How to make and can sweet pickle relish

Do you think there could be anything better than to be able to make something and call it your very own thing .

You can impress your family .

You can dazzle your friends even with something as simple as sweet pickle relish .

Hello , everybody .

I'm the big easy chef in this episode .

I'm gonna show you how to make sweet pickle relish .

This is relish that goes great on hot dogs , hamburgers .

It's wonderful in potato salad , macaroni salad , deviled eggs , whatever else you'd use relish for , this is some of the best relish you'll ever taste .

I think it'd even be great on ice cream .

Now , I'm also gonna show you how to make that bright green relish that goes on top of Chicago style hot dogs .

So you don't have to worry about trying to write down the recipe during a video as it'll be posted at the end along with a metric conversion chart and complete instructions so you can kick back .

Enjoy the video .

So let's see what's shaking and get the bacon before you start handling any food .

Be sure to wash your hands , using plenty of warm water and soap .

I cannot tell you enough how important it is to handle food in a sanitary and safe manner .

I'm starting with 30 long English seedless cucumbers .

I think these cucumbers work the best for pickles and relish as they have more meat and less seed than the other cucumbers .

You can use other cucumbers .

However , if they have large seeds , you should de seed them , start by washing the cucumbers with plenty of water .

Now , I have eight sweet red bell peppers .

You'll need to wash them also .

Now you can start chopping the cucumbers .

You could do this by hand using a sharp knife , chop , chop , chop , chop , chop , chop , chop , chop chop chop .

However , you need to chop these pretty fine .

And me being the big easy chef , I'm getting out the food processor and it can spin spin spin .

You can see how fine the cucumbers need to be cut .

If you use a food processor , be sure not to make this into puree .

Just use the pulse mode and stop when they're chopped pretty small .

Now , get the yellow sweet onions ready peel the onions and cut them into large chunks and get them ready to take their ride in the processor .

It's time to get the red bell peppers ready start with removing the seeds and ribs from the peppers and cut them into large chunks .

Get them ready to spin spin spin in the processor place the cucumbers into a container using glass plastic or stainless steel container .

Don't use any other metal as you add the cucumbers to the container , Sprinkle some canning salt on the cucumbers .

You're not seasoning the cucumbers .

You are going to use the salt to draw out the moisture from the cucumbers .

Make sure to use canning salt as other salts could discolor your cucumbers and you don't want discolored pickle relish .

I was able to fit 10 cucumbers into one container .

So I added two of the bell peppers and one onion in the container .

Also , once the container is full , add some ice on top of the mixture .

You can place the containers in the fridge or let them sit in a cool spot .

They need to set for 18 to 24 hours .

Now it's been 24 hours .

The salt has done its job so it's time to drain and rinse the mixture .

I use a strainer with a fine mesh .

I line it with cheese cloth as I don't want to lose any of this mixture down the drain as this is precious stuff .

Once all the mixture has been rinsed , place it back into the container to make the sweet pickle relish syrup in a large pot .

Add 10 cups of sugar , six cups of apple flavored cider vinegar .

Two teaspoons of ground cinnamon , two teaspoons of ground ginger , two teaspoons of celery seed , one and one half tablespoons of mustard seed , one tablespoon of ground Tomic .

One teaspoon of ground clove heat .

This mixture on medium heat just enough to dissolve the sugar , making a nice syrup .

Once the sugar is dissolved , turn down the heat to keep the syrup warm .

Now , pour some of the syrup into another pot .

Add green food color to the syrup .

Try a few drops at a time until you get the green color you like .

This is what's going to give the relish a nice bright color for the Chicago style hot dogs .

If you're not planning on making any bright green relish , skip this step .

Now it's time to get your jars ready .

You need to sanitize these jars .

You can place the jars in a pot of water and bring them to a boil .

Hold the boil for 10 minutes after 10 minutes , keep the jars warm .

However , me being the big easy chef , I'm going to use the dishwasher for this task .

I can do all of the jars at the same time .

I'm also going to throw in the rings .

My dishwasher has a sanitized setting .

You can find more safe food handling at USDA dot gov .

Place the lids in a pot of water , heat them to 100 and 80 degrees .

Not any hotter than 100 and 80 as you could ruin the seal .

Once they have reached 100 and 80 turn the heat down to keep them warm until you're ready to use them .

I have my cucumbers , peppers onion mixture in two separate containers .

One is for regular relish and the other is for the green relish .

Pour some of the regular syrup into the mixture .

Not a lot .

You don't want the mixture to be soupy or too wet .

You want it to be the same as the relish you buy in the store .

Now I'm doing the same with the green mixture for the bright green relish .

It's time to start filling the jars .

I'm using 12 ounce jars and eight ounce jars .

This funnel works well for filling the jars , fill the jars leaving about one half inch head space .

Wipe the jar off a clean paper towel .

Works fine for this job .

Now , place a lid on a jar .

I'm using a magnet tool .

It works fine and it helps to keep the lid from becoming contaminated with anything .

Tighten the lid using a ring , just hand tighten to a snug fit .

You don't want to over tighten the lid as it could cause it to seal before it should .

Now it's time to start processing the relish in your canning pot .

Start filling it with jars .

You can see this rack I have is a little touchy .

You have to stagger the jars to make the loading easy .

Once the rack is full , lower the jars down into the water , make sure the water covers the tops by at least one inch , cover the pot and bring to a boil once the water is boiling .

Maintain the boil for 10 minutes .

Now , raise the rack and allow the jars to set for 10 minutes before removing the jars , place the jars on a towel or a rack .

Make sure the jars are not touching each other , allow the jars to cool for 24 hours in a draft free area .

The lids need to seal when a lid isn't sealed , it is raised and when it seals , it will make a loud snapping sound .

After 24 hours , if you have a jar that hasn't sealed , replace the lid with a new lid , do not use the old lid , then process the jar for 10 minutes .

Or you could just open the jar and enjoy the relish .

It will taste good , but the relish gets better in about four weeks .

This relish came out just fine , nice color , great taste and it'll look good on top of a hot dog , it will taste great in some tuna fish and all the other things that you use relish for .

Now , we know where this relish is going on top of a Chicago style hot dog .

Someone told me that Chicago got its nickname from the hot dog .

Oh , no , not the Chicago hot dog , but from the chili dog .

Ok .

Now you've watched the video , you can see how easy it is to make sweet pickle relish .

I hope you'll try and make some soon .

Remember what they say you are what you eat .

So eat healthy .

Until next time .

I'm the big easy chef .