As the days of autumn become shorter and the Northwest nights cooler, those once-prolific plots of tomato vines, pickling cukes and pepper plants aren’t what they used to be. But that doesn’t mean the end of your canning activities.
Even though any single fruit or vegetable may not amount to a significant batch of anything, when combined with other waning produce, you’ve got relish and chutney.
They’re an uncomplicated lot, those tantalizing condiments. As long as they’ve got a nice balance of vinegar, salt and sugar, the end product is bound to be interesting and useful as a condiment in your kitchen.
A few points to consider:
* If you decide to make your relishes and chutneys shelf stable, you’ll need to process the jars in a boiling water canner. To stay safe, don’t reduce the processing times in the boiling water canner. Relishes and chutneys are fairly dense and require the entire processing time called for in a given recipe for thorough heat penetration.
* If you’re planning to store your prepared chutneys and relishes at room temperature, don’t reduce the amount of vinegar your recipe calls for.
Remember, you’re combining low acid foods like onions, peppers and corn, with high acid foods, like tomatoes, fruit and vinegar, with the ultimate goal of creating a condiment high enough in acid that it doesn’t have to be processed in a pressure canner.
Also, don’t add extra amounts of (low acid) vegetables or water. You would most likely end up with a relish or chutney that’s no longer safe to process by the boiling water bath method. If you want to make the relish or chutney less tangy, add sugar.
* If you’ve got the space, chutneys and relishes will maintain fabulous quality in the refrigerator for months and months and months.
20ears sweet corn 21/2 quarts of corn kernels)
2cups chopped yellow onion
1cup chopped sweet green bell peppers
1cup chopped sweet red bell peppers
1cup seeded and chopped Anaheim chilies
3jalapeno chilies, stems removed and sliced into very slender rings
1cup chopped celery
4cups cider vinegar
1 1/2cups water
3/4cup sugar
1tablespoon salt
2tablespoons yellow mustard seed
1tablespoon whole cumin seed
2teaspoons celery seed
If you plan to store the corn relish in jars at room temperature: Wash 7 pint canning jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.
Cut kernels from enough ears of corn to measure 21/2 quarts of kernels. Add the corn to a large, heavy-bottomed pot, along with the onion, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, Anaheim chilies, jalapenos, celery, vinegar, water, sugar and salt.
Make a spice pouch for the mustard seed, cumin seed and celery seed with several layers of cheese cloth or a clean square of cotton fabric tied with string.
Add the pouch of spices to the pot and stir to mix up the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened (but there is still plenty of vinegar solution remaining), about 20 to 30 minutes. Retrieve the spice pouch and before removing it, press it firmly against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.
For storage in refrigerator: place the hot relish in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tight fitting lids and refrigerate for 6 months or longer (quality may suffer after that, but the relish will be safe to eat).
For long-term storage at room temperature: ladle the hot relish into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Makes 6 to 7 pints.
1pound cooking apples (2 to 3 medium-size), cored and cut into small chunks (unpeeled)
1pound pears (3 medium-size) cored and cut into small chunks (unpeeled)
1pound red plums, halved and pitted
1medium onion, chopped
11/3cups raisins
21/3cups cider vinegar, at least 5 percent acidity
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2cups packed light brown sugar
1/2teaspoon ground allspice
1/2teaspoon salt
If you plan to store the chutney in jars at room temperature: wash 6 half-pint canning jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs
Place the apples, pears, plums and onions in a large non-aluminum pan. Add the raisins, vinegar, orange zest and juice, sugar and allspice. Stir the mixture over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the chutney has reduced and thickened..
For storage in refrigerator: place in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tight fitting lids and refrigerate for 6 months.
For long-term storage at room temperature: Ladle the hot chutney into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 15 minutes (20 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Adapted from “Clearly Delicious,” by Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz.
6cups of finely chopped pickling cucumbers (about 2 pounds)
3cups of seeded and finely chopped sweet red bell peppers (about 4 medium sized peppers)
6tablespoons salt
2yellow onions, finely chopped
3cups cider vinegar
1/2cup sugar
1/4cup finely minced fresh dillweed
To finely chop the vegetables, consider using a food processor.
Place the chopped cucumbers and bell peppers in a large nonaluminum bowl with the salt, tossing to combine the salt with the cukes and peppers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
Place the vegetables in a colander and drain off the accumulated juice. Rinse lightly, then drain again.
If you plan to store the dill pickle relish in jars at room temperature: Wash 5 pint canning jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.
Place the cucumbers and bell peppers in a large nonaluminum pot along with the onions, vinegar, sugar, and dill. Bring to a boil and simmer just until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. At this point, taste the mixture to determine if you need to add additional salt or sugar.
For storage in refrigerator: place in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tight itting lids and refrigerate for 6 months.
For long-term storage at room temperature: ladle the hot relish into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.
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