Piccalilli

Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 3 lbs green tomatoes, chopped
• 5 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 medium onions, chopped
• 1 head green cabbage, chopped
• 4 cucumbers, preferably seedless english cucumbers,chopped or 6 regular cucumbers, seeded and chopped
• 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded if desired,and finely diced
• 4 -5 zucchini, chopped
• 2 -3 cups kosher salt
• 2 quarts distilled vinegar
• 2 lbs light brown sugar (1 lb for a less sweet relish, but never less than 1 lb)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, divided
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken up
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 4 -6 whole bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 -2 teaspoon pickling spices
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Recipe

• 1 special equipment: 12 wide-mouth pint canning jars, with new lids and rings canning jar lifting tongs (if tyour don't have them, buy them! they aren't just a convenience; they are safety equipment!) wide-mouth canning funnel.
• 2 water canning pot.
• 3 wash and chop all vegetables.
• 4 if using a food processor, be careful, because it is easy to chop them too finely or to almost puree the softer ones.
• 5 if desired, you will obtain a much better texture by finely dicing everything, or at least the softer veggies, by hand.
• 6 transfer veggies to a very large nonreactive bowl, and toss with kosher salt.
• 7 do not use iodized salt!
• 8 toss well, cover loosely, and allow to set overnight, tossing every hour or so at first, and a few times later on.
• 9 transfer veggies to a large colander, cover with plastic wrap, weight down, and allow to drain for 1 hour.
• 10 i use the 2 gallon stock pot, filled with water, that i am going to use to cook the piccalilli.
• 11 if desired, rinse veggies to reduce salt, and drain well again.
• 12 empty the pot of water, and add the vinegar, brown sugar, 1 tbsp mustard seeds, and all of the other spices.
• 13 bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly to dissolve the sugar.
• 14 strain through a coarse strainer just to remove very large spices (a coarse colander works well), and return liquid and whatever solids passed through the strainer back into the pot.
• 15 add the remaining 1 tbsp mustard seeds and the well drained veggies.
• 16 increase heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, but not mushy.
• 17 while brine and veggies are simmering and cooking, sterilize new canning lids and pint jars, preferably wide-mouth (i sterilize the lids in a small saucepan of simmering water and the jars on the bottom rack of the dishwasher for a complete cycle, including the drying cycle).
• 18 also fill the water processor ¾ full of water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
• 19 when piccalilli has cooked to desired consistency, fill hot jars with the boiling hot solids and liquid, leaving about ½” of headspace.
• 20 tap jar bottoms lightly on counter to remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims well with a damp towel to clean them, top with sterilized lids, adjust tops to make sure they are properly situated, and seal with rings.
• 21 transfer jars to water processor, removing water as needed with a ladle.
• 22 cover, and process for 10 minutes (15 minutes above 6,000' altitude), starting timing when water returns to a full rolling boil.
• 23 remove jars, using tongs, and gently set on a thick towel, upside-down, until cooled to room temperature.
• 24 turn over jars, and check for seal by pressing down on lids.
• 25 if they are down and don’t pop in and out, the seal is good.
• 26 if seal is not good, reprocess with new lids to try for a seal, or store jars that did not seal in refrigerator until used.
• 27 allow to set for at least 3 weeks before using.