BEST Corn Relish
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This homemade Corn Relish recipe is superbly delicious, fabulously versatile, and comes together in a snap! We provide canning instructions so you can preserve the taste of summer corn all year long!
One of the things I love about canning is that it enables you to enjoy the fresh flavors of Summer produce long after the growing season is over. It’s also a great way to make use of sales when you can buy in bulk for a good price and especially if you have your own garden or fruit trees. And of course there are few things as satisfying as walking into your pantry or out to your garage shelf and seeing jars and jars of homemade goods ready for your family to enjoy. And seeing jars of homemade sweet corn relish is something I get especially excited about!
This year we celebrated our first harvest of homegrown sweet corn and let me tell you, what a celebration it was! The ears of heirloom sweet corn couldn’t have been more picture perfect and the flavor was as good as the best corn we’ve had anywhere. We harvest just shy of 200 ears of corn, shucked them all, blanched and froze a lot of cobs and froze the rest of creamed corn. But not before setting some aside to make our favorite sweet corn relish!
How Long Does Corn Relish Keep?
If you follow the canning directions and keep the jars stored in a cool, dark place the corn relish will keep for a year. Once opened keep the jars in the fridge and use within 2 months.
How to Use Corn Relish
Corn relish can be used in a variety of ways to add a tangy and sweet flavor to your dishes. Here are a few ways to use corn relish:
- Topping for Grilled Meat, Chicken, Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Seafood
- Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas
- Salads: It’s great in both leafy green salads and pasta salads
- Sandwiches and Wraps
- A dip for tortilla chips
- Baked Potatoes
- Bruschetta
- Scrambled Eggs or Omelets
- Rice and Grain Bowls
Corn Relish Recipe
Let’s get started!
Something that isn’t remotely necessary but that I’m kind of OCD about it getting all the veggies chopped uniformly. You can chop by hand or use a food processor but appearance-wise relishes just look so much nicer when the veggies are all uniform in size and shape. A gadget that my mother-in-law got me as a gift a few years ago and that I love to use for purposes like this is the Vidalia Chop Wizard, which doesn’t appear to be available anymore, but this vegetable chopper does the same thing plus has a lot of additional features. It enables you to chop your veggies in perfectly uniform sizes.
Finely chop the onions.
Do the same with the red and green bell peppers and the celery ribs.
Remove the husks and silk from the corn and cut the kernels off the cobs.
Put everything in a pot.
Add all remaining ingredients and bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Spoon the mixture into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch of head space and seal with lids. Place in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Here is the canner I use (I have an older model) and it comes with all the accessories: Granite Ware Enamel-on-Steel Canning Kit
Wait a week or two before eating the relish to allow time for the vinegar to mellow out.
Keep the jars stored in a cool dark place. They’ll keep for at least a year. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 2 months.
Enjoy!
For more delicious pickled vegetable recipes be sure to try my:
- Giardiniera
- Pickled Carrots
- Dill Pickle Relish
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
- Pickled Onions
- Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Pickled Green Beans
- Pickled Okra
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Beets
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BEST Corn Relish
Ingredients
- 10 fresh ears of sweet yellow corn , husks and silk removed, slice kernels off the cob with a sharp knife
- 2 large red bell peppers , cored, and finely chopped
- 2 large green bell peppers , cored and finely chopped
- 8 ribs celery , finely chopped
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion , finely chopped
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 4 whole allspice berries
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Ladle the relish into hot sterilized jars and seal with lids. Process the jars in a water bath for 10 minutes.
- Keep stored in a dark, cool place. Will keep at least one year. Once opened, store in the fridge for up to two months.Makes approximately 8 pintsNote: Wait a week or two before eating the relish to allow time for the vinegar to mellow out.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 19, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
This corn relish is super, Kimberly, on my second batch now! :)
Fantastic, thank you so much Kathy!
Can you leave out the celery and add black beans to this recipe?
Hi Trudy, you can leave out the celery but as for adding black beans, I’m not sure how that would impact the pH level of the finished relish. I wouldn’t want it to jeopardize its safety for canning. I would recommend using a corn and black bean relish recipe that has actually been tried and tested.
This is my favorite corn relish and I’ve tried a number of them over the years. I always make extra to give away and not one person has every complained :)
Thank you so much for the positive feedback, Lila, and your friends are LUCKY to have you! <3
Can purple onion be used instead of a white onion. also can you change the celery be replaced with another vegetable? Hope to hear from you soon
Thank you
Hi Dorothy, yes you change the onion and you can also sub a different vegetable for the celery in the same quantity or less.
My comment is about getting the corn off the cob, best way possible.
You use a BUNDT PAN!
You place the cob in the hole and cut! You will even get all the corn milk, yum.
BEST PART? Your corn cobs 🌽 are stable! Yeah!
Score another use for the bundt pan.
This is a great recipe…I’m making it tomorrow!
I was reading in the comments that some people have never heard of or can’t find allspice berries. I think the word “berries ” can be confusing. In most supermarket spice sections it is referred to simply as whole allspice. I fear using the word berry is causing some people to think of a fresh berry rather than the dried ripe allspice that resembles a peppercorn.
Hi Joann, thanks for that feedback. Whether they’re referred to as whole allspice or allspice berries strictly depends on the brand and how they choose to label it. There are as many brands that label them as “berries” as there are that label them “whole.” They’re one and the same: whole allspice is a berry that’s been dried and they’re not even available fresh.
I am excited to make this tomorrow. A couple questions Can I double it? Also can I chop the peppers, celery and onion the night before? Thank you.
Hi Michelle, yes to both questions. Happy canning!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! I’m pretty sure I used Splenda before instead of sugar. Gonna make a lot more this year! It is great with EVERYTHING!
Wonderful, thank you so much, Debbie! <3
Did you take out the all spice berries before canning smells delicious. Poking away
Hi Lori, no I leave all the spices in so that they can continue to infuse the jarred relish with flavor over time as it sits.
The recipe is great, tastes good, the only issue is that I don’t find it thick enough, it’s a bit too soupy for me, I don’t want to over cook the ingredients by boiling them too long, the recipe says “until sugar is dissolved, then turn down to a medium heat for 20 minutes until ingredients are tender”, this is the part that when cooled down to be canned I find too soupy. By adding a couple tablespoons of corn starch (mix together the cornstarch with some of the liquid from the relish in a jar until completely dissolved then pour mixture in the boiling relish and mix it thoroughly in the relish) to the boiling process thickens up the relish
Hi Ray, thanks for the feedback. As noted this relish needs to sit for at least a week or two before eating, not only for the flavors to develop but for the veggies to absorb more of the liquid and to thicken.
I have been making this corn relish along with your dill pickle relish for 7 years. Both of them have become staples in our home. I make a couple of batches of each of them every year and extra to give away. Our family loves them both as does everyone that give them to as gifts.
Oh I’m so happy that these have become staples in your home, Cathy, thank you so much for the feedback!
This recipe looks amazing. Can it be made with a bit of heat?
Hi Danielle, yes, you can add a couple of hot peppers if you like without it disrupting the acidity level.
Hi!I’m excited to try this. I’m using home-grown corn which is much smaller than store bought. Do you have an estimate of how many cups 10 ears of corn is? Thank you.
Hi Stacie, the estimates out there are kind of all over the map but the general consensus seems to be that a medium ear equals 3/4 cups of corn kernels. That would mean about 9 cups. The good news is that these measurements don’t have to be exact.