Our garden has done just wonderfully this year!
I planted so many cucumber plants and seeds since the last couple years weren’t that great for us.
I may have overdone it a little.
I have two cucumber patches to see how they would do with different environments.
I have a box in my backyard with a trellis (far right) and I planted some burpless seedlings and some very cheap seeds.
I also have a front side garden box and I let them climb up the fence.
I became overwhelmed with so many cucumbers.
I’ve made sweet and spicy pickles.
I’ve made dill pickle spears and coins.
I’ve made creamy cucumber salad and sliced cucumbers for green salads.
So, I still had too many cucumbers.
I decided to try to make sweet pickle relish.
Aaron’s dad and grandma made this over two decades ago and I’m on my last jar!
We can’t find her recipe. She was a true country cook and did most things by memory.
I found some recipes online but none were just quite right.
My favorite relish recipes are here.
I shredded the cucumbers, bell peppers, and onion in my food processor.
I salted the shreds for a couple hours and let drain into a bowl.
I combined the vinegar and sugar to a pot and brought to a boil, then added the relish mix to simmer for about fifteen minutes.
Some recipes call for white vinegar and others for apple cider vinegar. I used white, but I may see what apple cider vinegar does next time.
I added the hot relish to my sterilized jars with a clean ladle, then did a boiling water bath for about 20 minutes.
I mixed in a lot of spices and some turmeric for color. Some recipes call for spicier or more veggies or red bell pepper. I can mix it up and do something different next time.
I so think one whole cup of sugar was too much for eight cucumbers. I can lessen it next time.
I have some leftover relish that didn’t fit in my jars in my fridge to enjoy right now!
Sweet Pickle Relish
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium cucumbers
- 2-3 medium green bell peppers
- 1 small sweet onion
- 4 T kosher salt
- 1/2-2/3 cup white sugar
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1 t celery seed
- 1 T mustard seed
- 1 t coriander seed
- 1/2 t coarse black pepper
- 1/4 t turmeric
Instructions
I partially peeled some of the tougher skin of the cucumbers and cut off the ends.
Grate or use a food processor to shred the cucumbers, peppers, and onion.
Scrape the shreds into a colander and add salt and some ice cubes. I let the colander drain into a bowl for two hours.
Combine vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil.
Fold in shreds to sweet vinegar and mix thoroughly. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Ladle into sterilized jars. Place lids and rings on jars. Water bath with boiling water for 20 minutes for seal.
Looks delicious.
Great job, well done. Used to do canning and bottling but no more as its only two of us in the house.
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Adding this to my list of things to learn to do. Thanks for sharing on SSPS, I hope to see you again next week. I will be featuring your recipe.
I like that you tried something new and that you included the pros and the cons. I bet they taste great! And eventually you will perfect your own recipe to pass along.
Congratulations!
What a beautiful garden! I’ve never canned anything in my life, but I love learning about things like that. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll actually have a garden. Your recipe looks delicious by the way!
I think this must have been the summer of bumper crop cucumbers :) My granddaughter has had such fun making jars of pickled cucumber slices. And I have to say they were delicious!
This must have been the summer of bumper crop cucumbers. Probably all the heat and humidity. My granddaughter had such fun making pickled cucumber slices and I must say, they were delicious! It was fun to read this post and see the recipe and I will pass it to her to see if she wants to try it :)
That sounds delicious! My husband has been talking about a zucchini relish he used to get so I may have to try my hand at that soon. I’ve never made any relish of any kind before but I feel like your recipe is simple enough to follow so thank you.
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What a delightful and inspiring post, Jennifer! Your garden sounds like it’s been incredibly fruitful this year, and it’s amazing to see how creatively you’ve used all those cucumbers. The sweet pickle relish recipe looks absolutely delicious—I can almost taste the tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy flavors just by reading your description! I love how you’re experimenting with different ingredients and methods, like trying apple cider vinegar next time. Your detailed instructions and personal touch really make me want to give this a try. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe and your gardening success!
I don’t think I’ve managed to grow enough to pickle, my granddaughter just enjoys picking the odd one or two and eating them when she visits. Thanks for joining in with #pocolo
Oh wow! Well done with your garden, you have done so well. The sweet pickle relish looks and sounds delicious!
I’m so impressed that you got all those cucumbers from your garden! I’ve never had any luck with garden cucumbers. This sweet pickle relish reminds me of my mom–she used to make it every year. Thanks for sharing this post with us at the Will Blog for Comments #44 linkup. #45 opens Monday morning–we hope to see you there sharing more posts.
Your garden looks wonderful, and this recipe sounds amazing. I really need to start canning. I’ll be featuring your post this Friday at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #51. Thank you for joining us.