This is VERY good AND crunchy – something I had been working for! Very pretty in the jar, also. Mixture of several recipe elements, tweaked.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Servings: 11 half pints
Ingredients
Note: measure all vegetables AFTER chopping
(I used a food processor)
7 pints coarsely chopped unpeeled cucumbers
1 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
4 cups finely chopped onions
1 cup canning salt
For syrup/brine:
4 cups sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
3 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 tsp. turmeric
2 Tbp. mustard seed
1 Tbsp. celery seed
3 drops green, 1 drop yellow food coloring
(remember I was shooting for a clone of commercial relish)
Pickle Crisp (calcium chloride) for added crispness
Directions
Mix chopped veggies and salt together, cover with cold water, let stand overnight
Drain, rinse well twice, drain well.
(this is where the pillowcase tip is wonderful – put it all in a clean pillowcase before soaking – easy to soak, rinse, drain without losing a lot of the veggies)
Bring syrup ingredients to a boil, then add drained veggie mix.
Bring almost to a boil again.
Pack into jars, adding Pickle Crisp as box directs.
Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Categories: BWB Condiments, BWB Pickles & Pickled Stuff, BWB Vegetables, Preserving, Relishes & Chutneys
Submitted by: wvhomecanner on April 22, 2010
Jan Jones says:
My experience with this recipe was excellent. I love the pillow case tip. I had a new one that I merely washed and rinsed and then put in my dishwasher to sanitize it… that poor dishwasher does lots of things during canning season that one would never think of. I was very happy to learn about the Pickle Crisp which I found at my favorite Tractor Supply. All in all, the recipe is easy to follow, the taste is awesome and the longer this recipe sits, the better it is. I have a pint jar in the fridge I have been savoring over for three weeks and NO ONE but ME touches that jar! YOUR contribution and display of this recipe is worth a mint, thank you so much for posting this. I LOVE the taste and the crispness of the cold spoon full of relish coming out of the jar. Great on hamburgs, hot dogs and I even have used it in my Potato and Macaroni Salads. It is surely a winner and there is NO whining on this end. Thank you soooo much. GREAT RECIPE to call your own.
On November 10, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Jan, you just made my day 🙂
This is what I was going for in this recipe and I found it for me – really glad it’s the same for you! I wish I could remember who first mentioned the pillow case tip on Canning2, cause I would likely kiss them LOL.
On November 10, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Jan Jones says:
Hey there Dede, YES you are so right, that pillow case tip is simply one of the neatest tips ever. I have printed this recipe out, purchased some pillow cases from my favorite dry good store and some nice baskets. I have a dozen jars ready to give in my Christmas Gift giving, hoping that my beautiful friends will give it all a whirl and follow your recipe for one of the greatest tasting SWEET RELISHES ever. I am so happy with the outcome and truly find that the longer this sits, the better flavor I have. Thank you Dede, your sharing this tip and recipe gets all the credit and you are part of my Christmas spirit this year. Many, many thanks to you. Jan
On November 20, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Jan, you are so welcome! Recipes are meant to be shared and Farm Bell is such a wonderful place to do so! Anxious to hear what your friends think and if they like it is much as we do!
Dede
On November 21, 2010 at 7:30 am
Glenda says:
Dede I just canned my relish this morning. I made some changes…..don’t you just hate that!
First I didn’t have pickle crisp and have never used it, second, I didn’t have a red pepper; so used a green one and I never used food colorings. Everything else was the same.
I had a little leftover jar which will go into the fridge for testing.
I did the straining a bit different. I keep an old piece of a cotton crib sheet in the kitche and I line my cross sink strainer with it and strain the mix. Then I twist it a bit to get the excess out. I repeated this the two times and it worked for me nicely.
Even the hot relish tasted good!
On July 26, 2011 at 10:55 am
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Nope, don’t hate that at all LOL. You made it yours! Hope you are happy with the end result. The Pickle Crisp/calcium chloride is optional but does make a much crispier/crunchier relish.
dede
On July 26, 2011 at 10:41 pm