Preserving: Pickle Relish

Much to my chagrin, I had used the last of our homemade pickle relish by adding it to the potato salad that I had none left for my hotdog.  As a kid I used to put ketchup on my hotdog, but now I love only mustard, onions and pickle relish.  And so yesterday morning, I minced 3 large cucumbers from our garden along with green bell pepper, red bell pepper, white onion, and garlic.  I then sprinkled two teaspoons of salt and added water to cover, stirred and then set it aside overnight (you can do just 6 hours). I then poured the minced vegetables into a colander and rinsed them well.

This morning, I got to pickling.  I turned on the stove to get the water in my canner boiling and to sterilize my pint jars.  I poured 3 cups of vinegar and a half cup of sugar into a big pot along with two teaspoons of dill weed (I only had dried but otherwise, I'd leave a sprig in the jar before processing), 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds, 2 teaspoons celery seeds, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 2 bay leaves.

Boil and then reduce to a medium low simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the drained vegetables and return to a boil.  Then reduce to medium low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. 

 

I then poured the relish into my canning jars.  I was only able to fill two, and had only enough left to fill a quarter of a jar.  The first jar to the left, I put a plastic lid on and straight into the fridge and processed the other two jars in the canner for 10 minutes.  I've made enough relish to last for the year or until the next cucumber harvest.