Cucumber Relish! || Preserving Cucumbers from the Garden || Easy Relish Recipe!

cucumbers

🥗Healthier: zucchini

💰Cheaper: pickles

Zucchini offers a similar texture while pickles add a tangy flavor.

lime juice

🥗Healthier: lemon juice

💰Cheaper: vinegar

Lemon juice provides a similar acidity, while vinegar is often less expensive.

cilantro

🥗Healthier: parsley

💰Cheaper: dill

Parsley is a common substitute that maintains freshness, while dill offers a different flavor profile.

green chili

🥗Healthier: jalapeño

💰Cheaper: bell pepper

Jalapeños provide heat while bell peppers add crunch without spice.

Welcome to The Homestead Kitchen, where we're making cucumber relish.

I'm tripling the recipe today, so check the show notes for a single batch recipe.

Gather ingredients: red and green bell peppers, onions, white vinegar (at least 5% acidity), pickling salt, brown sugar, optional pickle fresh granules, whole mustard seeds, ground turmeric, whole allspice, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and cool water.

Rinse all vegetables thoroughly.

Core and chop the bell peppers into small pieces.

Chop the onions and cucumbers into small pieces.

Dissolve pickling salt in a pot of water, stirring until fully dissolved.

Mix all chopped vegetables in a large bowl.

Sprinkle ground turmeric over the vegetable mixture and mix well.

Pour the salt water over the vegetable mixture and stir to combine.

Cover the pot and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Prepare a spice bag using a cut corner of a tea towel to hold whole spices: cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and mustard seeds.

After 3 to 4 hours, strain the vegetable mixture into another pot.

Add cool water to the strained mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the pickling liquid by combining vinegar, brown sugar, and the spice bag in a pot, bringing it to a boil, then simmering.

After 1 hour, strain the vegetable mixture again.

Combine the strained vegetable mixture with the pickling liquid and mix well.

Cover the pan and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours to marinate.

Prepare for canning by gathering canning tools and heating the mixture over medium to high heat until boiling, stirring continuously to prevent scorching.

Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer until ready to pack jars.

Prepare a hot water bath canner and sterilize jars, lids, and rings.

Pack the mixture into jars, leaving at least a half inch of headspace.

Remove air bubbles from jars and clean the rims with a wet towel.

Add a smidgen of pickle fresh granules to each jar (1/8 teaspoon for pint jars, less for half pint jars).

Add lids and rings to jars, ensuring Tattler lids are not tightened down too firmly.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary