Turn those big boats of overripe cucumbers into a zippy cucumber relish to enjoy in hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, and as a condiment to any grilled or roasted meat. This easy relish combines the cucumbers with onions and apples to make a delightfully sweet 'n tangy relish - mustardy and tangy and just right.
It's that time of year again - the garden is a glorious riot of overgrown lushness. We just can't keep up with it all. We've had such a hot summer we actually had to water our garden for the first time in years just to keep everything alive. Well, the garden not only survived, it thrived!
We even had a cucumber year, and I was able to make my easy oven dill pickles again. Carrots, potatoes, and beets are as big as my fists, zucchinis produced an army of green soldiers hiding under the leaves, pumpkins are actually ripening to a rich orange right on the vines, several hundred pounds of tomatoes have been picked that keep ripening daily, and everything is lush and green.
We put up a deer fence this year, and those rude and unwelcome visitors had the audacity to keep on returning until we added an extension on top of the fence to raise it another foot higher (over 6 feet high), and then finally, plugged a hole in the fence where they were sneaking in under the apple tree branches. We could finally say 'Gotcha!' and enjoy the fruits of our garden labours. I admit, we are not friendly hosts who like to share with those pesky deer (in fact, we do even enjoy a spot of venison occasionally 😉 )
The cucumbers showed how they were related to zucchinis this year - they did that blimp thing when I wasn't looking! I left them a few too many days without checking under the vines, and there they were - big, yellowing, bloated balloons of cucumber boats, hiding cheekily under the vines.
Don't Throw out those Overripe Cucumbers!
The best thing to do when you have a box full of big ole overripe cucumbers, is to do a Rumpelstiltskin and turn them into gold! Tangy golden pickle relish that is.
What you need to do is scrape out the seeds (they make the relish too watery), grind up the crunchy flesh (the food processor makes easy work of it), along with some onions and apples.
Soak 'em with salt to draw out the excess juices, then add vinegar and sugar and a few good seeds and spices - you've got the zestiest condiment. It'll turn an ordinary hot dog or hamburger into something special. Spread it onto a sandwich to make it come alive, or add a big spoonful of it next to cold cuts, or grilled or roasted meats to perk them right up.
I love it when we have a good cucumber year! Now I've got rows of dill pickles lining the basement shelves, and a good stash of this tangy cucumber relish to enjoy all winter long.
* * * * *
Pickle Relish Made with Overripe Cucumbers
Ingredients
- 8 large overripe cucumbers about 7 lbs/3.2 kg total weight (16 cups when peeled, seeded, and cut into slices)
- ¼ cup (70gms) pickling salt
- 2 large onions 400gms total weight, peeled
- 2 large apples 400gms total weight, unpeeled
- 1½ cups (300gms) sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon celery seeds
- 3 cups (720ml) distilled white vinegar
- 1½ cups (360ml) unsweetened apple juice, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Peel all but one of the cucumbers (the peels can be tough, so you only want a bit of peel in there to provide flecks of green colour). Cut all of the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut the resulting cucumber boats in half again lengthwise, then crosswise into ½-inch (1 cm) slices. You will need 16 cups of slices.
- Pulse the cucumber slices in a food processor until they are chopped to fine chunks (but not too fine, or they will become mush); however you prefer them for relish. You will need to do it in batches. Dump the ground cucumbers into a large plastic, enamel, or glass bowl (salt can corrode some stainless steel if left in it overnight). Add the pickling salt, stirring it in to the cucumbers.
- Cut the onions into chunks and process them to similar sized small chunks. Stir them into the cucumbers.
- Quarter and core the apples (leave the peel on) and process them to similar sized chunks. Stir them into the cucumbers right away, making sure they are well combined and stirred into the salty juices so they don't get brown.
- Let the salted mixture sit out on the counter for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- In the morning, pour the mixture into a large colander and let it strain for 30 minutes. Don't press on it. Dump the strained mixture into a large heavy-bottomed stock pot (discard the liquid strained out).
- Add the sugar, turmeric, ginger, white pepper, mustard seeds, celery seeds, vinegar, and 1 cup (240ml) of the apple juice.
- Stir together the remaining ½ cup (120ml) of apple juice and the cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.
- Bring the relish mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook it for 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Stir up the cornstarch slurry (which will have settled) and pour it into the relish, stirring to disperse it evenly. Bring the relish back to a boil.
- Ladle the hot relish into hot sterilized pint (500ml) or half-pint (250ml) canning jars, filling them to within ½ inch (1cm) of the top. Run a butter knife down the sides to release any trapped air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth, top with the hot, sterilized snap lids, screw on the lid rings so they are finger tight (only as tight as you can get them using just your thumb and index finger).
- Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool, and store in a cool dark place. Leave the relish to age for at least one week before using it, to allow the flavours to mature.
- Makes 6 pints plus a little left over to keep in the fridge for eating now.
Notes
Guten Appetit!
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Sina
This sounds delicious! We had a good cucumber year as well but we have already harvested most of them and any late cucumber is now brought home in triumph. So, no relish this year, I guess.
Btw: we used your method for freezing corn this year and everything worked really well. We didn't have a very big harvest but are excited for the times when we pull out our own corn to make something delicious in a couple of months. Thank you for describing all the steps so well last year, it helped a lot.
Greetings from Cologne/Germany - Sina
Margaret
I'm so glad you had some corn to freeze, and that my instructions helped. There is such a wonderful satisfaction from opening a bag (or jar) of delicious harvest preserved from your own garden when you're in the depths of dreary winter. It brings all that garden joy back again. Our corn harvest wasn't as good this year - we had too much heat early on and the cornstalks were quite stunted, though we did get a few meals out of it. Every year is a surprise in the garden, with some crops doing better than others. This year we have really great root vegetables and luscious tomatoes and cucumbers. We'll play a guessing game with leaving the potatoes, carrots, and beets in the ground as long as we can before the snow flies!
Greetings from northern Alberta
Kim Swift
This cucumber relish is delicious! I was out of town for 3 days and came home to a big mess of over-ripe cucumbers. I was afraid that I had ruined my harvest but then I found your recipe. Not only were they salvaged, but we discovered a delicious new way to make relish. Thank you for the easy steps to follow as I have never made relish before.
Margaret
That makes me so happy to hear. I'm thrilled you liked the relish recipe. We are sure gobbling it down in our household. There's such satisfaction in saving a hard-earned crop from hitting the compost pile after putting in all the work and love to get it to harvest. Opening a jar in the middle of winter is such a satisfaction. Wishing you a continued great harvest from your garden.
Tom
Is it possible to freeze this relish rather than can it?
Margaret
Hi Tom, I think it should be fine to freeze it. I haven't frozen this relish, but have frozen other similar ones. The only problem is that cooked cornstarch can lose its thickening properties when frozen, so the relish may be a bit more watery, but should still be great to use. If you want to avoid the slight wateriness, you could replace the cornstarch with tapioca starch or arrowroot starch, which freeze better. You could also just cook the relish for a little longer, until it's as thick as you like it and you won't need to add any cornstarch at all, and then it will freeze fine.
Stacy
Hi, do you use sweet or tart apples?
Thanks!
Margaret
I have used both, but like a medium sweet like a fuji or gala, though I think any apple would work.
Toni
I’m excited to try this recipe! Thankful that I found a use for my over ripe cucumbers. When I leave the mix with the sat out overnight, should that be covered? I’m worried about bugs like fruit flies getting in it.
Margaret
Hi Toni - I think you'll like this recipe (we sure do 🙂 ) I just lay a clean tea towel over the bowl for overnight, but I find fruit flies aren't attracted to it because of the salt, luckily. Happy pickling!
Barbara
I made this yesterday (& night before), not because I like relishes, in fact I usually don’t, but I had a ton of overripe cukes so so I decided to try it out. I did cut the sugar to 1/2c (I think sweet is biggest objection I have to relishes) and I have to say I love it! It is just the right amount of sweet/tart and very flavorful. After I tasted it I realized it would go well on my occasional morning natto+ dish, and I used it there today and it was the best! I didn’t have celery seeds and only 1T yellow mustard, but I did have black mustard which filled that gap. And at this time I have saved the drained juice - it has life from the cucumbers & onions, I’m think I might brine a chicken in it? Seems a shame to waste good cucumber juice 😂. Thank you, Margaret, your comments are thoughtful and on point & appreciated. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recommendations. It’s a lot of work to get these up here, so nicely presented and with such good comments, so I thank you again for doing this!
Warmly, Barbara
Margaret
Hi Barbara, thank you for your wonderful feedback. I so appreciate hearing how the relish turned out for you and the changes you made. I like the idea of reducing the sugar even more to have a tangier relish. I just love how recipes are constantly-evolving entities and how everyone makes them their own to fit their tastes. Our cuisine is a living, changing expression of who we are.
And I really love your absolutely practical idea of using the drained juice to brine a chicken - brilliant! (I'm smacking my palm to my forehead now for throwing mine down the drain!)
Thanks for stopping by to comment 💕 Happy kitchen times to you.
Colette
Yum ! First time trying such a recipe. Did not have mustard seeds so I used half wasabi paste and dry mustard powder. I also added 4 cloves of garlic and 4 hot chilli peppers 🌶 from my garden. The relish has a bit of a kick to it and it is delish! Yum 😋
Margaret
That sounds absolutely delicious! I love the idea of a bit of kick to the relish - wonderful to use your own chilli peppers! And more garlic is always good😉 Glad you like it 😍
Darlene
What a great recipe! I was so happy to be able to use up those cucumbers that got away on me this summer instead of tossing them into the compost. I make a ripe cucumber pickle/relish with tomatoes in it (mother-in-law's old family recipe) that has 10 cups of sugar for 10 pints! I love that this recipe has way less sugar and is really tasty. I know it will be a family favourite as well. Thanks for the recipe.
Margaret
So glad you like it! You're welcome 😊 Yes, we still find the relish sweet enough, even with the reduced amount of sugar - it really lets the tanginess shine through. (Some of those older recipes really were heavy on sugar, even if they were tasty.) It feels good to be able to use some of those overripe veggies and make something delicious out of them - so satisfying.