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.
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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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Emily
I love the taste of this recipe and so simple. It is sweet and tangy. Mine did not turn out as well. It is a bit too watery.
Margaret
So glad you liked the recipe! 😍 Unfortunately, cucumbers can vary a bit in moisture. I can depend on the variety and how much rain or moisture they get throughout the season. If you think yours are watery next time, you could increase the amount of cornstarch. You can see what the relish looks like once it's finished, and if you think it still looks watery, make up some more cornstarch slurry with a bit of apple juice and add it, then bring it to a boil again just for a second, and then can it.
Retah j
This was my very first attempt at making any kind of relish (which is rather embarrassing since my Mother and sister were both magical with their relishes and pickling recipes). I had 4 very large yellow cucumbers so only made a 1/2 batch. Finally got brave enough last night to open one of the jars to serve with baked ham, and, to my great amazement, both my husband and I really liked it. Thank you so much for this lovely recipe. I will definitely do it again.
Margaret
I love that this recipe has entered you into the realm of 'relishing' - it's an addiction! It always feels so good when you can save those overripe veggies that would otherwise go to the compost pile. I'm really glad you and your husband enjoyed the relish 😍 Happy pickling!
Kathleen Parrish
How important is the weight if I don’t have a scale?
Margaret
The amounts are quite flexible - if you go by roughly the number of cups of peeled, sliced cucumbers the relish will still work out totally fine. I just put the weight in to give a general idea, since one person's idea of a large cucumber can be quite different from another person's.
Happy Pickling!!! 🥒
Shelagh Bouttell
Used a whole whack of big yellow cukes… yippee!! Added about a teaspoon of chilie flakes and the result was tangy with a gentle sweet heat 😋
Margaret
Awesome! It always feels so good when you can turn past-its-prime produce into something delicious! Love the addition of the chili flakes!
Joy
Deer getting into our garden problem…..We found that we could not make the fence higher. What we did to keep them out…We use the drive way thin fiberglass reflective sticks. We stick them inside the garden soil randomly throughout. The deer do not have good eye sight but they know that if they jump over the fence they may not have clearance to land. Haven’t had a problem with deer jumping over our 5 foot fencing in 3 years. Now the problem is woodchucks digging under the fence 😠 Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Margaret
What a great solution! Thanks! The deer broke through our tall deer netting again this fall. They stayed out all summer, so we though we maybe had the problem licked, but no such luck. Your solutions sounds great for next year! We're lucky we don't have woodchucks here - phew! Thanks for reading and commenting ❤️