I found some pint jars in the basement that I forgot about - thanks.

I thought I'd go ahead and answer the question since this is canning season and someone else may want to know.

Don't size up beyond what the recipe specifies. So if it calls for pints, don't can in quarts. The heat penetration is different when there are larger jars and you can't be sure the processing time is sufficient.

You can always go down in size but not up. So if a recipe calls for pints and you want to do 12-oz. jars or 8-oz. instead, that's fine. Just use the pint processing time.

Carol

I agree with Carol, I downsize my jars but don't go up in size unless the recipe gives directions, because I just don't know how long it would take to safely process the larger jars. I'm especially careful about foods like relish that are thicker, instead of in pieces.

Annie

oh good - thanks for the info. We opened one last night to taste and it is so salty!!! I don't think canning is my thing. :-(

See now I'm glad you asked this question. I thought it wouldnt matter at all what size you used....that you'd just have more in a jar if you went bigger.

But I see that's not the case.

When I made the salsa, I used big and small jars! eeek!!! Thankfully everyone I gave some to ate it right when I gave it to them and didn't put it away for a year.

Note to self - follow directions to a "T".

Stacy, if you tell us which recipe it is in the BBB, we can look at it and maybe figure out why your relish turned out so salty or we can suggest a different recipe.

Hope you don't give up on canning. There are some great recipes out there (like Annie's salsa).

Carol

Don't give up Stacy! I never thought about doing relish...love dill and/or sweet relish on a grilled dog or brat.

David

I agree, Stacy, there are a lot of good recipes out there. Lots of pickle and relish recipes are too salty or too vinegar-y for my tastes, so if a recipe seems to have a lot of vinegar or a lot of salt, I skip it.

My relish recipes mostly call for salting the vegetables to draw out some moisture and then rinsing them to get rid of some of the salt. Did your recipe call for a rinse?

Annie

thanks for all the support all! heck, I thought if I followed the Ball Blue book, I'd be OK!

Annie, you hit the nail on the head - maybe on the other thread? - with the vinegar. It is more vinegar-y than salty. But that is where your experience comes into play...I have no idea when reading a recipe - I just thought the ball blue book recipes were pretty reliable.

yep, I had to rinse. It also called for white wine vinegar - and when I tasted what was left over - it was very similar to the overpowering taste of the relish,,,,

something Sharon also said was that even though the Ball Blue Book did not specify "canning salt" it only said salt (for soaking) and another recipe right next to it in the book specified canning salt - I used regular coarse kosher salt. I don't know. I just don't think I have enough cooking common sense sometimes...

Stacy, I don't think it's you. The Ball Blue Book recipes are always safe, but they aren't always good, or more appropriately, they aren't to everyone's taste.

One man at Harvest makes pickles with 100% vinegar, I wouldn't be able to eat them but he swears people love them. I do know they are safe, LOL, no chance of me getting food poisoning from them!

You can't really cut down the amount of vinegar in a lot of those recipes, because the ratio of vegetables to acidic ingredients is carefully balanced to make the stuff safe to can in a water bath canner. I find that white vinegar is very astringent and just using another kind of vinegar helps. I tried my salsa with white vinegar and didn't care for it at all, but the sweeter flavor of apple cider vinegar was perfect for me. Just be sure the vinegar is at least 5% acidic, some "designer" vinegars are lower than that.

I use kosher salt for canning regularly and don't seem to have a problem, even though I don't convert the amounts. If it seemed too salty I'd rinse the vegetables, drain and rinse again, and then not add any additional salt, even if the recipe called for it

My sweet relish recipe has a lot of vinegar, but it also has sugar, which helps cut that vinegar taste.

If it helps, I can't tell you how many spectacular failures I've had canning, far more than I've had cooking. Sometimes I open a jar of something, taste it and think "what in the world was I thinking of when I made this?" LOL Sometimes I can "save" it by using it as an ingredient in something else but many times I just have to dump it out and start over.

Annie

I agree Annie I have had spectacular failures in canning. It can be downright depressing because you wasted SOOOOO muich time and jar lids. I find the recipes in the Ball book are often not to my taste. part of their safety might come from the fact you have to eat something for it to be safe.

I know you have had successes, this was the recipes fault, not yours. You will get better at recognizing recipes you might like. You just need more practice.

-Robin

So, Robin, you're saying that it's absolutely safe for you to can if you can't eat it anyway? LOLOLOL.

Right now I'm working on recreating a cranberry/gooseberry chutney I got on a turkey sandwich at the Blue Water Grill. It had better be close because I have two gooseberry plants that I planted for Dad, and one single quart of gooseberries that took me an hour to top and tail.

Wish me luck....

Annie

Gooseberries. Oh my, it's been years since I tasted those. They remind me of currants, not the flavor but the effort. What a pain some of those berries are to prep.

As Annie knows, I just threw out a Chipotle Salsa from the BBB. When I taste-tested, I decided it was spectacularly bad.

Recipes in the BBB are always "safe," but they aren't always good. You can be sure you won't kill anybody but you can't be sure diners will enjoy the experience.

The two things Annie said that are crucial are to avoid the white vinegars, which can be harsh, and go for the apple cider vinegar. It has a softer finish. The relish will be a little darker but much smoother.

You can always add sugar and do no harm.

Also, a lot of these relishes do need to age. There aren't many relishes that taste great right off the bat. A relish made now will mellow and start tasting good right around Halloween. I make a Southwestern corn relish we just love, but taste it right out of the kettle and it's awful. Give it another taste at Thanksgiving and you'll wish you'd canned a double or triple batch.

Carol

I did my first gooseberries last year and was astonished at how much work they were. However, the final product was well worth it, in my opinion.

Stacy, I agree with everyone above. I've only been canning for a few years and still become extremely frustrated sometimes. It's hard work, it's hot work, but you feel so good about it once you're done. Some of the recipes are great, some are as Robin said, basically inedible. It's not you, it's canning.

Ann

Carol are you sharing your recipe for Southwestern Corn Relish? I'd sure like to give it a try.

Thanks, jude

thanks for all the support - I'm feelin the love - LOL!

OK. Carol, I hadn't considered that - that it needed to age. I will store them and try later!

Sooo, if I still had some left after 7 pints - and I used a quart jar for the rest - and canned it - but then that is the one we opened...is it safe? It's in the fridge.

You guys are the best. Thanks for lifting me up when I needed it. I think I can, I think I can. (pun intended)

I think I can. I think I can. Now that is cute, LOL. Just remember, sometimes it isn't you. It's the recipe.

Sure, Jude. Here's the Southwestern corn relish. I can't take credit, though. It's from Jan-Roberts Dominguez. She's a master food preserver who used to work for Oregon State Extension.

Mixed with black beans this relish is an "instant" salad. What we like about it is the crisp texture. It's almost like fresh corn in the middle of winter.

Southwest Corn Relish
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The Oregonian
Makes 6 to 7 pints

This condiment is a delightfully corny blend of tang and heat. The jalapeno chiles are tiny islands of spicy flavor that can be avoided by folks with more sensitive palates because they are relatively large in size. The relish is great to have on hand to top a platter of nachos or other Southwest-flavored dishes, or to scatter over green salads. It's also wonderful stirred into rice, along with a bit of cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

20 ears sweet corn (to yield 21/2 quarts -- 10 cups -- of corn kernels)
 2 cups chopped yellow onion
 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
 1 cup seeded and chopped Anaheim chiles
 3 jalapeno chiles, stems removed and sliced into very slender rings
 1 cup chopped celery
 4 cups cider vinegar
 11/2 cups water
 3/4 cup granulated sugar
 1 tablespoon salt
 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
 2 teaspoons celery seeds

If you plan to store the corn relish in jars at room temperature, wash 7 pint canning jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. If you want to store it in the refrigerator, follow the directions below.

Cut kernels from enough ears of corn to measure 21/2 quarts of kernels. Add the corn to a large, heavy-bottomed pot, along with the onion, bell peppers, chiles, celery, vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Make a spice pouch for the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and celery seeds with several layers of cheesecloth or a clean square of cotton fabric (from a clean T-shirt or a handkerchief, for example) tied with string. Add the pouch of spices to the pot and stir to mix up the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened but there is still plenty of vinegar solution remaining, about 20 to 30 minutes. Retrieve the spice pouch and, before removing it, press it firmly against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.

To store in the refrigerator: Place the hot relish in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tightfitting lids and refrigerate for 6 months or longer (quality may suffer after that, but the relish will be safe to eat). For long-term storage at room temperature: Ladle the hot relish into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Jan Roberts-Dominguez

Now, speaking of canning, I have to get back to work. The dishwasher's near the end of the cycle and I have three batches of pickled beets to finish - two "traditional" and one with red wine and ginger.

Carol

I forgot you had another question about the quart jar. Yes, it's OK because you opened it right away and put it in the fridge. With the really short timeframe it's fine.

Also, you mentioned kosher salt. When it's for taste, kosher salt is fine. (In other words, you're not making fermented sauerkraut or fermented pickles.) With fermentation it can make a difference because kosher salt weighs less than pickling and canning salt. You have to allow for that.

With your zucchini relish recipe it's to pre-salt veggies for moisture removal and then for taste so kosher is OK. However, if you used Morton's, I'd switch to Diamond Crystal. Morton's Kosher is just their table salt but flaked. It still has free-flow agents and is iodized. Those can affect color and flavor. Diamond Crystal is pure salt. No additives.

Carol

wow. I am just in awe whenever you all start talking canning - I'm a smart girl - but wow! what the heck are free flow agents?

Sorry. I got carried away there, LOL.

Free-flow agents are the things added to salt to keep it from clumping up. What you want for canning is pure salt without any additives. Canning and pickling salt is pure salt.

Carol

thanks, Carol, for that recipe, Elery is going to love it.

Of course, I have to can beans first, then I'll get to the corn...

Annie

Stacy, there's a post on the Harvest Forum "Greatest Hits" for canning recipes. It's been going on now for a few years and they're T&T recipes for many who tried them.

Thanks for the recipe Carol, that sounds yummy!

thanks for the link gardengrl.

Thanks Carol for the corn relish recipe. Our second planting of corn will be ready this week and I am going to make some corn relish (if the worms have not already made a complete meal of it.)