Yes, you can sub. I would add with the other peppers.

Deanna

Could you use yellow straightneck squash in place of some of the zucchini in this recipe?

Skye

Skye,

Any kinds of summer squashes can substitute for each other in any recipes, pretty much --- use whatever you like the flavour of (or whatever is taking over your garden!).

Many people think yellow crookneck squash is more flavourful than straight, which may make the straightneck a great candidate for spicing up in a relish.

Zabby, being overwhelmed by Eight-Ball (a round, dark green squash) and some unknown vaguely pear-shaped light green one

Okay, so I feel kind of dumb asking this, but I have a ton of cucumbers! I just feel stupid, because although I think they are kind of in the same family, I'm not sure a cuke is a kind of squash. Can cukes be used in this recipe?

Cucumbers can be slightly more acidic than zucchini. I think it would be fine. Personally, I think cucumbers may contain more water. So you may bleed out more water when you let them set over night and then drain them. The recipe may make a little less with cucumbers. I have not used all cucumbers but have used 4 cups of cukes and 6 cups of zukes. No problems.

Okay - I am in the process of making this, but I have a technical question that I'm not quite sure of. When am I adding the zuccini and onion? Do I add them with the vinegar, sugar and spices, or when the bell peppers get added, or am I not cooking them at all? I'm sorry if it's obvious, but I am just not seeing it. I don't want to do it wrong! Thanks anyone!

I cook the zucchini with the vinegar, sugar & spices.

Thank you for asking that question, Beckilove, and thank you, booberry85, for answering it. I was just in the kitchen draining the zucchini mixture and reading the recipe for the next step when it dawned on me it said nothing aout when to add the zucchini mixture. Now I can go in and finish up.

Skye

What is the texture of this relish like? When I see "ground zucchini", I'm picturing mush that would come out of the grinder attachment on my Kitchenaid stand mixer. This would be nothing like the store-bought hot dog relish that I think of when I think of relish.

Melissa

I shred the zucchini (and other veggies) because I prefer the texture over ground. Just an idea....

--Gina

Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious (my food blog)

You grate the zucchini for the relish. This was an old recipe. I think they used those old hand crank meat grinders for this years ago. It would have been a coarse grind.

OK, thanks Gina and Linda Lou. I was definitely picturing a meat grinder, but shredded sounds ok. Thanks!

Melissa

I have made zucchini relish before but not this recipe. Instead of grinding it I did a fine chop. It was a little chunky but more like relish in the store. If you grind it does it turn out kind of mushy or spreadable?

Zucchini Relish

A recipe I have only calls for 5 tsp. salt. Is that 5 Tbs.
correct?

Here's the recipe I have, which is similar:

10 cups ground zucchini
3 onions - ground
5 tsp. salt

Combine the above and leave overnight
Drain in the morning

Add:
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp cornstarch
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 green peppers, ground
2 red peppers, ground

Bring to full boil and simmer 20 minutes - put in jars
and can according to Ball method for similar relish
recipes.

I make a spicy version of this recipe by adding whatever
kind of hot peppers I have on hand to taste. If I plan
on making spicy, I use all green bell peppers for the
relish; doesn't change the flavor, in my opinion. When the
relish has simmered for 20 minutes, I fill my jars with
half the mild relish recipe. Then I add ground red
colored hot peppers, such as cayenne to the rest of the
relish to taste. This gives a visual mild and spicy, so
labeling won't matter.(Get-togethers tend to result in lid
mix-ups - nice when you can see which is spicy.)

I also have a question about the zucchini relish. It is probably stupid but do you rinse the zucchini and onion mixture off after you let it sit overnight and drain it or not? Some of the recipes that I have read that call for the salting and draining say to rinse as well. Just curious. I have my first batch salted and sitting and will be ready to finish tomorrow morning but I would hate to not rinse and then it would be too salty to eat!! Thanks!

Carly

I just made a batch and they are cooling now. I can already see air pockets on the side. I am guessing I should open them, mix in the jars to release the air bubbles and re-process? Or should I boil them again and start over?

Similar problem with my apple butter. These have been in the cabinet for a few days. Can I safely re-boil & re-process the apple butter? It seems a little thin in consistency so I have no problem boiling for awhile to play around with consistency. Or should I just dump them?? Thanks guys!!

Too dense can cause bubbles. If properly processed they should be just fine even if they have bubbles visable.

Yeah it is too late to reprocess the apple butter anyway - limit is 24 hours for reprocessing.

Air bubbles indicate a density problem as Ken said so I can't see how apple butter that is too thin would have air bubbles in it unless all the air wasn't removed from the jars during packing.

A few small air bubbles, while not ideal, aren't a safety issue but too many of them or large sized trapped air can be.

As to wash and drain after salt soak - yes, drain; rinse thoroughly with ice cold water and drain well again.

Dave

I am a little confused (but aren't I always???) If I were to re-heat the apple butter and boil it again for at least 10 minutes, then re-process, would that be considered safe? Wouldn't re-boiling kill anything that could have grown in the last 2 days?

Recooking and redoing the apple butter will be fine. I would add a little acid either lemon juice or citric, or better yet the acid blend I mentioned previously. It may also need a bit more sugar, so taste before sealing jars. It wouldnt be necessary to boil an additional 10 minutes before filling the jars. Just bring to a boil and fill the jars. If you have a bubble freer it can help reduce any possible bubbles. They are clear plastic and shaped like a long knife that you slide down into the jars where bubbles are seen. If its too thick, add a bit of frozen apple juice concentrate and/or water. The addition of a bit more acid and maybe sugar will help improve its safety. Keep in mind that your processing it again too, so that comes to almost 3 cookings. Those poor apples!

If I add hot peepers to the recipe will the heat disapate in the cooking process? Also which is bettewr to use large zukes or small ones or is there any differnce at all?

Thanks
Mark

If I add hot peepers to the recipe will the heat disapate in the cooking process? Also which is bettewr to use large zukes or small ones or is there any differnce at all?

No the heat from the hot peppers isn't affect by the cooking. Smaller cukes give you a firmer, more crunchy relish. Larger cukes tend to make a mushy relish.

Remember when you substitute the total amounts of the ingredients must remain the same so you are subbing hot peppers for part of the sweet peppers, not adding extra.

Dave

Does anyone know if I can substitute wasabi powder for the dry mustard powder? I'm worried it might change the final flavour of the relish.

My MIL bought a large bag of it (it was on sale in an asian market) and now I got 2 lbs. in the freezer and I can't think of what I'm going to do with so much wasabi...LOL

Substituting wasabi for mustard powder would be a safe substitution. But I have no idea what it would do to the final reslish flavor. I'm assuming it would end up with a wasabi taste.

I just finished my first relish, and it contains some air bubbles, less than a tbs. I tried to get them out, and thought the jars were air free before boiling, and read this forum after. Should I worry, or use it asap, or would it be okay to store? as far as wasabi, you can mix the wasabi powder with mayo and make a great sauce for sandwiches or burgers or as a dipping sauce for say fried zucchini blossoms or calamari or whatever. I would not use it in my relish. if your looking for some heat, use a fresh hot pepper of some sort.

I have a question regarding the zucchini part of the relish:

Has anyone tried Patty Pan squash in place of Zucchini?

I am being inundated with Patty Pan's, and I would like a use for them.

Thanks.
Sara

I haven't reread this whole thread from last year, but last year I made my "zucchini" relish with a comibination of white pattypan and yellow straightneck squash. The relish is a bit pale in color - since there is no green zucchini skin. But other than that, I don't taste a difference.

Thank you, that helps me out a lot.

Made 12 pints of this today using a mix of zukes, yellow summer squash and a few hidden monster cukes. Subbed 4 tsp. of mustard seed for the dry mustard since dry mustard on hand and 2 red chilies for some of the bell peppers. Also added 2 tsp. of powdered cloves since we like the clove taste in this particular relish.

Still have a couple of jars of the original recipe left from last year so we can do a taste comparison. :)

Dave

Dave,
I see you used a mixture of squash and cucumbers. Since cucumbers are more acidic than the squash, do you think it is OK to increase them and decrease the squash as long as the total is not more than 10 cups?
Is it correct that the spices (dry or seeds) can be omitted, decreased, or increased according to taste?

My husband has an old family relish recipe that is not safe to use as is (it doesn't process in BWB and I don't even know about the safety of the amounts of ingredients), but he would enjoy it a lot if I could find a suitable substitute. It seems to be heavy on the onion and sugar. This Zucchini Recipe may be the closest thing I can find to his recipe, for now. I have PLENTY of cucumbers and zucchini and need to try something different with them. I did find a couple of relish recipes on NCHFP that are in the ballpark that I may try in small batches just for fun.

The family relish recipe:
12 ripe cucs, peeled and seeded
4 medium red sweet peppers
12 medium to large onions
Rough chop or grind.
Sprinkle � cup canning salt over the top.
Pour enough boiling water to cover and let stand 2 hours, then drain and rinse.

Brine:
1 Qt vinegar
1 oz mustard seed
6 cups white sugar
1 tsp celery seed.
Mix and pour over cucs and boil for 1 hour until thick enough.
Seal in sterilized jars.

Thank you!

KSPrairie - My favorite recipe I pulled off the Ball web site a few years ago. It's heavy on the sugar with just celery seed and mustard seed.

Last year I made it with white pattypan and yellow straight neck squash, and it was a bit pale looking. This year I made it with white pattypan and zucchini - so it has a bit more color. Personally I think it would be ok to use cucumbers - just keep in mind that the relish would be quite pale.

8 c. zucchini
1 c. onion
Add 2 Tblsp salt - let sit for 3 hours then drain

brine:
1-1/2 c. vinegar
2-1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed

bring the brine to a boil
mix in chopped zucchini mixture
add 2 Tbsp chopped hot pepper

Boil for 20 minutes

BWB for 15 minutes
Makes 4 pints

pixie_lou,
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I think since I have yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumber right now, I'll make the relish using a combination of the three.
Thanks again!

Ladies at DH's church have been making zucchini relish for decades, I just got a look at the recipe. I was concerned that it was too dense, not enough vinegar but it is almost identical to Linda Lou's.

The only thing is, it calls for 4C of onion, not 3, and also 1 Tbsp of cornstarch similar to beklyn's. Vinegar, zucchini and sugar measurements are the same as the 2 recipes above.

Just checking - should DH suggest to the pastor that the cornstarch be omitted and processing time be increased to 15 min (instead of the "5 or 10 minutes" in the church cookbook)? What exactly does cornstarch do in canning?

I *think* he'd be able to suggest that the processing time be adjusted to modern guidelines, but this is a sensitive issue to the older ladies who have been making and selling this relish forever (actually I was relieved to finally see the recipe and find it's not that far off from what I assume is an approved recipe - Ball Complete recipe actually uses more zukes for 5 pints!)...

No. It likely wouldn't accomplish anything but to upset a bunch of the church ladies. Just don't buy any of it. Another good example of why one should avoid other folk's home canned goods and home canned gifts.

Is it safe? Who knows. Several possible issues but really can't say without seeing the whole recipe and knowing how much vinegar is in it and if the vinegar is diluted or not.

Dave

The recipe is the one I found on Oregon State extension site, except for the 1 Tbsp cornstarch and "5 to 10 minute" processing time.

I've said before I wouldn't touch this with a 10-ft pole as I said I was relieved when I finally saw the recipe and compared it to Linda Lou's, then found it on extension site.

But still wondering about the cornstarch - Ellie Topp has a recipe for zuke relish with cornstarch, so it can't be that it coats spores like oil. Is it a quality issue b/c it breaks down (that's what I've heard about pie fillings)?

Trying to think of a tactful way for them to modify the recipe - just give the new pastor a copy of the Oregon state recipe and point out that cornstarch isn't approved for canning (I'd like to give a reason), and the longer processing time?

I'd hate for the church to be liable if anyone got sick.

It's on Missouri website, but recipe says it's from Oregon (and probably Ball, but the link given in the footnote was broken).

Here is a link that might be useful: Zucchini relish recipe (1st one)

I talked to the lady who's in charge of making the relish (finding zukes, getting volunteers) this year and she's all for using approved recipe, I was going to print out the one from the link of Missouri website for her, but we were wondering if Clear Jel could be used since the church's original recipe uses cornstarch (I suggested just cooking a small batch to see if it really needed a thickening agent)?

She also said it was very sweet (to her taste), but I don't know about reducing sugar (4C sugar 2.25C vinegar to 10C zukes) since sugar reduces water activity?

Once opened and put in the fridge, how long does the zucchini relish last?

Depends on the fridge to a degree. 3 months is the recommended limit for most pickled products.

Church is looking for zukes to make this right now - I hope they omit the cornstarch. But can they cut down on the sugar safely? I did give her the approved recipe off the extension site.

I got my veggies for zucchini relish all chopped & grated & put in the brine to soak. I then got sick from my chemo treatment & it had to sit in the refrigerator for 2 nights. It smells & looks good. Should it still be safe to use? I keep my refrigerator at about 35-36 degrees.

Gloria - technically speaking 24 hours is the limit as bacteria will continue to grow in the fridge. But assuming you are using an approved recipe with sufficient vinegar, personally I wouldn't have any issues with using yours after 48 hrs. since it still has to be cooked - give it some extra cooking time rather than just heating it up - and processed. I think you will notice it will be somewhat mushier after such a long soaking.

JMO

Dave