Rhubarb Relish

I enjoy relish, but my husband does not. Several years ago I made my own cucumber relish. It was a lot of work but nobody would eat it but me. I was so disappointed that I haven’t made relish since. After my sister got married her mother-in-law gave me a jar of rhubarb relish. My husband looked at the jar with suspicion. It made it’s entrance one night while we were having hot dogs, and to my surprise my husband not only ate it, he enjoyed it!

The recipe was passed down through my brother-in-law’s family and when I checked online it looked pretty close to the Rhubarb Chutney recipe from Food in Jars (“sans raisin” of course).

Rhubarb Relish

8 cups rhubarb, chopped
6 cups onion, chopped
7 cups brown sugar
4 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. salt (not table salt)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a heavy pot, like a creuset French oven. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. This can take an hour or more depending on your preferred consistency. Stir to prevent sticking or scorching. Ladle into sterilized pint mason jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, make sure to adjust the processing time for your elevation. Makes about 5 pints.