Relish is simply a condiment that is made up of chopped vegetables (sometimes fruit) that is preserved in sugar and vinegar.

Dixie Relish, although not trendy, is a tasty sweet and slightly spicy recipe that is just as good, if not better than the usual dill pickle relish everyone loves.

And best of all, this recipe doesn’t’ require you to have a huge harvest from the garden (or a long grocery list).

Here I go into tools, ingredients, and instructions on how to water bath can this cabbage, pepper, onion relish, commonly called Dixie Relish.

1. Dixie Relish Water Bath Canning Recipe
2. How to Eat this Relish
3. That’s It!

Dixie Relish Water Bath Canning Recipe

This is largely based on Ball’s recipe for Dixie Relish.

However, we don’t like mustard seeds unless we are making bread and butter pickles, so those were omitted, and tastes great. And I like to squeeze in ACV whenever possible. So, the slight adjustments are made there. Please make sure your ACV is still 5% acidity.

We also always have so much kale it’s hard to find things to do with it, so I stuck it in. Kale is a brassica just like cabbage.

Tools you Need

• Large Bowl
• Large Stock pot
• Jelly Jars (half pint, 8 oz jars)
• Water bath Canner

Ingredients

Makes 7-8 half pint jars (jelly jars).

• 1 medium sized cabbage, chopped (about two pounds)
• 1/2 cup of chopped kale leaves, no stems (optional)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, any color, deseeded and chopped (you can sub for spicy peppers, add as much as you can handle)
• 3-4 tablespoons of salt
• 2 cups white vinegar 5% acidity
• 2 cups ACV 5% acidity (can sub for just white vinegar, or use your Chive Blossom Vinegar for extra flavor )
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons celery seed

Instructions

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt and mix well, covering the vegetables liberally. Allow vegetables to sit for an at least one hour, up to overnight, to sweat out extra water.
2. At the end of that hour, get your water bath canner and jars prepared. Allow them to warm up while the vegetables cook.
3. Now, rinse the salt off the vegetables and add to a large stockpot.
4. Add vinegars, sugar, and celery seeds to the vegetables.
5. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 15-20 minutes. At the end of this, Vegetables should be partially cooked and shrunk, making it easier to handle putting them in the jar.
6. Once the relish has cooked for 20 minutes, it’s time to fill your hot jars. You can slightly pack these jars tightly, however, make sure the vegetables are covered in vinegar. Remember, it’s the vinegar that make sit safe to water can, so don’t skip on putting it in the jar. You might have some vinegar leftover at the end and that’s okay.
7. Leave 1/4-inch headspace.
8. De-bubble well, wipe rims, place lids, bands on finger tight.
9. Water bath can (per your canner’s instructions) half pint jars for 15 minutes.
10. Allow to cool before checking seals. Clean cooled jars with lukewarm soapy water, a store in a dry cool place. Enjoy!

How to Eat this Relish

This relish pairs very well with meats: sausage, hotdogs, burgers, tacos, roasts. Just make sure to drain well before placing them on a bun, since the vinegar will make your buns soggy.

You can also add relish to cold pasta salads to give extra flavor in the dressings.

Since it’s a condiment, you really could add it to anything you want a sweet vinegary taste too.

That’s It!

This came out so good, and a great way to put up cabbage for the winter.

I hope you give this a try!