Hot Pepper Dill Pickle Relish

So I am trying my hand at more canning.  I have had an abundance of hot peppers and pickling cucumbers, and I looked and looked for a recipe for a dill relish.  All I could find was a dill pickle relish, so I just started experimenting.  Here is what I came up with:

Food Process the following:
8-10 c of cucumbers (cut the ends off and cut into smaller slices for easy food processing)
3 c of onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 c of assorted hot peppers (I used a combo of:  hot banana, jalapeno, garden salsa, and a red and milder version of a habenero called a zavory.  Be sure to remove the stems).

Put in a large bowl and cover with a 3/4 a cup of pickling salt and water.  Top with some ice cubes for crispness.  Let sit for 3-4 hours.  Rinse thoroughly.

In a large pot combine and bring to a boil:
6 c of cider vinegar
1/2-3/4 c of sugar (depending on your taste...I started with 1/2 but sprinkled in a little more to combat tartness)
3 T of mustard seed
1 T of celery seed
1T of dill seed
2 T of dill weed (dried spice version)
1 T of red pepper flakes

Add vegetable mixture.  Bring back to a boil for 15-30 minutes (depending on desired consistency).  I got 7.5 pints out of this recipe.  It seems good on first try.  In hindsight, I would definitely try to add more red peppers just for color.  I wonder what the difference would be if I used regular vinegar and not cider vinegar?  Overall, this is good relish with a kick.  I like the flavor and consistency.  I think if I make sweet pickle relish I will use this recipe and just add sugar and less dill b/c my other relish had too much turmeric.

Sorry no pictures this time.  My darling photographer assistant is busy redoing our 1/2 bath.

Canning Sweet Pickle Relish

So the pickling cucumbers in my garden are keeping me on my toes.  So far this year I have canned 2 batches of dill spears, 1 batch of bread and butter, and now a batch of dill pickle relish.  This was a first for me, so there will be some things I do differently next time, but overall I think it turned out good.

The ingredients were pretty simply:
1/2 c canning salt
2 c. vinegar
1 T cornstarch
about 10-12 cucumbers
2 red peppers
2-3 onions
5 c sugar
1 t tumeric
1 t celery seed
1 t of mustard seed

First, don't peel the pickles.  I used my mandolin and my 3.5 mm julienne blade to slice them into strips.  Then I diced the strips up into fairly small pieces.  I did the same with the onions and red peppers.  I mixed all of that into a large bowl and tossed in the canning salt and then added 8 c of boiling water and let it set for 1 hour.  As it sat and cured I mixed the vinegar, sugar, tumeric, cornstarch, celery seed, and mustard seed in a large pot.  After the hour was up, it was time to drain the water from the relish mix.  I used my strainer for this process.

After that I mixed the relish into the liquid mixture that was waiting in the pot.  I brought it all to a boil then continued boiling for another 35-49 minutes.  If the mixture is a little liquidy keep going to get it to firm up.  As this was boiling, I got my roasting pan going with the jars and lids so they would be sterilized.  If you time it right, your jars are ready about the same time as your relish is.  I put 6 pints in the roasting pan, but I was skeptical I would get 6 and I was right.

I got 5 pints out of this.  I think if I do it again I will change a few things.  First, I will use more cucumbers.  I got too few pints and I think it was a bit watery for me.  Second, I will tame down the turmeric.  It is a little overpowering.  Third, I might try cider vinegar and see if that improves the tartness.

I should get a few more rounds of pickling cucumbers from the garden.  I think I would like to try another bread and butter batch and then I will try my hand at a pickle and hot pepper dill relish.  That one will be for my dad :-)

Bread and Butter, Baby!

Second harvest of pickling cucumbers and today it was time to try the bread and butter pickle.  I had a great recipe I used with my sister a few years ago and decided to get it out of the recipe holder.  So, here is how it goes.  First, wash the cucumber and cut the top and bottom off.  The, cut in even pieces. I like mine to be a little thicker because I prefer them to be a bit crunchier.  The recipe calls for 28 cups of sliced cucumbers; however, my harvest only yielded 14, so I just halved the recipe.

After you cut all the cucumbers, you then need 8 cups (of for 4 cups for 1/2 recipe) of yellow onions.  I like to cut the onion in half and then cut the them in slices. Again, I like them a little thicker to keep their crunch.  After you cut these, put them in a large bowl and cover with 1/2 c of canning salt (different from table salt, it will leave sediment at the bottom of your jar--oh, and I used 1/4 c).  Mix it around with your hands or a spatula.  Afterwards, cover liberally with ice cubes, then tin foil, and finally a towel.  Let sit for 4 hours.

I started prepping for the canning after about 3 1/2 hours.  For this I use my largest pot (I need a larger one--hint, hint hubby, it would be a great xmas present) and my dutch oven (I don't think it is actually a dutch oven, but I have no other name for it.  The large pot is for boiling the syrup and spices and the dutch oven is for sterilizing the cans.  I started by getting the water going for sterilizing.  I placed both the jar and the lid in the pan.  I left the ring out because if it is hot, it is too difficult to twist on.  Then the recipe called for 7 1/2 cups of white vinegar (I used 3 3/4 c) and 7 1/2 c of sugar (again, 3 3/4).  To that I added 3 T mustard seeds (1 T), 1 1/2 T celery seed (3/4 T), and 1 T of tumeric (1/2 T).  I poured it all in the large pot and started them to boiling.  While this was coming to a boil, I uncovered my cucumbers, removed the ice, and rinsed them off lightly with cool water.  Once the mix was boiling, I threw them in and got them submersed in the liquid.  I waited and let it come to a boil again.

Once it came to a boil I started canning, by using a ladle and funnel to get the pickles in the jar.  They slid in easily and barely needed any coaxing, but if they did I just used a spoon to help.  I made sure there was plenty of liquid in each and I tried to make sure the was enough head room, but not too much to keep it from sealing.  Once they were filled, I got a lid and placed it on with my tongs and then sealed it with a lid.  I put it to the side to sit until it popped.  For this batch I got 4 pints and 2 quarts.  One jar doesn't have quite enough liquid, so we will put that in the fridge and eat.  The longer they sit the better, but they should be ready to eat in 2 weeks.  I don't process these in a boil bath.  I suppose you could with the a 10 min bath for a quart and 5 min for a pint.  I have been making salsa like this with my dad for ages and we've never had a problem.  As long as you keep your jars sterilized and hot right up to the point you're filling the jars you should be fine.  Since I started typing this about 30 minutes ago, all of my jars have popped and are sealed, even the one with less liquid.
Happy canning!