This is a recipe for a lovely, classic home-canned relish with a spritely, sweet taste and crisp texture from the Ball Blue Book.
Some commercial versions may include cabbage as a cheaper filler ingredient, but this version sticks to the classic ingredients.
This is good on both hotdogs and hamburgers.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Quarter-litre (½ US pint / 250 ml / 8 oz)
Processing method: Water bath or steam canning
Yield: 8 x quarter-litre (½ US pint) jars
Headspace: 2 cm (½ inch)
Processing time: 10 minutes
Sweet Pickle Relish
Ingredients
- 750 g cucumber (4 medium / 4 cups finely chopped / 1 ½ lbs)
- 350 g onion (finely chopped (2 cups / 12 oz)
- 150 g red bell pepper (finely chopped. Measured after seeding, chopping. 1 cup / 1 large)
- 150 g green bell pepper (finely chopped. Measured after seeding, chopping. 1 cup / 1 large)
- 4 tablespoons pickling salt
- 500 ml cider vinegar (5% acidity or higher. 2 cups / 16 oz)
- water
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 800 g sugar (white. 3 ½ cups / 28 oz)
Instructions
- Wash cucumber, slice sliver off each end. Leave unpeeled, finely chop. Put in a very large bowl, or a pot.
- Peel and finely chop the onion; add to the cucumber.
- Wash seed, and finely chop the peppers; add to the cucumber.
- Sprinkle the salt over the vegetables, mix a bit with your hands, then pour enough cold water over the veg to cover them all.
- Let stand 2 hours.
- Drain, rinse and drain again.
- While the mixture is draining, in a large pot put the vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed and sugar.
- Stir, bring to a simmer.
- Add the drained veg.
- Bring to a low boil then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Pack hot into quarter-litre (½ US pint) jars.
- Leave 2 cm (½ inch) headspace.
- Debubble, adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Process in a water bath or steam canner.
- Process jars 10 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.
- Best after at least a month of jar time.
Nutrition
Reference information
How to water bath process.
How to steam can.
When water-bath canning or steam canning, you must adjust the processing time for your altitude.
For salt substitute, we have used Herbamare Sodium-Free with success. It is non-bitter and non-clouding.
More information about Sugar and Salt-Free Canning in general.
Australia and New Zealand vinegar strength special notes.
Recipe notes
- Use cucumbers with no wax on the skin.
- You can use pulse button on food processor to do the fine chopping.
- You can use any colours of bell pepper, or even all the same colour.
- Instead of apple cider vinegar, you could use white vinegar (5% or higher). The taste might be a bit harsher.
- Instead of sugar, you could use the same volume amount of Splenda® OR 4 to 5 teaspoons liquid stevia (we have used Better Stevia liquid stevia with good results.)
Recipe source
Sweet Pickle Relish. In: Ball Blue Book. Muncie, Indiana: Healthmark LLC / Jarden Home Brands. Edition 37. 2014. Page 89.
Modifications: suggested sugar and salt subs
Nutrition information
Regular version
Per 2 tablespoons / 30 ml:
- 54 calories, 109 mg sodium
Sugar and salt-free version
Per 2 tablespoons / 30 ml:
- 7 calories, 1 mg sodium
- Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 1 to 5 tablespoons, 0 points. 8 to 17 tablespoons, 1 point
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
* Better Stevia ® is a registered trademark of the NOW Foods Company.
* Herbamare ® is a registered trademark of the A. Vogel Corporation.
* Pickle Crisp ® is a registered trademark of the Newell Corporation.
Peter
Really liked this one, it replicates the taste a certain well known commercial brand of relish, but lacks the tiny little red bell pepper pieces (which probably they use for looks alone).
Dana
Can you double or triple this recipe?
Thank you.
Healthy Canning
See adjusting batch size: https://www.healthycanning.com/adjusting-batch-size-home-canning/
Kristina Brower
Can this be made without the onions?
Healthy Canning
It would be safe to omit the onion.
Vickie B
I have been making this for several years. One year I did not have enough onions so i used carrots in place of the onions. We all love it this way. This addition of carrots add just a little crunch to the relish and the color really pops. I usually make at least 4 batches of this recipe every year and we never have enough. I love sharing with our neighbors and friends to enjoy. *Note: I use a new flour sack towel and squeeze the excess water from my veggie. Draining leaves too much water in the veggies and this mutes the flavor of the finished product.
Elizabeth Eskelson
HELP!!I followed the recipe to the tee. I left the salt on for 2 hours then I rinsed (used my hands to stir under the faucet ). I did this 4 times then finished the recipe. I decided to taste before water bathing. It was awful, so salty! WHY! What can I do to remedy the problem?
Please help me!!!
Elizabeth E.
Healthy Canning
No idea, sorry! The salt quantity and the directions for salt use are correct as written. Very sorry for your experience. Perhaps cutting the salt back to 2 tablespoons would be more to your taste.
Marsha
I know what she did – she added the salt that is used for brining to the syrup. Site admin you might want to move salt to top of the recipe. Having the salt listed after the vinegar looks like it should be included with the syrup. Just a suggestion to avoid confusion in the future.
Healthy Canning
Thanks, done!
Christina Lightburn
Would you know if Raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar w/ mother would change the outcome of this splendid pickle relish recipe?
Healthy Canning
Just be sure it is 5% acidity or higher. The relish colour might be a bit darker, but the taste might be nicer.
Krista
Can you let set for more than 2 hours?
Healthy Canning
A bit longer would be fine. If much longer, then cover and refrigerate.
Linda
You did not say how much vinegar
Healthy Canning
Thanks for letting us know Linda, it seems to have got sideswiped in a recent update to that recipe which added sweetener alternatives. The vinegar is 500 ml (2 cups / 16 oz) cider vinegar 5% though white 5 % or higher is also fine.
Logan
How about
Pints?
Healthy Canning
The recipe was only lab-tested for half-pints. See: Jar sizes: https://www.healthycanning.com/jar-sizes/
L
Didn’t make anywhere close to 8 pints, I tripled it and got 4.5 pints. Way too watery, and I drained my veg very tightly w a flour sack as suggested in another comment. Overpowering celery seed flavor. Kind of glad it made so little, total waste.