Cucumber relish can be water-bath canned because vinegar acidifies the chopped vegetables. Use a tested recipe, 5% vinegar, and the process time for your altitude, and sealed jars keep on a pantry shelf for a year or more.
The search for cucumber relish recipes for canning usually comes from a pile of garden or farm-stand cucumbers that are too large or seedy for spears. Relish solves that problem: odd shapes, thick skins, and extra seeds are workable once you chop and salt the vegetables correctly.
This guide covers how to choose among the three most useful tested styles—classic cucumber relish, sweet pickle relish, and a lighter dill cucumber relish—then how to process them so the jars are actually shelf-stable.
What You Are Preserving
Relish is chopped vegetables cooked briefly in vinegar, sugar, and spices, then packed hot and processed in a boiling-water canner. It is not the same as refrigerator relish. Unprocessed jars belong in the fridge and should be used quickly. Processed, sealed jars belong in a cool, dark cupboard.
Safety comes from acidity plus heat, not from the salt soak or the sugar. The salt soak pulls water out of the cucumbers so the finished relish is not watery. Sugar balances tartness and helps texture. Vinegar at 5% acidity is what keeps the product in the safe range for water-bath canning. Do not reduce vinegar, add extra water, or increase the vegetable volume without increasing the acid in the same tested proportion.
Which Relish Style to Make
Pick the recipe by how you eat relish, not by which title sounds nicest.
| Style | Flavor | Best uses | Time commitment | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic cucumber relish | Sweet-tangy, celery and mustard seed, lots of pepper | Burgers, sausages, baked beans | Salt 4 hours, cook, process | Ball / Bernardin cucumber relish, reprinted by Extension |
| Sweet pickle relish | Sweeter, closer to grocery-store relish | Hot dogs, tuna salad, potato salad | Salt 2 hours, cook, process | Ball Blue Book sweet pickle relish |
| USDA pickle relish | Mildly sweet, spice-bag flavor | General table relish, large batches | Salt 5 hours plus 24-hour rest | USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning |
| Fresh dill cucumber relish | Lightly sweet, fresh dill and garlic powder | Cold sandwiches, chips, potato salad | Ice-salt soak 3–4 hours | National Center for Home Food Preservation |
If you want a jar that tastes like commercial sweet relish, use the Ball-style sweet pickle relish. If you have a large harvest and want color from red and green peppers plus celery, use classic cucumber relish. If you want something closer to chopped dill pickles than to hot-dog relish, use the NCHFP fresh dill recipe.
Safety Rules That Decide Whether Jars Can Sit on a Shelf
Follow these before you change a single spice.
Use vinegar labeled 5% acidity. White distilled vinegar keeps the color pale. Cider vinegar is acceptable in recipes that call for it and gives a fruitier brine. Do not use homemade vinegar, “salad vinegar,” or anything of unknown strength.
Measure vegetables after chopping. Recipes list cups of prepared cucumbers, peppers, and onions. A recipe written for 8 cups chopped cucumber is not the same as “about 8 cucumbers.” Extra vegetable without extra vinegar lowers acidity.
Keep the vinegar-to-vegetable relationship intact. Doubling cucumbers while only increasing vinegar a little is a common reason batches get discarded. Vinegar is the acid that makes water-bath canning appropriate.
Use canning or pickling salt. Iodized table salt can cloud the brine. Flake salts vary in density, so volume measurements will be off. Kosher salt can work if the recipe allows it and you match weight, not volume.
Process in a boiling-water or atmospheric steam canner. Filling hot jars and listening for a “pop” is not a substitute for a timed boil with water covering the lids. Relish is an acidified mixture; it still needs the published process time so molds, yeasts, and enzymes are controlled throughout the jar.
Adjust time for altitude. Water boils below 212°F above 1,000 feet. Use the longer times in the tables below.
Leave ½-inch headspace and keep liquid over the solids. Exposed vegetable at the top of the jar darkens and is more likely to spoil. Remove air bubbles, then add more hot relish if the level drops.
Ingredients That Matter More Than Flavor
Cucumbers. Pickling cucumbers give the firmest bits. Garden slicers and oversized fruit work for relish if you peel waxed skins, cut out large seed cavities, and measure after prep. Wax on grocery cucumbers blocks brine; peel those. Slice 1/16 inch off the blossom end. That end holds enzymes that soften pickles.
Peppers. Sweet bells are the standard. You can swap red for green for color. Hot peppers can replace some of the sweet peppers in many relish formulas because “a pepper is a pepper” for acid load, but stay within the total cup measure of pepper the recipe lists.
Onions. Yellow, white, red, or sweet onions are interchangeable. Green onions are not a substitute for bulb onions in these recipes.
Sugar. In quick-process pickles and relishes, sugar is mainly for taste and texture, not the primary safety barrier. Reducing sugar makes a sharper, sometimes softer product. Do not replace large amounts of vinegar with extra sugar, and do not assume an untested sugar-free relish is shelf-stable. Use a published reduced-sugar pickle recipe if you need that version.
Spices. Whole mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric, dill seed, and spice bags can usually be adjusted for taste. Ground spices cloud the brine more than whole seeds. Turmeric stains and adds color more than flavor.
Optional firming. Calcium chloride products sold as Pickle Crisp are optional. Lime (calcium hydroxide) treatments belong only in recipes written for them, with the required rinses. Do not add alum to a modern tested relish recipe unless that recipe includes it.
Equipment You Need
- Boiling-water canner or atmospheric steam canner
- Pint or half-pint mason jars with new lids
- Large nonreactive bowl and pot (stainless steel or enameled; not aluminum or cast iron)
- Food processor with a pulse setting, or a sharp knife
- Colander and clean kitchen towels or cheesecloth
- Jar lifter, funnel, bubble tool, and clean towels
Pulse vegetables. Do not puree. Relish should have visible pieces, not the texture of sauce.
Half-pints are practical if you open relish only a few times a month. Opened jars go in the refrigerator.
Recipe 1: Classic Cucumber Relish
This is the Ball / Bernardin cucumber relish that Extension programs reprint: cucumbers, red and green peppers, celery, and onion in a celery-seed and mustard-seed brine. It is the recipe to use when you want a colorful, slightly chunky barbecue relish rather than a sweet hot-dog relish.
Yield: about 6 pints, or twelve 8-ounce jars
Ingredients
- 8 cups peeled, finely chopped cucumbers
- 4 cups finely chopped green bell peppers
- 4 cups finely chopped red bell peppers
- 2 cups finely chopped celery
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup pickling or canning salt
- 3 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons celery seed
- 3 tablespoons mustard seed
Method
- Combine cucumbers, both peppers, celery, onion, and salt in a large glass or stainless-steel bowl. Cover and let stand in a cool place (about 70–75°F) for 4 hours.
- Drain in a colander. Rinse with cool water and drain again. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Skipping this step leaves a thin, watery relish.
- Prepare the canner, jars, and lids. Keep jars hot.
- In a large stainless-steel pot, combine vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Bring to a boil.
- Add the drained vegetables. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and boil gently 10 minutes, stirring so the mixture does not scorch.
- Ladle hot relish into hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove bubbles, adjust headspace, wipe rims, and apply lids fingertip-tight.
- Process in a boiling-water canner: 10 minutes for half-pints or pints at 0–1,000 feet. See the altitude table below if you live higher.
- Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars. Cool 12–24 hours without tilting. Check seals, remove rings, wash jars, label, and store.
Wait at least two weeks, preferably three to four, before judging the flavor. Freshly processed relish tastes mostly of hot vinegar.
Recipe 2: Sweet Pickle Relish
This is the smaller Ball Blue Book formula that tastes closest to the sweet relish sold next to mustard. It uses more sugar and less vegetable volume than Recipe 1, so a modest cucumber harvest still fills several half-pints.
Yield: about 8 half-pints (quantity varies with how dry you squeeze the vegetables)
Ingredients
- 1 quart finely chopped cucumbers (about 4 medium)
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- ¼ cup pickling or canning salt
- 3½ cups sugar
- 2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity; white vinegar may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
Method
- Combine chopped cucumbers, onions, and peppers with the salt. Cover with ice water or pack ice over the vegetables and let stand 2 hours.
- Drain, rinse, and press out excess liquid until the vegetables feel wrung, not soupy.
- Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, and mustard seed in a large pot. Bring to a simmer so the sugar dissolves.
- Add the drained vegetables. Simmer about 10 minutes.
- Pack hot into hot half-pint or pint jars with ½-inch headspace. Liquid should cover the solids.
- Process 10 minutes at 0–1,000 feet for half-pints or pints; add time for altitude.
This recipe is sweet. If that is too much sugar for how you use relish, make a small batch first, or choose the USDA pickle relish below, which uses 2 cups sugar for a much larger vegetable load.
Recipe 3: USDA Pickle Relish
Use this when you have a lot of cucumbers and want a tested large-batch relish with a spice-bag brine. It takes two days because of the 24-hour refrigerated rest. That rest is part of the published method, not optional flavoring.
Yield: 8 to 9 pints
Ingredients
- 3 quarts fresh chopped cucumbers
- 3 cups chopped sweet green peppers
- 3 cups chopped sweet red peppers
- 1 cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup canning or pickling salt
- 2 quarts water
- 1 quart ice
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons each mustard seed, turmeric, whole allspice, and whole cloves
- 1½ quarts white vinegar (5%)
Method
- Combine salt, ice, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and water. Let stand 4 hours.
- Drain. Cover the vegetables with fresh ice water for 1 hour. Drain again.
- Tie the spices in a cheesecloth bag. Add the bag to the sugar and vinegar. Heat to boiling and pour over the vegetables.
- Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.
- Heat the mixture to boiling, remove the spice bag, and fill clean hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace.
- Process hot-pack half-pints or pints: 10 minutes at 0–1,000 feet, 15 minutes at 1,001–6,000 feet, 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Recipe 4: Fresh Dill Cucumber Relish (NCHFP)
This National Center for Home Food Preservation recipe is a sweet relish that uses fresh dill, not a salty deli-dill relish. Process time is longer than the Ball cucumber relish: 15 minutes for pints at sea level. Use the time that belongs to this recipe, not a shorter time copied from another relish.
Yield: about 6 to 7 pint jars
Ingredients
- 12 cups chopped pickling cucumbers (about 4½ pounds as purchased)
- 3 cups chopped red bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup pickling or canning salt
- 4 cups crushed or cubed ice
- 8 cups water
- 5 cups cider vinegar (5%)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Method
- Wash produce. Trim stem and blossom ends from cucumbers. Chop cucumbers and peppers to about ¼-inch pieces; chop onion to the same size. Measure after chopping.
- Combine measured vegetables with salt, ice, and 8 cups water. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.
- Drain, rinse with ice-cold water, and drain again through a cheesecloth-lined strainer until dripping stops (15–20 minutes).
- Heat vinegar, sugar, 1 cup water, mustard seed, dill, and garlic powder until the sugar dissolves. Add drained vegetables, bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes.
- Fill hot pint jars, ½-inch headspace, liquid covering the food.
- Process pints: 15 minutes at 0–1,000 feet, 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 feet, 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
Processing Times by Altitude
Start the timer only after the canner returns to a full rolling boil with jars inside and water covering the lids by 1–2 inches.
Ball-style cucumber relish and sweet pickle relish (hot pack)
| Jar size | 0–1,000 ft | 1,001–6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half-pint or pint | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min |
Some Ball reprints list 10 minutes for both 8-ounce and pint jars at 0–1,000 feet for cucumber relish. Add time above that elevation.
USDA pickle relish (hot pack)
| Jar size | 0–1,000 ft | 1,001–6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half-pint or pint | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min |
NCHFP fresh dill cucumber relish (hot pack, pints)
| Jar size | 0–1,000 ft | 1,001–6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pints | 15 min | 20 min | 25 min |
Do not process relish in quart jars unless the specific recipe lists quarts. These formulas are written for half-pints and pints.
Jars processed fewer than 10 minutes must be sterilized empty before filling. At 10 minutes or more, clean hot jars are enough.
What You Can Change—and What You Cannot
Usually safe adjustments
- Swap white vinegar and cider vinegar when both are 5%.
- Change the mix of red and green sweet peppers without changing the total cups.
- Use a different bulb onion.
- Adjust whole spices and fresh herbs that are not part of the acid or vegetable volume.
- Add a tested amount of Pickle Crisp if the recipe allows it.
- Cut the batch in half if you keep every ratio the same.
Do not do these for shelf-stable jars
- Cut the vinegar or add extra water.
- Increase cucumbers, zucchini, or other low-acid vegetables beyond the measured cups.
- Substitute zucchini for all of the cucumber unless you use a tested zucchini relish recipe. Zucchini relish exists as its own Ball formula.
- Can an “old family relish” that was only refrigerated or sealed with paraffin.
- Use a pressure canner at an invented time to “make it safer” while changing the acid formula. Pressure canning is not a workaround for a low-acid, untested mixture.
- Puree the vegetables into a sauce and still use relish process times.
If you want a small experimental batch with extra garlic, hot peppers, or less sugar, refrigerate it and eat it within a few weeks. Do not put untested changes in the pantry.
Why Relish Turns Watery or Soft
Watery jars. The salt soak was skipped or the vegetables were not squeezed dry. Cucumbers hold a lot of water. That water dilutes the brine after the jars sit.
Soft bits. Overripe cucumbers, blossom ends left on, a food processor run until mushy, or a very long simmer will all soften the texture. Relish will never be as crisp as a fresh pickle spear. Aim for distinct pieces, not crunch like raw cucumber.
Hollow or floating solids. Pack hot, remove bubbles, and keep brine over the vegetables. After sealing, some settling is normal.
Cloudy brine. Table salt, hard water, or ground spices are the usual causes. Cloudiness alone is not proof of spoilage if the seal is good and there is no off odor, fizz, or mold.
White sediment. Harmless yeast or spice residue can settle. Mold on the surface, a bulging lid, spurting liquid, or a rotten smell means the jar is discarded. Do not taste it.
Storage and When to Open a Jar
Leave rings off during storage so a failed seal is obvious. Store at 50–70°F, dark, and dry. Quality is best within 12 to 18 months.
Flavor improves after 3 to 5 weeks. Opening a jar the next day is a poor test of the recipe.
Refrigerate after opening. Use within about a month for best quality.
If a lid never seals, refrigerate that jar and use it soon, or reprocess within 24 hours with a new lid and the full process time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I can relish without a water-bath canner? You can make refrigerator relish in clean jars. That is not the same as canned relish. For pantry storage, use a boiling-water or atmospheric steam canner and a tested time.
Can I use English or slicing cucumbers? Yes for relish, after peeling if waxed and after removing large seeds. Measure the chopped flesh. Pickling cucumbers still give a firmer bite.
Can I leave the peels on? Unwaxed garden cucumbers can be left unpeeled if you wash them well. Peels add color and a little chew. Waxed supermarket cucumbers should be peeled.
Is turmeric required? No, unless you want the yellow color associated with commercial relish.
Can I reduce the sugar in the sweet pickle relish? Sugar is not the main safety factor in this style of pickle, but large cuts change taste and can change texture. For a less sweet canned relish, use the USDA pickle relish or the NCHFP dill cucumber relish rather than guessing at a new ratio in the high-sugar Ball formula.
Why do some recipes process 10 minutes and another processes 15? Process time belongs to the specific tested formula: jar size, pack style, and how the product was prepared. Copying a shorter time from a different relish is not a safe shortcut. Use the table printed with the recipe you followed.
Do I need to sterilize jars? For these relishes, process times are 10 minutes or more at sea level, so clean hot jars are sufficient. Sterilize empty jars only if a recipe’s process time is under 10 minutes.
Can I add cabbage or green tomatoes? Only in a tested mixed relish such as chow-chow or rummage relish. Adding extra low-acid vegetables to a cucumber relish recipe changes the product.
Homemade canned cucumber relish is worth the chopping if you follow a tested recipe all the way through processing. The work is front-loaded: salt, drain, simmer, and a short boil in the canner. After that, the jars wait until grill season, picnic season, or the first potato salad of winter.