CUCUMBER RELISH

We had a great crop of cucumbers this year.  There are only so many cucumbers you can eat.  We have given some to friends, I have made ice cream pail fridge pickles and still had a number to use.  I found a recipe for cucumber relish in a cookbook that my mother-in-law used.  It is a book produced by a flour company, Purity Flour, and the book is over 50 years old.  The recipe calls for minced and diced vegetables.  I used a food processor with the grating blade and just put everything through the grater.  It worked quite well.  If I had to chop everything by hand it would have taken awhile to prepare all of the vegetables.  The relish tastes great and I plan to use this relish with meat, added as a condiment with mayonnaise when making chopped egg or tuna and even with cream cheese on a cracker.  The DH says that this cucumber relish is far superior to the relish that I buy at the grocery store.

Salt added to shredded vegetables and ready to sit overnight.

Draining in a big colander over the kitchen sink.  I left it draining for over an hour.

Cooking after adding the sugar, vinegar and spices.

Almost a dozen jars (500 ml) filled with relish. 

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

Into a large bowl, wash and prepare the following:

8 cups peeled, minced cucumbers (8 to 10 large cucumbers)

3 cups peeled, minced onions (8 medium size)

4 cups minced green tomatoes (6 large)

2 cups minced pepper (green, red, yellow)

4 cups diced celery

Sprinkle with

1/3 cup coarse salt

Let stand overnight.  Cover loosely with saran wrap.  In the morning drain off the liquid.  I use a very large colander  and let it drain for over an hour.  Place the drained vegetables in a large pot and add

4 cups white vinegar

3 cups sugar

Cook gently over medium heat for 15 minutes stirring frequently.  In a separate small bowl, combine

½ cup flour

1 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp mustard seeds

Add 1 cup vinegar to this small bowl and mix the ingredients to make a paste.

Add the paste to the hot cucumber mixture and stir until it is thickened and boiling. Cook at a low heat for 10 minutes and then ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal with the canning lids.  Place the jars in the oven at 200 degrees F to continue with the sealing process for 20 minutes.  Remove and let cool before storing away for future use.  Makes almost a dozen (500 ml) full jars.