Yesterday I took a trip to my favorite produce stand and scored a deal on some cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches. I even lucked up and got an entire 20# box of pears for just $5!
Naturally, I dragged my treasures home and pulled out the canning books. I have two that are my go-to books, Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving, and Better Homes and Gardens' You Can Can (yes, it's a silly title).
I came up with three recipes, one of which was from my mom, who has a terrific tomato relish recipe that she got from one of her sisters. Since I love to share with those of you who read my blog, I'm posting all of them for you!
First up is Sweet Pickle Relish. This makes the absolute best relish I've ever tasted, and is good on burgers, sausages, hot dogs, sandwiches, etc.
Ingredients
- 6 medium unwaxed cucumbers (you can use pickling cukes as well, you'll just need more of them)
- 3 green and/or red sweet bell peppers
- 6 medium onions
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
- 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Directions
- Wash cucumbers and peppers. Chop, discarding pepper seeds, membranes and stems. Seed cucumber if desired (I don't). Peel and chop onions. Measure 6 cups of chopped cucumbers, 3 cups of chopped peppers and 3 cups of chopped onions. Combine vegetables in a large bowl and sprinkle with pickling salt; add enough cold water to cover. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Pour vegetable mixture into colander set in sink and rinse with fresh water. Drain well. (Depending on how fine you cut your veggies, this may take awhile. I let mine drain for about 30 minutes).
- In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar, celery seeds, mustard seeds and turmeric. Heat to boiling. Add drained vegetable mixture and return to boiling. Cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until most of the excess liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
- Ladle relish into a hot, sterilized jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 for pints.
Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce is the next recipe. It's fantastic on chicken or pork, and tasty on burgers as well.
Ingredients
- 6 cups finely chopped pitted peaches
- 1 cup finely chopped seeded red bell pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 1/4 cups liquid honey
- 3/4 cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 2 tsp dry mustard
- 2 tsp salt
Directions
- In a large pot, combine peaches, red pepper, onion, garlic, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper flakes, mustard and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened to the consistency of a thin commercial barbecue sauce, about 25 minutes.
- Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water canner, 15 minutes for half-pints and 20 minutes for pints.
Tomato Relish is the last recipe I'll share for today. This is my aunt's recipe and delicious on pot roast and pork chops. This has to set overnight, so be prepared to start this a day before you plan to can it up.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (though I've made it without peeling and it turned out fine)
- 1 1/2 lbs of onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup pickling or regular salt
- 6 red chili peppers, seeded and chopped (or 3 - 6 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped if you don't like spicy)
- 2 cups vinegar, divided
- 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp flour
Directions
- Layer tomatoes and onions in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt. Cover and stand overnight.
- Drain vegetables, and rinse lightly to remove excess salt.
- Place tomatoes, onions and peppers in a large pot with 1 1/2 cups of vinegar. Heat and boil for about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup vinegar, brown sugar, curry and flour to form a thin paste. Stir in to boiling vegetable mixture.
- Turn down heat and cook for another hour.
- Ladle hot relish into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes for pints.
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