Dill Pickle Relish

dianegrapegrower's Note:

A nice addition to burgers or hot dogs. And very pretty for gift giving. You could substitute green bell peppers for the red ones, but it wouldn't be as attractive. You can also substitute zucchini for part of the cucumbers if desired.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 5 pints

• 6 cups cucumbers , chopped
• 2 cups red bell peppers , chopped
• 2 cups onions , chopped
• 1 cup celery , chopped
• 2⁄3; cup salt
• 6 cups water
• 4 cups cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 chili peppers , minced
• ½ cup dill weed , chopped

Directions:

1. Combine cucumber, peppers, onion and celery with salt and water. Let sit 3 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water and drain well again.
2. Bring vinegar, sugar, and remaining ingredients to a boil in a large pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add drained, chopped vegetables, and return to boil. Reduce to simmer and continue until relish reaches desired consistency - about 15 minutes.
3. Ladle into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Close with hot 2-piece caps, and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
4. Store in cool dry place.

Reviews

[kspof]

I used 1/2 cup sugar and it was still to sweet, and it was also too vinegary. I haven't tried doing this yet, but I would recommend trying 1/3 cup sugar, 3 cups vinegar, and 1 cup water.

[Chef #737912]

With my changes, I thought this tasted very similar to store-bought dill relish (which my family loves). I used all zucchini instead of cucumber, white vinegar instead of cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, not so many mustard seeds and no chili peppers. We love it so much, I am making and canning more this weekend!

[Chef #512017]

I didn't realize until I was in the middle of making a quadruple batch, that this recipe must be calling for fresh dill weed and NOT dried dill weed. I wish the recipe had been more clear as I now have a huge amount of relish that has way too much dill in it! Thankfully I realized it before I put in a full 2 cups of dill weed, but I still got too much in it. I probably won't try this again.