and process for at least 15 minutes. Remove jars, and cool for at least one day, then next day check seals. Lids should have all popped down, and any that didnt, use these right away, keeping them in the fridge. If you have done all this correctly, there should not be any no seal ones. Make sure that there is enough water in the canner to cover the mason jars, and if adding boiling water to the canner, add it down the side of the pot. This is a terrific chile sauce, we have been doing it for years, and still have four left from 1996, the last year we did it!

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