Investment Cooking - Canning Sweet Relish

 

One of my canning goals for this summer was to grow enough zucchini to make up my favorite sweet relish recipe and can it up for my pantry and my long term food storage as well.  A couple weeks ago I had harvested enough zucchini from my garden to make up a batch.  This recipe is super easy and makes a great project for anyone who is a novice or experience canner.  I’ve been making it for ages and prefer it to anything I can buy at the store.

 

I used my grandma's old meat grinder to grind up the veggies

Onions & peppers

Sweet Zucchini Relish 

5-6 cups grated zucchini

1½ cups grated onion

1 red bell pepper, grated

1 green bell pepper grated

2½ Tbs. pickling salt*

2 tsp. ground turmeric

2 tsp. ground yellow mustard

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1½ cups granulated sugar

1½ cups apple cider vinegar 

Combine vegetables & salt together and let rest for 8 to 10 hours

My great grandmothers old pot

In a large pot combine zucchini, onion and peppers with salt, stir well, cover and allow to rest for 8 to 10 hours.  Next, drain and rinse the zucchini mixture pressing out as much liquid as possible.  Return to pot.  Add remaining ingredients stirring well to combine.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer, lid off, for 30 minutes.  Stir frequently.

 

After 8 hours I rinsed and drained the zucchini mixture,
then I added it back to the pot and along with the remaining ingredients

Simmer for 30 minutes

Spoon relish into hot clean and sterilized pint or half pint jars.  Clean the rim with a damp cloth and add a lid and a ring to each jar.  Water bath can the jars in rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes.  Remove jars to a clean towel and allow to cool completely.  Once cool, remove rings and wash jars with warm soapy water to remove any sticky residue.  Label and store relish in a cool dark space.  Makes approximately 6 to 7 half pint jars. 

* I use Kosher salt.

 

I use just enough water to cover the tops of the jars
I also try to start with water the same temperature as the relish
in the jars to help prevent breakage due to shock

In order to get the relish texture I like I use my grandma’s old hand crank meat grinder and run all of the zucchini, the onion and the peppers through it in rather short order.  I find draining, rinsing and pressing the zucchini mixture with a wire sieve works really well.  I like to can relish in half pint jars.  This is a small batch canning recipe, but if I had a large family I’d probably double the recipe and do it up in pint jars.  Or make more and can it in half pints to give at Christmas time.  That is, if you’re willing to part with it.

 

Once the water comes to a boil process for 15 minutes

This relish is fantastic on a hotdog or brat.  It is perfect to add to tuna or egg salad as well as a macaroni salad.  You can use it just like any sweet relish you’d buy at the store.  I’d like to think this relish recipe is better.  Try it and let me know what you think of it.

 

Allow to sit an hour in the hot water to begin cooling before
removing to a towel to finish cooling

To me this is a thing of beauty

Canning Tips:  Here are a few other things I like to do, but of course, you do your thing.  I “debubble” each jar of relish before I put a lid on by stirring the relish with a wooden chopstick.  Leave a ½” of head space in each jar to avoid siphoning.  Additionally, at the end of the water bath process carefully remove the canner from the hot burner and allow the canner and jars to cool for about an hour before you remove the jars to the towel to finish cooling.  This will help with the possibility of the jars siphoning out liquid.