Sweet Pickle Relish

Yeild: 4-5 half-pints

4 cups chopped cucumbers (about 4 medium-size cucumbers). Leave the skin on.
2 cups chopped onions
1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup pickling salt
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds

Combine the cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain thoroughly. Press out excess liquid.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, and spices in a large pan (I used a Dutch oven). Heat to boiling. Add the drained vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pack hot into clean, hot, half-pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Seal.

Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Leslie's notes: I make twice and many vegetables as called for and chop them quite fine in the food processor. I don't want chucks of veggies on my hot dogs! Be careful, though! It you chop them too long in the processor, they turn to mush. I have a pulse feature on my process and use that.

I have made this relish at least a dozen or more times. It turns out the same every year. I refuse to buy sweet pickle relish at the store because I like this recipe so much.

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.