EASY ZUCCHINI RELISH

This recipe comes from a friend (Diana) who has been making this relish for 20 years. It not only tastes great, but it is an excellent way to use all of those zucchini's that friends "share" this time of year. The relish has a delicious bread and butter pickle flavor that goes well in tuna salad, potato salad, hot dogs of course, salad dressing, on top of hamburgers and a million other uses. It is MUCH better than any commercial relish we've tried.

I did all my chopping in small size batches with the food processor. I rough chopped with a knife and then put 3 cups chopped veggies into the food processor and gave it 8 to 10 short pulse bumps to get the perfect dice, quick and easy!!

10 cups chopped zucchini  (medium fine chop...maybe half the size of a pea?)
5 cups chopped onion (I used sweet Vidalia onions)
1 cup chopped celery
5 chopped sweet bell peppers (red/orange/yellow)
1 cup pickling salt (see note)

Mix the above ingredients, cover with plastic and let this sit overnight. Diane says it doesn't have to be refrigerated, but I did.

The next step is most important: RINSING off the salt!!!  I triple rinsed my chopped veggies in small batches (using a fine mesh strainer) so I could really make sure the salt was gone, then squeeze them dry and set aside.

In a large non-aluminum pot, mix:
5 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon DRY mustard powder
3 tablespoons celery seed
6 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Bring this mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the chopped veggies and bring back up to a boil.  Once it is at a boil, turn down the heat to a very low simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. This relish might seem a little "loose" while it is still hot, but it will "tighten up" once chilled in the fridge.

Pour relish into sterilized jars, leaving about ½" head space. Wipe rim of jar with hot wet towel and put on the lids and rings.  Process in boiling water bath:  10 minutes for half pints and 15 minutes for pints.

My Picky-Picky Husband gave this a thumbs up!!

NOTE: This recipe makes ABOUT 6 pints of relish.

NOTE: Don't use regular table salt in this recipe because the anti-caking agents cause a less than desirable color change.  If you don't have pickling salt, the next best thing is Kosher salt.