Projo Garden Blog

Corn relish! It doesn't offer the same physical enjoyment as grinding away at a cob and getting your chin all buttered up -- and you can't use those little yellow corncob handles to eat it -- but it's certainly a scrumptious way to enjoy one of the summer's best treats.

I get selfish after I preserve foods, intending to give jars away as gifts, but I love corn relish so much that I hold back sometimes and have to deal with the guilt. This weekend when our neighbors helped us to install a patio and we all needed snacks with cold drinks, we devoured four jars of corn relish with crackers, cheddar cheese and apples. I put up 14 jars on Friday night, thinking I might possibly use one within the week. I know already I'll have to make more.

In answer to the commonly-asked question, "what's in this stuff?", it's corn, cabbage, peppers, onions, spices, vinegar and sugar. The ingredients are all fresh and healthy, unless you're watching your salt or sugar intake, of course. If you make just 1/4 the amount I made and put it in a sealed glass container in the fridge, I don't think you'll have a problem eating it all before long . After all, we're almost halfway through our year's worth in just a weekend!

This book is available online or if you're anywhere near Exeter, Rhode Island, the Agway store, which is about 2 miles south of Schartner Farms on Route 2, had quite a few of them about a month ago ($7.79, less expensive than online), along with lots of other hard-to-find-at-harvest-time canning supplies.

Corn Relish from the Ball Blue Book of preserving cookbook
This recipe makes about 8 pints
2 quarts scraped corn (9-12 ears, lightly steamed or uncooked, then cut from cobs with a sharp knife)
1 small red pepper, chopped fine
1 small green pepper, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 small head of green cabbage, chopped fine
1 tbsp. mustard seed
2 tbsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. celery seed
1 tbsp. turmeric
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1 qt. vinegar
1 c. water

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Pack the hot relish into clean, hot jars, to within 1/4" from the top. Wipe the rims clean, set and tighten the lids, then boil 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Set aside, away from all drafts until cooled.

STORAGE OPTION: Allow relish to cool in the pot then put it in a glass jar or refrigerator container in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it will keep, but I wouldn't worry much about that!

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