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Sweet Relish
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Yield: 6 pints
Sweet Relish
We love making and gifting sweet relish. And I know many of you were looking forward to this recipe, so this month I’m going to publish two recipes so I can show you How To Make Sweet Relish this week, and then give you a second recipe later this month.
I think these kinds of novelty items are the best homemade gifts for teachers, family, and friends. It’s something we usually have in our fridge or pantry, but not something we consume even monthly. So that’s why we’ve started to make it in smaller, gift-size 4-ounce (half cup) jars.
I hope you enjoy learning how to make relish and find as much joy in this process as we do making and gifting this really delicious sweet relish.
This recipe makes 12, 4 ounce jars or 6, half pint jars.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pickling cucumber, chopped fine
- 12-15 ounces yellow onion, chopped fine
- 3 Tbs salt
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp mustard seed
- 1 ½ tsp celery seed
- ½ tsp turmeric
Instructions
- Either chop cucumber and onion fine by hand, or pulse with a food processor until diced to about 1/8-1/4” cubes. You want your final weight to be 4 lbs cucumber (after removing any excess seedy areas and dicing) and 12-15 ounces chopped onions.
- Spread the 3 Tbs salt into the bowl with minced cucumber and onion. Mix thoroughly. Add just enough water to cover the mixture.
- Let stand for 2 hours.
***Wash your jars with soap and water or run through a dishwasher cycle. It’s important to keep your jars warm because we will fill them with boiling liquid, so find the best time to do this. While not necessary to sterilize jars or lids for water bath (processing) times of 10 minutes or more, I still generally place my clean jars into my hot water bath while I’m preparing the relish, even just to let the steam keep them warm.
One hour later …
- Measure out all sugar, vinegar, and spices and set aside.
- Fill and bring your water bath canner to a boil.
- After 2 hours, let a colander with cheese cloth in your kitchen sink and carefully ladle your mixture into the colander. Rinse and repeat. Then gather the cheesecloth together and press the excess moisture out of the mixture. You want it to be as dry as possible.
- Boil the sugar, vinegar, and spices together and add the cucumber and onion mixture. Boil together for 10 minutes.
- Set the jars aside and carefully pack the hot relish into your clean jars, leaving ¼” headspace in each jar.
- Wipe the rim off every jar with a damp cloth and carefully secure the clean lids and rings in place. Don’t over-tighten the ring.
- Place in hot water bath, ensuring every jar has 1” of water above the jar. Boil for 15 minutes. For those at higher altitudes, adjust accordingly. Learn more here.
- After 15 minutes, carefully remove and place on a towel. Do not touch jars for 12 hours, or overnight.
It’s best to let this recipe blend together for a few months before serving. Makes a great holiday gift utilizing our summer excess.
Hope you enjoy making this pantry staple in your kitchen this summer.
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