This relish is THE best relish in the world! I know, I know, you have heard that before right? I understand that you may be skeptical but trust me when I say that it’s the best. This is coming from a person who does not like relish. And I love this one so it truly must be the best in the world!

I remember the first time that my Mom made this relish. We were living in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia and my Mom had decided to make this relish, dill pickles with garlic and a chili sauce. Now, my Mother was not much of a cook. She COULD cook but she really didn’t like to. I never understood that because I loved cooking even at that age! I was around 11 or 12. So when she said that she was going shopping for all of the ingredients, I was all in!

I had so much fun shopping for everything! I found a new love of Mason Jars! What a silly thing for a 12 year old to fall in love with. To this day, I love them. In my dream house, I would have a huge pantry with jars of all different sizes for my spices and pantry staples!

Waaaaaaaay off topic! Where was I? Oh, shopping with Mom! I learned so much that day. That was the first time that I had seen dill weed. I had seen the dried version of course but never the plant. It was interesting to say the least and it is one of my favourites.

Today we are focusing on Mom’s hotdog relish so maybe I should stop blubbering and get to it! I really do not understand why it’s called hotdog relish because I loved it on everything! For a relish hater that’s saying a lot!

Ingredients

• 8 cups cucumbers seeded ( 8 – 10 medium cucumbers )
• 3 cups chopped onions ( 3 – 4 medium large onions )
• 3-4 cups chopped red bell peppers seeded ( 3-4 bell peppers )
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 4 cups white vinegar
• 2/3 cups of flour
• 5 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons celery seed
• 3 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 cup of water

Instructions

1. Grind all vegetables. Drain. Sprinkle with salt and let stand overnight. Next morning drain and rinse well. Add the sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric. Bring to a boil and add the flour mixed with 1 cup of water. Boil for 30 minutes and seal in sterile jars.

I hope you love my Mom’s relish as much as I did and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Happy canning!