It wasn't complicated or crazy, just Zucchini relish, but man at the end... looking at the 6 pints I had done (not a huge batch but enough) I was all proud like a new dad!

Quick question - for the ball jars, does anyone know if someone out there makes 1 piece lids? I am NOT talking about canning with them, I just think it would be useful after they are opened to be refrigerated (Relish, Pickles etc that get used over a months time period) it would be nice to have 1 piece lids that you can replace the two piece with. It just seems to be a bit clumsy to have to use the 2 piece every time you want some relish with your hot dog!

Anyway, just wanted to share. I am SO looking forward to making Annie's Salsa, Dill Pickles etc this year! My Jalapeno's are ready, sweet peppers only a few weeks away, and my 14 tomato plants are starting to all mature! Only thing lagging a bit is my cucumbers but they will be there soon enough!

Congrats on your project. I know the feeling. ;) What recipe did you use?

Dave

you realize ya have to share that too besides :)

I love the white plastic screw on lids, make yogurt here and use those as the lids in my canning jars.

ML

Here it is for those who haven't seen it yet.

Linda Lou's Zucchini Relish

10 cups ground zucchini
3 cups ground onion
5 tablespoons salt
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 red bell pepper, ground
1 green bell pepper, ground

Using coarse grinder, grind zucchini and onion. If large zucchini are used, remove seeds before grinding. Combine zucchini and onion with salt and let stand overnight in the refrigerator. Drain thoroughly.

Combine sugar, dry mustard, turmeric, celery seed, pepper, vinegar and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken; then add ground bell peppers and cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.

Pour into pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Adjust lids.

Process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Yield: 6 pints

LOL
Good feeling isn't it? So........what's next? You know you're gonna get hooked like the rest of us.

Pretty soon, you'll be knocking on strangers doors wanting to know if you can 'glean' some produce, shopping ebay for canning supplies, justifying more gadgets (cherry pitter for me this year!), etc.

Welcome to the club!

Deanna

Question: What do you use Zucchini Relish for? I've never made it, but might. Congratulations on your first canning!
I'm a newbie to pressure canning, so enjoy your experiences and learn from this forum! The folks are wonderful!

Kitchencrafts.com has a lot of stuff for canners...

I've also heard of people mixing it with a pasta salad to give it that pickle taste.

All sorts of uses if you think about it :)

I just wanted something new to use the zucchini for besides bread when I have more than enough fresh picked (which I have it coming out my ears right now!).

Dave

PS: photos of them however are appropriate

No. You don't need to peel unless they are very large and the skins are tough. Personal preference.
For me, it usually IS the big ones that go into relish, so I peel (and remove large seeds). But, ideally, if you have plenty of small ones, just wash well, remove ends and grind.

It's very good on a ham 'n' cheese sandwich too! That was my birthday dinner last night. Romantic, huh? Big ol' sandwich, then we sat on the porch and snapped 15# of green beans. :-) Couple of glasses of wine....Perfect!

Deanna (the freak, as my hubby likes to call me!!)

They also had cases of Jelly jars for $4.99. I started to buy all they before I noticed the words "Great for Freezer Jam". Closer inspection showed the jars came with plastic caps and no threads for regular lids. How old is this stuff?

While rubber on a regular lid might be degraded, if those are regular canning jars, it's not a bad deal...

I did take a closer look. One of the boxes was open in the center. They *were* like drinking glasses. In fact a couple of the other boxes had been taped back up. Folks had obviously bought them in the past thinking they were the regular screw-on lid jelly jars.

The screw-on one-piece lids I showed above were on a separate shelf from the jars, not the ones included in the jar cases. Those had the plastic snap-on lids as there were no threads on the jars.

Old stuff - before my time.

If I ever think of anything small I would want to freeze, I may go back and buy those "freezer jelly jars". ;)

We use our old metal meat grinder (like the ones used for making sausage etc.) with the coarse grind vegetable blade on for relishes.

You can also use a blender or food processor if you are into electric appliances but they tend to make it more mushy/soupy as they chop rather than grind. Same with the hand choppers.

Then there are coffee grinders but they only do small amounts at a time.

And I suppose you could also use your Victorio/Roma tomato mill with the salsa attachment though I doubt the plastic auger would push it unless the zukes were quite soft.

Dave

Hello, I am new to this site and hoping someone could give me some information. I just came across a case of these freezer jam jars that look like a "drinking glass". They have no threads and have the white snap on plastic lids. I can't find any information on them and would like to know if there are any replacement lids available for them.

Thank you!