“It has become harder and harder to find reasonably sized pickling cucumbers for making our Bread & Butter Pickles. I usually get mine from Pedrick’s Produce in Dixon, CA and they come in 2 to 3 pound bags, so you can’t pick and choose. One year there were some particularly fat cucumbers in the packs (diameters more similar to standard cucumbers) and they weren’t appropriate for the Bread & Butter Pickles. Serendipitously, it had been cheaper to buy a giant bag of bell peppers rather than singles. so I had extras. So I decided to make some relish! Initially I had just planned on making this Sweet Pickle Relish, but realized half way through that I also had the ingredients to make Dill Pickle Relish, so I split the vegetables so I could make both! If you want to make a pretty relish, use a combination of green, yellow, orange and red bell peppers.” – April Ferre
Sweet Pickle Relish
Ingredients
- 8 Large Pickling Cucumbers Chopped
- 2 Medium White Onions Chopped
- 2 Large or 3 Small Bell Peppers Any Color, Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Picking Salt
- 2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Mustard Seed
- 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Celery Seed
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
Instructions
- Combine chopped cucumber, onion and bell pepper in a large Dutch oven or stockpot.
- Mix in salt and add cold water to cover. Let soak for 2 hours. Thoroughly drain in a colander.
- In the rinsed and dried stockpot, combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric. Bring to a boil and then add drained vegetables.
- Bring relish to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, clean rims of jars and attach two piece lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Let sit for 2 weeks in the pantry before opening to allow flavors to blend.
- Makes 5 pints. Recipe may be halved.
2025 Adapted Recipe – April Ferre – Adapted from Allrecipes
