Corn Relish
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Similar to Southern chow chow relish, my easy corn relish recipe is bursting with flavor and vegetables, like bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, and corn (of course). It’s tart, sweet, and oh so delicious.
Although it may be considered antiquated and unnecessary by some, I personally love to can things! I can’t help but think about the old days, how efficient houses ran back then, out of necessity. Women would tend to their gardens all summer long not as a hobby but knowing that how that garden fared would determine how their family fared over the winter months. Eating fresh vegetables during the summer with a constant eye on canning, dehydrating, and various other methods of “putting up” food for the winter. How much a woman canned really made all the difference in whether or not her family went hungry. With that in mind, it’s hard not to have a reverence and appreciation for canning today.
Why Make Relish?
Relish was an easy way to save vegetables and the combinations were limitless. This corn relish recipe is a little similar to a relish called “End Of The Garden Relish” or chow chow, where you pretty much took everything that was left in the garden and combined it together. However, chow chow’s main vegetable is cabbage, while this time we’re focusing on corn. I customized this recipe for my own tastes and you can do that, too. Just know that as you add or take away you will end up with more or less in terms of quantity to can.
This time around, I’m pickling corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, and onion in a pickling liquid that’s bursting with flavor. It includes vinegar, turmeric, ground mustard, celery seed, sugar, and salt. This is a really easy relish recipe to make, I promise. And the reward is multiple jars of corn relish to keep you and your family happy for a long time.
You Absolutely Can Can!
Now for those of you who say “I wish I could can” I want you to know that you ABSOLUTELY can! Canning is simple as can be, so don’t be intimidated by it. Folks have been doing it for countless generations and there is absolutely no reason why you can’t, too. You don’t even need any special equipment, other than the jars and lids. I don’t even own a canner, I just use a big old pot lined with a dish towel to keep my jars from clinking together while they are boiling. I did a full tutorial on this a year or so ago with step-by-step photos and even a little video to start it out so click here to go visit that and can away!
Recipe Ingredients
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Vidalia onions
- Vinegar
- Frozen corn
- Spices: ground turmeric, ground mustard, and celery seed.
- Salt
- Sugar
How to Make Corn Relish
Chop up your onion and bell peppers.
Add your tomatoes.
Add in your corn and water.
Now you’re gonna need a R-E-A-L-L-Y big pot!
And your sugar, salt, and vinegar.
I know you are thinking this is a lot of salt but keep the number of vegetables in perspective and it really isn’t. You do need the salt, honest. It won’t taste salty when you are done.
Add your spices.
Stir that up as best you can.
First, you’re going to bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Then reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring every now and then, for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
You are going to think “wow, this is not nearly enough liquid” but as your vegetables start cooking up it will generate a whole lot more.
Here it is stirred up after it has cooked for a little bit.
Can according to directions found here.
Enjoy your garden all year long with this yummy sweet corn relish.
Storage
When canned and stored in a cool, dry place, your corn relish will last for up to one year. Once opened, the relish will last in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
- Here are some variations to make this corn relish recipe work for you:
- Use white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- Add red bell peppers or green bell peppers, and yellow onion or sweet onion.
- Add other vegetables you might have on hand, like celery or cucumber.
- Use different spices, like ground allspice, mustard seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, or ground cumin.
- Add 1 minced jalapeno pepper or serrano pepper for some spice!
- You want to use coarse salt like pickle salt or kosher salt, not iodized table salt.
Recipe FAQs
Should I use fresh or frozen corn?
Of course, you can use fresh corn kernels but I gotta tell ya, if I’m going to go to the trouble of shucking and preparing fresh corn, I’m gonna eat every last bite of it fried. I recently put up 80 ears of corn and ended up with enough for about 5 meals. That’s a lot of work for just a few meals! Fresh corn is a precious thing and since we’re canning this you won’t be able to tell much difference so let’s keep it easy, alrighty?
Do the tomatoes need to be ripe?
They don’t have to be ripe, but if they are that is alright. You can even use green tomatoes if you like.
Where did corn relish originate?
It’s believed that traditional corn relish originated in the South and in particular in Louisiana.
How do you serve corn relish?
When it comes to ways to serve corn relish, the options are basically endless:
- Add it as a topping to burgers, hot dogs, or sandwiches like a pulled pork or grilled cheese sandwich.
- Mix it with black beans and cilantro to make something reminiscent of summer corn salad, then add it as a topping to tacos or burritos.
- Serve it on a cheese board or an appetizer with corn chips for scooping.
- Serve it as a side dish with a main dish like Southern fried chicken, Southern fried catfish, pork chops, or roasted chicken.
- Enjoy it for breakfast with an omelet or eggs and bacon.
- Add it to your next pasta salad or tuna salad.
Check out these other relish recipes:
Ingredients
- 3 32-ounce packages frozen whole kernel corn
- 4 cups chopped bell peppers
- 2 cups chopped Vidalia onions
- 4 cups chopped red tomatoes
- 5 cups vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard or dry mustard powder
Instructions
- Combine all vegetables in a large pot. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, turmeric, celery seed, and mustard. Heat to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring every now and then to ensure even cooking.3 32-ounce packages frozen whole kernel corn, 4 cups chopped bell peppers, 2 cups chopped Vidalia onions, 4 cups chopped red tomatoes, 5 cups vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1 tablespoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon celery seed, 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard or dry mustard powder
- Seal in hot, sterilized canning jars according to directions that can be found in my canning tutorial. Try to get an equal amount of liquid in each jar. You need a good bit of liquid to cover the vegetables but you strain that out when you serve them. Process for 10 minutes in boiling water for pint size, and 5 for half pints.
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I’ll have to try this one.
I scared my mother this year by canning all by my lonesome. I was given a bunch of of strawberries. I know–most of you can eat them all day long, but it’s just my husband and me, and we just can’t eat that many before they go bad.
I hadn’t canned since 1976 with my mom, and I’d never done it buy myself. But I couldn’t let those beautiful strawberries go to waste. So I canned those suckers.
It was easier than I remembered. Then again, my mother wasn’t terribly organized, cut the wrong corners and made things more difficult than they had to be. Plus, she had Z-E-R-O patience, and there I was trying to help but getting yelled at. No wonder I disappeared into my room when she dragged the jars out of the storage shed!
Can’t wait to can this corn relish recipe – my grandmother made outstanding corn relish when I was a girl, and of course the recipe wasn’t written down, except I remember it was a quart of everything. This looks exactly like hers!
Yee haw! I found a corn relish recipe! I have corn on the cob I just bought on the discount shelf. Can i use it instead of frozen and can i just use water batch method? Have you ever tried it with jalepenos for a spicy version?I don’t have a pressure canner. THanks.
Hi Christy. I finally tried this today with leftover produce from neighbors. I only had 8 half-pint jars so I made half the recipe, and noting that an earlier comment mentioned the relish was a bit sour to her taste, I split the vinegar and sugar half and half, and it came out sweet with a pucker. 🙂 Wonderful! The jars are so pretty on my counter I hate to put them away. Thank you again for teaching me how to cook Souther Plate-style.
I am so glad to hear that it turned out so well Kandie!! Have some for me, I love this stuff!!
Thanks for the great article and yummy recipe! I have been reflecting a lot about my mother and those before her. They had no microwaves, dishwashers and so many other conveniences we take for granted. I began canning to connect to my roots and gain a valuable skill in case this country tanks it.
It is great to be able to utilize the previous experiences so many of you are willing to share!
I just put up two dozen jars of this today. Now I wish it were winter so I could have some! Fingers crossed that one of the jars didn’t seal and I’ll have to eat it up tomorrow. 😉
This was the first thing I ever canned, and last year gave away a lot of it as part of holiday gift baskets. Tonight, at a big family dinner, we used up the last few jars I had left. While we were eating I happen to mention that this year I wouldn’t be canning this corn relish again this year because I wanted to stick to my rarer recipes, figuring you can get corn relish anywhere. In unison, almost everyone at the table said, “Not like this you can’t!” Due to popular request, I’ll be making this again in a few weeks. A double batch. (If not, I may be kicked out of the family!)
All corn relishes are not created equal. This one is a real winner!
WOW, you have made my day Debra!! I am so glad it was such a hit in your family!!