Labor Intensive, but Tasty

Canning is messy, time-consuming and labor intensive.  Most of the time, it isn't worth the effort - unless the flavor cannot be duplicated anywhere else.

I do not like store-boughten pickle relish.  It is too sweet.  I make an old family recipe that is more of a bread-and-butter sweetness. 

Do you know the zucchinis that get away from you?  The ones that are about the size of a short-handled baseball bat?  They make great relish.  My friend brought me three extreme zucchinis.  Once I ground them up and added the onions and green peppers, I ended up with 10 quarts of relish.  That should last me for well over a year. 

I'm not a hot dog eater.  The relish will season my tuna salad, meat loaves, and a couple of other recipes.  Its gentler flavoring works better with food than store-boughten which, in my mouth at least, seems to want to be the star of the show.

Since I'm making the relish today, and I have the recipe out, I'll post it here for anyone who thinks the work might just be worth it.  You can use zucchini, yellow summer squash, green, red, or orange bell peppers, green tomatoes, cucumbers, and possibly green beans.  The recipe includes celery, but I leave that out.  Add onions, and you have a treat.

Chopped Pickle Relish

9 cups ground vegetables, see above paragraph
3 cups ground onions (proportions may be juggled somewhat)
Note how many quarts you get and multiply the rest of the recipe once for each 3 quarts you grind.

Add 1/4 pickling salt and let stand several hours or overnight. I put it in an enamelled stock pot.

Drain off the juice.  (If you save the juice before adding the salt, it's an excellent soup base with any flavor you care to add.)

Rinse and drain again.

Add:
4 cups vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3 cups of sugar
2 Tablespoons mustard seed
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
Boil the whole batch about 7-8 minutes and can while still hot in clean jars.
Or:
I usually can cool product and put in a hot water bath for 10 minutes instead.

Please follow all the rules for safe canning, sterilizing the jars and lids, etc.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi