Quick and Easy Corn Relish

Every summer, my mother made a large batch of corn relish using recipe notes she had jotted down from her mother's kitchen. She canned it in jars, and we enjoyed it all year round. Grandma's corn relish has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember.

I loved the vinegary aroma of this stuff as it simmered, anticipating its mouth-watering goodness, and could hardly wait to sample a dish of it still warm from the stove. The original recipe (see below) included fresh corn stripped off the ears and chopped heads of cabbage, but since I don't grow my own vegetables or can them, and our family is small, my simplified recipe works well for us. I use packaged frozen corn kernels and, instead of chopping cabbage, I use bagged shredded coleslaw. This is definitely not a low-sodium dish, nor is it overly sweet, despite the amount of sugar. It is, however, very tasty, and we have always liked it.

KT's Shortcut Corn Relish

Ingredients

• One 32-ounce bag frozen corn kernels (equal to about 6 ears of corn)

• Two 10-ounce bags shredded coleslaw (equal to about 1 head of cabbage)

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 cup prepared yellow mustard

• 2 tsp salt

• 1-1/2 tsp mustard seeds

• Water

Instructions

1. Clean and chop the peppers.

2. Place the corn in a 5-quart or larger cooking pot and add enough water to cover the corn. Bring to a boil.

3. Add the sugar, mustard, vinegar, mustard seed, chopped peppers, cabbage, and salt to the pan, stirring to combine. The cabbage cooks down quite a bit.

4. Gradually return the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the corn and peppers are cooked through. You may uncover and allow it to reduce slightly for the last 5-10 minutes; this is not critical.

5. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

6. Place in covered containers, making sure to distribute the liquid over the vegetables, and store in the refrigerator. I like to use canning jars for this, but I keep them refrigerated only and do not actually process them for canning purposes, as my mother and grandmother did. Although I like to try some while it is still warm, the flavor is enhanced by cooling or chilling.

Note: You may certainly multiply the recipe and use fresh corn and/or cabbage if you wish. Canning is an option, but I have not tried freezing this.

Grandma's Original Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 ears of corn

• 2 medium heads of cabbage

• 4 peppers: red and green

• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups prepared mustard

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups sugar

• 2 tablespoons salt

• 2 or 3 cups apple cider vinegar (to taste)

Instructions and Notes

Add water to corn and bring it to a boil. Add sugar, mustard, vinegar, mustard seed, chopped peppers (red and green), and cabbage. Cook about one-half hour.

I sprinkle a little salt on corn when I put on to cook and a little on the chopped cabbage (rather than salt all at once). Also, to the one head, I usually use not too much corn; I use 1 cup sugar, 1 cup mustard, and 1 cup vinegar. This recipe I have always liked.

From my mother's notes

Once the relish was done, she would keep some out to serve at the table, pack the rest into sterilized canning jars, and process in a hot water bath.

There you have it - summer in a jar. Enjoy!