Sheree's Homemade Cooking Made Easy

This is a dill relish that I have made for years and when you plant a garden like I do cucumbers can get really plentiful so I had to find ways to preserve them so that my family could enjoy them for the year. This relish is really good on hotdogs, in potato salad, or added into any recipe that calls for pickles. You will need the following ingredients to make this:

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Recipe:

4 pounds of pickling cucumbers

2 cups of water

1/4 cup of canning salt

5 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of dill seed

2 1/4 cups of minced onions

2 cups of white wine vinegar

Optional: 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric. If you choose to add this it is just added for color, but I do not use it.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Wash and cut the ends off of the cucumbers but leave the peel on them.

Dill PicklePhoto bySheree

In a food processor chop the cucumbers very finely and then place them in a glass bowl. Add the salt, turmeric if adding, and cover with water and stir. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in this salty water mixture for 2 hours.

Add water to a water bath canner and place on the stove and begin to heat the water. Tip: You want the water in the canner almost the same temperature as the jars you are adding to prevent breakage.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Add the cucumbers to a fine mesh strainer and drain the salty water off and then rinse the chopped cucumbers under cold water really well. Squeeze all the liquid out and place the cucumbers in a saucepan.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Dice the onions very finely.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

To the cucumbers add the sugar, dill seed, minced onions and white wine vinegar and bring to a boil over medium high heat then reduce the heat and cook until the mixture has thickened and the vegetables have heated up. Should take about 8 – 10 minutes.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Ladle this mixture into the jelly jars or 8 oz jars and take a butter knife around the inside of the jar to release any air bubbles.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Clean the top of the jars off and then place a new lid and ring on the jars and very carefully place these jars into the water bath canner.

Dill RelishPhoto bySheree

Bring the water in the canner to a boil and boil gently for 15 minutes.

Carefully remove the jars and place on a clean towel and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Make sure the jars have sealed then label and remove the canning ring.

Note: You can place this into 8 oz jelly jars or 16 oz pints. The boiling time is the same.