Not a truly accurate one that I know of since they come in so many different sizes. But in theory the claim is made that 1 bell pepper chopped = 1/2 cup.

I just always assumed instructions like that mean average sized, not the small ones and not the really big ones. Of course then the problem is defining "average". :) A good example of why at least a cups measurement, if not a weight measurement, makes for much better recipes.

But in a pickling recipe like relish there is some wiggle room in amounts due to the added acidity.

Dave

So, do you think I'd be safe to go ahead and use 1 1/2 c chopped pepper for the 3 bell peppers. This recipe is straight out of the new Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving--and although I don't have much experience, I thought it was strange they didn't put a cups measurement (like they did for all the other ingredients!).

I also would think "average" sized peppers, but again that's fairly subjective; I'd prefer to be a little more precise if possible.

Thanks, Dave!

Beth

Beth - the same recipe is in Joy of Pickling only in it it specifies 1 and 1/2 c chopped bell peppers so yeah, no problem. I understand the preference to be more precise and mostly I agree. But in pickling recipes, because of all the vinegar, there is a great deal of room for adjustment and less precision and still be quite safe.

Unfortunately we still find many recipes that aren't as specific as they could and should be which is why each has to be evaluated on its own merits. But if you look at all the pickle relish recipes at NCHFP you'll see that they call for anything from 1 to 3 cups of chopped peppers (depending on the recipe) so in this one 1.5 cups is not an issue.

Dave

I 100% agree with Dave..

But in general, I kind of try to stick to what a "supermarket" pepper is when a recipe calls for X number of peppers. Supermarket peppers are usually around the same size most of the year.. so when I'm home growing, sometimes I have more smaller peppers, or less larger ones.

Like for your example.. three peppers. I might do two really big peppers or four smaller ones. But if I have a lot of rather small ones, or really weird shaped ones, I do small dice up and measure up.. about 1/2 cup per pepper worth. The important part there is small dice- because large dice or minced will take up different amounts of space in the cup.