Pickles and Relish Recipes

The days are gone when a homemaker had to make all her own pickles and relishes. There is, however, a kind of joy in "putting up" one or two special treats. It's fun, too, to make Christmas gifts into which you have put loving care.

I am sharing my top favorites with you. If your kitchen is small, cut the pickles recipes in half and just spend a short time puttering. If you have a big family and plenty of space, these will help the budget and provide for extra treats.

Bread and Butter Pickles

• 9 c. thinly sliced cucumbers
• 4 Tbsp. uniodized salt
• 2 c. thinly sliced onions

Mix ingredients and cover with ice cubes. Let stand 3 hours. Drain off liquid thoroughly.

Dill Pickles

• 3 heads dill, or 3 tsp. dill seed
• 1 1/2 c. water
• Pinch of alum
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• 1 1/2 c. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. salt

Mix ingredients. Place cucumbers in jar, whole or sliced lengthwise. Pour mixture in jar until liquid is 1/2 inch from top. Seal. Place jars in container of water and boil for 20 minutes.

Pearl's Pickles

• 16 lb. cucumbers
• 1/2 box alum
• 10 lb. sugar
• 1 gal. vinegar
• 2 small boxes pickling spice

Brine: Put enough salt in water to float an egg. Cover cucumbers in brine for 14 days. Drain and wash cucumbers and cut.

Mix 1/2 box alum in enough water to cover pickles and let set for 24 hours. Drain and rinse pickles and cover with pure cider vinegar for 6 hours.

After 6 hours, drain pickles and put a layer of pickles, a layer of sugar, then sprinkle pickling spice on top of sugar. Layer pickles, sugar and spice until all is used.

Cover and let syrup finish pickles. Will keep indefinitely.

Dilled Pickled Beans

• 2 lb. fresh green beans
• 4 sprigs fresh dill
• 2 Tbsp. coarse salt
• 4 c. water
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. red pepper or to taste
• 4 c. white vinegar

Trim green beans to fit jars, pack standing up in 4 prepared sterilized jars. Add 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig of dill and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper to jar.

Heat salt, water and vinegar to boiling in large saucepan and pour over beans. Seal jars and keep 2 weeks or longer before serving.

Pickled Green Beans

• 2 lb. fresh green beans
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. whole black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, split
• 1 3/4 c. white vinegar
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. mustard seed
• 1 cinnamon stick (3-inch)
• 3 medium onions, chopped

Wash, trim and cut beans into 2-inch diagonal pieces. Cook covered in boiling salted water until tender, drain. Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in saucepan, add spices and garlic tied in cheesecloth bag. Heat to boiling, add onions and beans to vinegar mixture. Bring to boil, simmer 15 minutes. Continue simmering while filling jars. Fill to within 1/2-inch of top, making sure vinegar solution covers beans.

Cap jars and process 5 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes 3 pints.

Pickled Beets

• 1 c. water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. vinegar
• canned or fresh beets

Bring water, sugar and vinegar to a boil. Pour over cooked beets. Let stand for a few hours for beet to absorb liquid flavor.

Keeps well in refrigerator for several weeks. If canned beets are used, use liquid from the beets and add enough water to make 1 cup. Goes well with cook-outs, fish fries or almost any meal.

Pink Pickled Eggs

• 6 eggs
• 1 c. canned beet juice
• 1 c. cider vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 tsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Hard boil eggs. Plunge into cold water and shell immediately. Put eggs in quart jar. Combine remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and pour over eggs. Cover, cool and refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Pickled Jalapenos

• Jalapeno Peppers
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 c. vinegar
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1 tsp. mixed pickling spice

Wash and pack jalapeno peppers tightly into hot jars. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Cover peppers with boiling liquid, leaving 1/2-inch head space.

Seal jars and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Start to count processing time when water returns to boiling.

Pickled Okra or Corn

• 1 tsp. red pepper
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• 2 tsp. uniodized salt
• 1/4 c. water
• Okra or Corn
• 1 tsp. dill seed
• 1 c. white vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic

Use small okra or corn. (Pick corn when it is 2-3 inches long or no kernels have formed.) Wash well. Soak in ice water 1 hour per pint.

Mix together seasonings of pepper, dill seed, salt. Mix together vinegar and water. Pack in sterilized jars. Bring to boil. Put seasoning over okra or corn. Pour vinegar and water mixture in jars. Seal. This takes about 2-3 weeks to pickle properly.

Marinated Squash

• Squash
• Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Bottled Italian salad dressing

Place thinly sliced, washed, raw squash in large jar, packing tightly as possible. Cover with bottled dressing to about 1/2 inch of jar. Romano or Parmesan cheese may be added with dressing if desired. Refrigerate for about 2 weeks. The squash will be firm and crunchy.

Carrot Relish

• 2 c. grated carrots
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 lemon rind, chopped (no membrane)

Combine ingredients and let set for 12 hours. Can be frozen if desired. Great with fish.

Cauliflower Relish

• 1 head cauliflower (about 2 lbs.)
• 1/3 c. white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. leaf oregano, crumbled
• 1 (6 oz.) can pitted large ripe olives, drained
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2/3 c. pure vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips

Remove outer leaves and stalks from cauliflower. Trim off any blemishes on flowerets. Bring oil, vinegar, salt, oregano, sugar and pepper to boil in large saucepan. Add cauliflower.

Cover, cook over low heat about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender; stir occasionally. Discard garlic, add olives and green pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Cover and chill. Drain before serving. Serves 12.

Spicy Corn Relish

• 1 qt. whole canned corn or fresh if your prefer
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 c. cut up pimento
• 1 c. green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1 pt. vinegar (2 c.)
• 1 tsp. celery seed

Mix sugar, salt, celery seed and vinegar together and pour over vegetables and boil 20 minutes. Seal while hot.

Eggplant Relish

• 4 eggplants
• 2 onions, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
• 1/2 c. wine vinegar
• 1 (10 oz.) jar olive salad mix
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• Salt, red and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. oregano

Peel, dice and boil eggplant until tender. Drain and add remainder of ingredients. Cook 30 minutes. Celery should still be crunchy. Can usual way. After opening, keep refrigerated. Will keep 3-4 weeks in refrigerator. Serve chilled on crackers.

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