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, and was amazed at the number of relish options. I chose the basic Cucumber Relish. 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, pressing out excess liquid. 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. You can pair this relish up with homemade buns and picnic friendly foods such as hot dogs and brats from a trusted local meat store (read the labels – look for ingredients you recognize as food). If you can’t find what you need locally, you can buy safer meat products in bulk from online merchants such as our affiliate, Tropical Traditions, where they stock items such as buffalo hot dogs
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 12:40:20 +0000
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