Easy to follow step-by-step guide for making your own delicious homemade sweet relish with cucumbers, sweet peppers and onions.
Course Preserves
Cuisine American
Keyword Relish
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Brining 2 hourshours
Total Time 3 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Servings 4pints
Author Elizabeth at thewildolive.org
Ingredients
Veggies
1 1/2qts. finely chopped Persian or Pickling cucumbers
2cupsfinely chopped red pepper
2cupsfinely chopped green pepper
3cupsfinely chopped onion
Salt Mixture
1/2cuppickling salt
1Tbsp.turmeric
Brine
1cupcider vinegar
2cupswhite vinegar
4cupssugar
1 1/2Tbsp.mustard seed
1 1/2Tbsp.celery seed
1stick cinnamon
1tsp.whole cloves
1tsp.whole allspice
Instructions
Prep the Veggies
Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the cukes into long, thin strips. Then dice the strips into small chunks, about the size of a split pea. Dice the peppers and onions into slightly larger pieces.
Salt the Veggies
In a large, glass or stainless steel bowl combine the pickling salt and turmeric. Add the diced veggies and stir to thoroughly combine. Cover veggies with cold water and a few ice cubes. Stir, and let brine for 2 hours. Drain and thoroughly rinse veggies.
Prepare the Jars
While veggies are in the salt brine, prepare the pickling brine and the canning jars. Wash and dry 4 pint canning jars and the new lids. Fill canner or large stockpot with enough water to cover the jars by one inch. Place jars in water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in the hot water while you prepare the relish. Place lids in a small sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and keep warm - do not boil the lids.
Prepare the Pickling Brine and Cook the Relish
Combine the brine ingredients in a large stainless steel pot. Keep cloves and allspice berries in an infuser or sachet of cheesecloth so you can easily remove them. Bring brine ingredients to a gentle boil and simmer ten minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and infuser/sachet with cloves and allspice. Add drained veggies. Bring veggie and brine mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Fill the Jars and Process Them
Remove jars from hot water bath and drain on a clean dish towel. Crank up the heat under the water to get it back to a vigorous boil. While jars are still hot, divide the veggies evenly between the four pint jars. Add hot brine to jars to fill them to 1/2" below the top of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars clean, place hot lid on jars and screw shut to "fingertip tight". You don't want the lids loose or the brine will leak out in the hot water bath. However, you don't want them so tight that the air can't escape and let the jars seal properly.
Carefully place filled jars back into the boiling water bath. You may need to remove some of the water for the now-filled jars to fit without overflowing the pan. You need the jars covered by 1 inch of boiling water, but leave enough space in the pan for the water to have room to boil. Bring water back to a boil, cover pan loosely and once the water is boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes.
When timer goes off, turn off heat and remove pan lid. Wait five minutes before removing jars from the water bath. Carefully lift jars from water and place on towel to drain and cool. You should hear a "pop" as the jars cool and the lids seal. If any jars do not seal, refrigerate immediately and use within a month or two. Properly sealed jars of relish can be stored in a cool, dark cupboard for up to a year.