Sounds like you ove-rpacked the jars with solids and not enough liquids. It is supposed to be sloshy in the jars. You can then drain it some after opening the jar if you wish.

It is probably safe assuming to eat if it was well cooked in the brine before jarring but yes, if you wish you can open a jar and test the pH if you have the means to do so.

If it is less than 24 hours old and you still have the left over brine you can re-do it by returning it all to the pot, re heat and then re jar spreading the solids out more. Shoot for filling at least 1 more jar.

Dave

I was a little concerned that it cooked too long before I put it in the jars. And it took forever to get to a vigorous boil. Plus there was a strong vinegar taste to the leftover juice. Enough that I wondered if the finished relish would be too vinegary. I was looking at ways to test ph. I found strips for testing fish tank water and for testing for saliva. I just assumed there was some convenient method for testing for ph. I'm a little annoyed that the recipe didn't address the issue of solid to liquid ratio. If I had not been reading this forum I wouldn't have even thought to worry about it.

Amy which of the many NCHFP relish recipes did you use? The one that has you refrigerate it for 24 hours before reheating and filling the jars? If so then it is probably well enough acidified and safe to leave as is if you don't want to re-do it.

It would be normal for the brine alone to have a strong vinegar flavor since that is the major ingredient. But it doesn't mean the relish will be the same. Next time if you don't like the taste of the white vinegar use cider vinegar instead. It is a more mellow flavor.

I don't think it is possible for any set of instructions to anticipate and address all the issues involved. Right or wrong, they assume some basic knowledge and they incorporate enough safety margin into the instructions to allow for those things we don't know.

As for the cooking too long, that really isn't possible to over-cook it but I can't help with why it might have taken so long to boil as that all depends on the size of the pot and the BTUs of the stove used. Normally it should come to a full boil within 10 mins.

Dave

Thanks Dave. That is the relish recipe that I used. I believe I had too much water in the canner. I had read the instructions about heating to 180 before putting the jars in and then starting the timing when it boiled. Eventually I worried that it would boil over, so I ladeled out a bit of water...which still left plenty to cover the jars. First time I had used that particular canner. I would guess the jars were in hot, not boiling water, for slightly longer than they would have been otherwise. I don't know how long it took to come to a boil. Probably my impatience and the watched pot never boiling thing made it seem to take forever.