Which would you choose? Technicolor store pickle relish (top) or homemade pickle relish (bottom)?
I’ve been doing more and more label reading, especially on things I used to simply take for granted. Case in point: pickle relish. We normally only use a few jars a year, so I never paid any attention to the ingredients of the commercial product. I finally took a look, and here’s what we’ve got:
- Cucumbers
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Corn Syrup
- Cauliflower
- Vinegar
- Salt
- Dehydrated Red Peppers
- Spices
- Xanthan Gum
- Calcium Chloride
- Alum
- Natural Flavors
- Polysorbate 80
- Yellow 5
- Blue 1
Sheesh! HFCS and corn syrup? Two kinds of artificial color? Aluminum? You know it’s time for a real food substitution.
I went looking in Putting It Up With Honey
Homemade Pickle Relish Sweetened with Honey Recipe
Yield: 6 pints
4 cups cucumbers
1 cup green pepper
1/2 cup red pepper
3 cups onion
3 cups celery
1/4 cup salt
1 3/4 cup honey
2 cups vinegar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 tablespoon coriander
Gather ingredients:
My peppers are not doing well this year, so I dug a few packages of mixed bell peppers out of the freezer. I bought bulk organic spices in the natural foods section at Festival. The onions – believe it or not – are from last season, and have kept in the root cellar all this time. We’ve almost used them all up. The leafy stuff is homegrown celery, which I teamed up with some organic celery from the store. I bought the honey in bulk from a local apiary.
Finely chop all the vegetables.
This actually took more time than anything else, as I chopped some things by hand. I’m still getting used to my new food processor and was not sure how to get piece size that I wanted.
Combine in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, cover with cold water, and let stand five hours. (I missed this the first time I read the directions. I ended up letting mine stand overnight and canning the next morning.)
Drain thoroughly in a colander
Combine honey, vinegar, and spices. Bring to a boil. Stir in drained vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pack into hot sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch from the top.
Complete Seals. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
I ended up with 9 cups of relish rather than 6 pints, I think because my produce was very high in moisture due to record rains so a lot of liquid drained out.
I think mama would be proud, and I know my family will be eating just a little less chemical laden food in the coming year.
That looks delish! I wanted to can this year but have gotten wrapped up in…EVERYTHING else. (sigh) On the list for next year. I'm storing this recipe. Thanks.
Wow – that was a quick comment! It took me two weeks to finally get to making this. The summer has flown by this year.
That looks yummy! I'm not a particular fan of relish, but I'd eat yours! If I keep reading your blog, I think I'm a goner as far as processed food goes…but that's a GOOD thing! :^)
RE: your comment on my "New Term, New Tool" post – I never gave much thought to NEWHL's name before…but now I definitely like it on purpose! I wish I could convince GBACH to make a similar alteration…which wouldn't have to require a change in the acronym – just saying "learners" instead of "schoolers" at the end when saying the whole name. Last night at the kickoff, I had a visceral "yuck" reaction every time someone used the word "home SCHOOLER." :^)
There is nothing like homemade sweet relish! People always think my deviled eggs are the best ever….besides the fresh eggs, it's the homemade relish! Beautiful job Laurie!
Laurie, that's incredible and mama would be proud. I wish I could stay with you for a month and soak up all your homesteading knowledge. It's look delish.
Great recipe Laurie………it's amazing at the ingredients that put in to so much isn't. There's hardly an item I buy anymore in the store.
Laurie………..it may not be a jam, jellie, etc… but THANK YOU for sharing it on the "Nourishing Jams, Jellies…….Blog Hop".
We expected there would be a big turn on it…so far it's mediocre, 3 days left.
Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by.
Pamela – in the past I always used more standard recipes with white sugar, so I couldn't link to old posts. Hopefully I'll get a chance to make the plum and cardamom jam before the end of the week. I figured some sort of "preserve" was better than none.
Thank you so much for posting this! We usually make relish from a recipe in the Ball Blue Book, which calls for sugar – not as bad as HFCS, surely, but when you're starting with homegrown cucumbers…!
Oh, and I love your colander!
Heather – I know what you mean about the sugar. This is my first year experimenting with alternate sweeteners/less sugar. I'm sure home processed is still better even with the sugar, but we are trying to cut back.
The colander was a gift from a friend and I love it! It is so handy for so many things.
I have a question. Do you have to use green peppers? I can't stand them & if I could use more of something else, I would. :} Thanks,
Use whatever peppers you like, just make sure not to add more (volume-wise) low acid items so you don't throw off the pH.
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