Lady Ross Relish
One year, a good friend of mine, Kerry, asked me if I could make a batch of her mom Nancy's relish for her. This was Nancy's signature preserve, and the first time I tasted it I could see why! It is a versatile relish that is ridiculously fantastic on everything! The sweet and sour are in perfect balance because of the addition of apples with the cucumbers, red pepper, onions, and vinegar. Besides adding flavour, the apples also act as part of the thickening agent in the preserve, giving it just the right spreading consistency. Even though this recipe yields 22-250 ml jars, I always run out of it every year because it is one of my favourite preserves to give as a gift.
YIELD : 22-250 ml jars
WATER BATH PROCESSING TIME: 10 minutes for altitudes of 1000 feet or below. Adjust processing time for other altitudes.
Equipment
- canning pot
- wire basket or tray for the bottom of the canning pot
- jar lift
- magnetic wand for lid placement
- funnel
- whisk
- 22-250 ml sterilized jars with lids and rings
- fine mesh strainer
- 20-litre pot (if you decide to make only half this recipe you could use a 12-litre pot)
- 12-litre pot with lid or bowl with lid (to store the chopped ingredients in the fridge overnight)
Ingredients
To chop using a food processor (These can also be chopped by hand if you do not have a food processor)
- 4 lbs cucumbers approximately 2 quarts
- 1 bunch celery
- 3 whole red peppers
To chop by hand and the salt
- 4 cups (1½-2 large) Spanish onions chopped medium dice
- 3 pounds Granny Smith apples 2¼ pounds or 8 cups after peeled, cored and chopped medium dice
- ½ cup pickling salt
The sauce:
- 16 tbsp mustard powder this is one full 113g Coleman's brand container
- 2 tbsp tumeric
- ¾ cup flour
- 6 cups vinegar
- 8 cups brown sugar
Instructions
- In a 12-litre bowl, or pot, add all the chopped vegetables and the ½ cup of pickling salt. Stir to combine and then let stand overnight in the fridge.
- The next morning, pour the vegetable mixture into a large fine mesh colander and drain well.
- In the large 16-20 litre pot, add the dry mustard, turmeric and flour. Add ½ cup of the vinegar and whisk and then add another ½ cup of the vinegar and whisk well to form a paste. (It is important not to add all the vinegar at one time because if you do you will have a lumpy sauce.) Add a second cup of the vinegar and whisk again.Â
- Add the remaining 4 cups of vinegar and 8 cups of brown sugar and whisk well. Heat the sauce on medium-high to boiling (this will take about 8 minutes to reach the boiling point), and continue to cook until thickened, about 4 minutes.
- Once the sauce is thickened add the chopped vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil (this should take about 10 minutes to bring to a boil) and cook for 4 minutes.
- Fill each jar and give ½" headspace. Run a thin plastic utensil or a chop stick along the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles.
- Wipe each jar rim with a paper towel or cloth dampened with hot water.
- Top each jar with a washed and briefly warmed snap lid. (I put the snap lid in boiling hot water for 30 seconds, this softens the seal.) Add the sterilized ring and tighten to finger tip tightness.
- Process using the boiling water method in a canning pot for 10 minutes. (If you have decided to can your relish in 500 ml jars, you will need to process them for 15 minutes.) Note: This is a large batch of relish and your filling will cool down by the third time you are filling the jars. Make sure to heat the filling if it has cooled down, before filling the rest of your jars.
- Remove the jars using a jar lift and place on a cutting board. Do not disturb for 24 hours.
- Remove the rings and inspect the jars. Wipe the jars clean with a soapy cloth. Store the relish without the rings on in a dark cool place for up to a year. If any jars have failed to seal, store in the fridge and use immediately.
Video
Notes
I like to make this recipe using 250 ml jars because that is a nice size to give as a gift. Because the yield is 22 jars, it will take 2 hours to process all the jars. You can make this recipe using 500 ml jars. If you use 500 ml jars then process the relish in the water bath for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1-tbspCalories: 26kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 163mgPotassium: 24mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 7IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 7mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Awesome relish and awesome website .Video makes it easy to follow the recipe and answers all your questions.Loved that I could easily change the size of the recipe and it was very accurate ,only had a couple of tablespoons left .
A very user friendly website.I look forward to trying more recipes
Amazing!!! And so easy to make!!!