Sweet Pickle Relish

I enjoy relish on hot dogs, brats, and burgers. From the first time I made this recipe, absolutely no other relish will do!


Yield: 7-8 half pints

4 cups finely chopped cucumbers (about 4 m3edium-szie cucumbers)
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
¼ cup pickling salt
3 ½ cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed

Combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and cover with cold water. Let stand two hours. Drain thoroughly. Press out excess liquid.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, and spices. Heat to boiling. Add the drained vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pack hot into clean, hot half-pint jars. Leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal.
Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, according to standard canning practices.

Hints:
1. Use a food process to chop the vegetables.
2. Sometimes, after cooking, a lot of juice is left with the relish. I drain some of that by pouring some of the hot relish into a colindar. Otherwise the relish can end up with a lot of liquid. It doesn't affect the quality, just the quantity of actual relish you end up with in the jar.
3. If possible, get your produce from a farmer's market and use it that same day. The freshness does make a difference in this recipe.