Most people searching for relish canning recipes already have a pile of cucumbers, peppers, corn, zucchini, or green tomatoes and want jars that will keep on a pantry shelf. Relish is a good candidate for water-bath canning because tested formulas use enough 5% vinegar to keep the finished product acidic. That acidity—not the boiling water alone—is what makes shelf storage possible.
The catch is that “relish” is not one recipe. Sweet pickle relish, hot pepper relish, corn relish, and summer squash relish use different vegetable loads, different cook times, and different process times. Copying a processing time from one jar to another is one of the most common ways a homemade batch leaves the safe zone.
This guide starts with the rules that apply to every batch, then helps you pick a tested formula based on what you actually have, then walks through filling and processing.
What Counts as a Canning Relish
Relish is chopped or ground vegetables (sometimes fruit) cooked in a vinegar-sugar-spice liquid until the pieces are tender and the liquid is flavorful. Compared with whole pickles, the small pieces heat through faster. Compared with salsa, most relish recipes rely on a large measured amount of 5% vinegar rather than bottled lemon juice. Compared with chutney, relish is usually less reduced and less fruit-forward.
For home canning, that distinction matters less than the formula. A safe relish is one that has been lab-tested to finish at a pH of 4.6 or lower when made as written and processed as written. Family recipes that “never made anyone sick” are not the same thing as a tested recipe. Botulism toxin does not always announce itself with a bad smell or a bulging lid.
Rules That Apply to Every Relish You Can
Follow these before you shop for produce.
Use 5% vinegar. Distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar both work when the label says 5% acidity. Do not use homemade vinegar, wine vinegar of unknown strength, or “salad vinegar.” If a recipe specifies white vinegar, that is usually for color and flavor, not because cider vinegar is unsafe at 5%.
Do not change the vinegar-to-vegetable ratio. You can usually swap one pepper variety for another by weight or measured cups, and you can often change dry spices. You cannot add extra cucumbers, skip the onion, cut the vinegar “because it tastes too sharp,” or pour in oil. Those changes raise pH or block heat.
Use canning or pickling salt when the recipe calls for it. Iodized table salt can cloud the brine. Do not reduce salt in a recipe that uses a long salt soak; that soak is there to pull water out of the vegetables so the vinegar can do its job.
Leave ½ inch headspace unless a specific recipe says otherwise. Solids must stay under the liquid. Dry pieces at the top are a seal and spoilage risk.
Process in a boiling-water canner or atmospheric steam canner. Open-kettle canning (filling hot jars and skipping the canner) is not a current safe method. Invert-and-hope sealing is not either.
Adjust for altitude. Water boils at a lower temperature as elevation rises, so process time increases. A 10-minute sea-level recipe is not a 10-minute recipe in Denver.
Do not add thickeners unless the tested recipe includes them. Flour or cornstarch can slow heat penetration. The USDA pickled green tomato relish and the optional flour paste in pickled corn relish are exceptions because those specific formulas were tested that way.
Use half-pints or pints unless the recipe lists quarts. Most relish recipes were timed for the smaller jars.
Which Relish to Make With What You Have
Choose the formula from the produce, not from a flavor mood board.
| What you have | Tested direction | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Pickling cucumbers plus sweet peppers | Sweet pickle relish | Classic burger relish; salt-ice soak keeps texture |
| Mostly peppers, some onion | Sweet pepper relish or hot pepper relish | Same method; heat level comes from the pepper mix |
| Sweet corn, lots of it | Pickled corn relish | Uses fresh or frozen kernels |
| Zucchini or yellow squash overflow | Summer squash relish | Official tested option for summer squash only |
| Green tomatoes at frost | Pickled green tomato relish or rummage relish | Turns unripe fruit into a pantry condiment |
| Mixed end-of-garden odds and ends | Rummage relish | Built for mixed tomatoes, cabbage, celery, cucumber, peppers |
Peppers of different heat levels can usually be swapped as long as the total measured cups of ground pepper stay the same. That is the explicit note on the National Center for Home Food Preservation hot pepper relish: keep 10 cups total ground pepper, then shift the sweet-to-hot split to taste.
Do not treat winter squash, pumpkin, or large seedy mature zucchini as a stand-in for the summer squash relish. That recipe is limited to fresh, firm yellow squash and/or zucchini.
Equipment You Actually Need
You do not need a pressure canner for these high-acid relishes.
- Water-bath canner or a deep stockpot with a rack and a lid
- Pint or half-pint mason jars made for canning, new lids, reusable rings
- Jar lifter, funnel, bubble remover or chopstick
- Wide stainless or enameled pot (not bare aluminum or cast iron; vinegar reacts)
- Food processor, grinder, or a sharp knife and patience
- Gloves for hot peppers
Wash jars in hot soapy water and keep them hot until filling. Follow the lid manufacturer’s directions; most modern lids do not need a long simmer.
How to Process Relish in a Water Bath
The cook time on the stove is part of the recipe. The time in the canner is separate. Do not start the process timer until the water is at a full rolling boil with jars in place.
- Fill the canner so jars will be covered by 1 to 2 inches of water.
- Pack hot relish into hot jars, ½ inch headspace.
- Slide a non-metal tool around the inside of the jar to release trapped air. Top up with hot liquid if the level drops.
- Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth. Apply lids and rings fingertip-tight—not cranked down.
- Load jars onto the rack. Return water to a rolling boil, then start the clock.
- When time is up, turn off the heat. Wait 5 minutes before lifting jars out.
- Cool 12 to 24 hours undisturbed. Do not tighten rings during cooling.
- Check seals. Remove rings for storage. Label with the recipe name and date.
Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. Best quality is usually within a year. Refrigerate after opening.
If a lid does not seal, refrigerate that jar and use it within a few weeks. Do not reprocess relish that has already cooled unless a tested source gives that option for that specific product.
Tested Relish Canning Recipes
The formulas below are from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and USDA-adapted extension publications. Make them as written. Yields are approximate; vegetable moisture changes the final jar count.
Sweet pickle relish (the standard hot-dog style)
Yield: about 9 pints Source: NCHFP / USDA pickle relish
Ingredients
- 3 quarts chopped cucumbers
- 3 cups chopped sweet green peppers
- 3 cups chopped sweet red peppers
- 1 cup chopped onions
- ¾ cup canning or pickling salt
- 4 cups ice
- 8 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons each mustard seed, turmeric, whole allspice, and whole cloves
- 6 cups white vinegar (5%)
Method Combine cucumbers, peppers, onions, salt, ice, and water. Stand 4 hours. Drain. Cover with fresh ice water for 1 hour. Drain again. Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag. Combine sugar, vinegar, and the spice bag; heat to boiling and pour over the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Heat the whole mixture to boiling. Fill hot jars, ½ inch headspace, liquid over the solids.
Process (hot pack): half-pints or pints — 10 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 15 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 20 minutes above 6,000 ft.
The ice-and-salt soak is not optional theater. It draws water out of the cucumbers so the finished relish is not watery and so the vinegar concentration stays where the recipe was tested.
Sweet pepper relish
Yield: about 6 pints Source: NCHFP
Ingredients
- 5 cups ground green bell peppers (about 7–8 peppers / 3–4 lb before grinding)
- 5 cups ground red bell peppers (about 7–8 peppers / 3–4 lb before grinding)
- 1½ cups ground onion, including juice
- 2½ cups cider or white distilled vinegar (5%)
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons pickling salt
- 4 teaspoons mustard seed
Method Remove stems and seeds from peppers. Peel onions. Cut into large pieces and coarsely grind, keeping the juices. Measure the cups after grinding. Combine everything in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then cook at a low boil 30 minutes, stirring often so it does not scorch. Fill hot jars, ½ inch headspace.
Process (hot pack): pints or half-pints — 10 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 15 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 20 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Hot pepper relish
Use the sweet pepper relish method and times. Change only the pepper mix:
- 5 cups ground green or red bell peppers
- 5 cups ground jalapeño peppers (seeds included unless you want it milder)
- 1½ cups ground onion
- 2½ cups distilled white or cider vinegar (5%)
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 teaspoons pickling salt
- 4 teaspoons mustard seed
Wear gloves. Do not touch your face. You may shift sweet peppers and hot peppers around as long as you still measure 10 cups total ground pepper. That is the safety boundary.
Pickled corn relish
Yield: about 9 pints Source: NCHFP / USDA
Ingredients
- 10 cups whole-kernel corn (16–20 medium ears, or six 10-oz packages frozen corn)
- 2½ cups diced sweet red peppers
- 2½ cups diced sweet green peppers
- 2½ cups chopped celery
- 1¼ cups diced onions
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 5 cups vinegar (5%)
- 2½ tablespoons canning or pickling salt
- 2½ teaspoons celery seed
- 2½ tablespoons dry mustard
- 1¼ teaspoons turmeric
Method Boil fresh ears 5 minutes, cool, and cut kernels from the cob. Combine peppers, celery, onions, sugar, vinegar, salt, and celery seed. Boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Blend mustard and turmeric with ½ cup of that hot liquid; return it to the pot with the corn. Simmer 5 minutes more. The USDA recipe allows an optional paste of ¼ cup flour mixed with ¼ cup water if you want it thicker. Fill hot jars, ½ inch headspace.
Process (hot pack): half-pints or pints — 15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Corn is a low-acid vegetable. The vinegar load in this recipe is what makes water-bath canning possible. Do not turn it into a “lightly pickled” corn salad and still can it.
Summer squash relish (zucchini or yellow squash)
Yield: about 5 pints Source: NCHFP
Ingredients
- 4 pounds fresh, firm yellow squash and/or zucchini
- ½ cup diced sweet onion
- 2 cups cider vinegar (5%)
- 2¼ cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons celery seed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 4 teaspoons mustard seed
Method Trim ends and shred the squash. Dice or shred the onion. Bring vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil. Add squash and onion. Return to a boil and boil gently 5 minutes, stirring. Pack hot vegetables with liquid into hot jars, ½ inch headspace, liquid covering the food.
Process (hot pack): pints or half-pints — 15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
This is the tested answer to “can I can zucchini relish?” It is not a license to scale up a blog recipe that skips vinegar measurements.
Pickled green tomato relish
Yield: 7 to 9 pints Source: USDA / Clemson HGIC
Ingredients
- 10 pounds small, hard green tomatoes
- 1½ pounds red bell peppers
- 1½ pounds green bell peppers
- 2 pounds onions
- ½ cup canning or pickling salt
- 1 quart water
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 quart vinegar (5%)
- ⅓ cup prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Method Chop or coarsely grate tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Dissolve salt in the water, pour over vegetables, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes. Drain. Return vegetables to the pot with sugar, vinegar, mustard, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Fill hot pint jars, ½ inch headspace.
Process (hot pack, pints): 5 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 10 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 15 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Cornstarch is part of this tested formula. Do not add the same thickener to pepper relish or pickle relish and assume the process time still applies.
Rummage relish (mixed garden batch)
Yield: about 8 pints Source: NCHFP
Ingredients
- 2 quarts cored, chopped green tomatoes
- 1 quart peeled, cored, chopped ripe red tomatoes
- 1 quart chopped cabbage
- 3 cups chopped onions
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped sweet green peppers
- 1 cup chopped cucumbers
- 1 cup chopped sweet red peppers
- ½ cup canning or pickling salt
- 4 cups brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 quarts vinegar (5%)
Method Combine vegetables and salt; refrigerate 12 to 18 hours; drain well. Simmer sugar, spices, and garlic in the vinegar for 10 minutes. Add vegetables; simmer 30 minutes. Bring to a boil. Pack hot into hot jars, ½ inch headspace.
Process times for rummage relish follow the NCHFP pickled-products table for that recipe; use the current NCHFP page for the altitude chart before you start, and do not swap in extra low-acid vegetables.
What You Can Change Without Breaking Safety
Safe tweaks are narrower than cooking blogs imply.
Usually acceptable
- Pepper variety, if total pepper measure stays the same
- White vinegar vs cider vinegar when both are 5% and the recipe allows either
- Dry spices in the same family (more mustard seed, less turmeric) in small amounts
- Sugar reduction in some pickle-style products for flavor, with the understanding that texture and color will change; do not treat sugar-free substitutes as automatic swaps unless a tested no-sugar version exists
- Grind size (coarser vs finer) within reason
Not acceptable for shelf-stable canning
- Less vinegar or more vegetables
- Added oil, butter, or fresh herbs in large volume
- Fresh garlic beyond what the recipe lists (powder is the usual safe extra)
- Thickening agents the recipe does not include
- Water added “to cover” if the recipe did not call for that water
- Quart jars when only pints were tested
- Mixing two recipes into one pot
If you want a custom flavor that breaks those rules, make a small refrigerator batch and eat it within a few weeks. That is a better outcome than an unsafe pantry jar.
Texture, Color, and Flavor Problems
Watery relish. The vegetables were not drained after a salt soak, or they were very wet from the garden and packed without enough cooking-off. Follow the drain steps. Do not compensate by cutting vinegar.
Soft, khaki zucchini relish. Overripe squash and long boiling both dull color and texture. Use firm, small-to-medium fruit and stick to the 5-minute boil in the summer squash recipe.
Cloudy jars. Table salt, hard water, or starch from over-processed vegetables can cloud brine. Cloudiness alone is not proof of spoilage, but mold, fizzing, spurting liquid, or an off smell is. Discard those jars without tasting.
Harsh vinegar bite. Relish mellows over 2 to 4 weeks. Opening a jar the day you can it is a poor test of the finished flavor.
Faded peppers. Heat and time mute bright red and green. That is quality, not safety, if the seal is good and the food looks and smells normal.
Siphoning (liquid loss in the canner). Jars were packed too full, rings were too tight, or the canner boil was violent. If the seal formed and food stayed covered, the jar is usually still fine. If food is exposed at the top, refrigerate and use soon.
How to Use a Pantry Full of Relish
Hot dogs and burgers are the obvious use. They are not the only good one.
- Fold a spoonful into tuna, chicken, or egg salad instead of extra pickle
- Stir into potato salad or a mayonnaise pasta salad
- Mix with mayonnaise for a quick tartar-style sauce for fish
- Spoon over beans, cooked greens, or grilled sausages
- Use pepper relish with cream cheese on crackers
- Add green tomato relish to a grilled cheese or a BLT in place of sliced tomato
- Warm corn relish next to roast chicken or spoon it onto tacos
A pint sounds small until you remember relish is a condiment. One tested batch of pickle relish at 9 pints is a lot of sandwiches. If you only need a few jars, scale a tested recipe down by keeping the same ratios—do not scale up past a pot size you can heat evenly.
Common Relish Canning Mistakes
- Treating every relish as a 15-minute process. Pepper relish and pickle relish are often 10 minutes at sea level; corn relish and summer squash relish are longer.
- Using a food-processor puree when the recipe was tested as a coarse grind. A smoothie-thick pack heats differently and looks like sauce, not relish.
- Canning a refrigerator recipe because the ingredients “look the same.”
- Leaving rings on in storage, which can hide a failed seal and rust the lid.
- Tasting from a questionable jar “just to check.” If the seal failed months ago or the food looks wrong, throw it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I water-bath can any relish I invent if I add a lot of vinegar? No. Extra vinegar in an untested pot does not tell you the final pH after vegetables release water and sugar buffers the acid. Use a tested recipe.
Can I leave out the sugar? Sugar is usually there for flavor and texture, not as the primary preservative in these vinegar relishes. Removing all of it can still be unsafe in some products and will change how the relish cooks down. Use a tested reduced-sugar or no-sugar pickle product if that is the goal.
Do I have to sterilize jars first? For process times of 10 minutes or more, clean hot jars are the usual standard. Some short-process relish recipes specify sterile jars; follow that recipe’s wording. When in doubt, keep jars hot and process for the full tested time.
Can I use a steam canner? An atmospheric steam canner may be used for many high-acid foods when you follow current extension guidance for that canner type and the same process time as the water-bath chart. It is not a pressure canner.
How long do unopened jars last? Use within a year for best flavor and color. A sealed, properly processed jar kept cool and dark can remain safe longer, but quality drops.
What if I only want one or two jars? Make a half batch of a tested recipe, or skip canning and refrigerate. Relish keeps several weeks in the fridge because of the vinegar, even when you never process it.
Where should I look when I want a recipe that is not listed here? Start with the National Center for Home Food Preservation relish pages, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, Ball/Bernardin tested books, and university extension fact sheets. A high ranking on a search page is not a safety test.
If the produce on the counter is cucumbers, peppers, corn, or summer squash, there is already a tested relish canning recipe that matches it. The useful work is measuring carefully, covering the solids with liquid, and using the process time that belongs to that formula—not the one from the last blog post you read.