A “must have” for every fridge! A homemade sweet and sour canned zucchini relish that goes with eggs, cheeses, burgers and much more.
Canned Zucchini Relish is so simple to make and quite frankly it’s a “must” to go with any type of meat, burger, cheese or hot dog! Relishes are a religion where I’m from, people make their own homemade versions once a year and sous-vide them before winter comes. In order to make reserves for the cold months to come. If you open the fridge of a Canadian, the chances are, you’ll see a version of a homemade relish or two in there. There are some more popular than others, like the beloved “ketchup aux fruits” (fruits relish) which is a mix of onion, pepper, apples and pears.
Grandma Recipe
This recipe is from ages ago, a real old handwritten recipe my grandma left me, which she probably got from her own mom, etc… Where I grew up, in Quebec, the French-speaking province of Canada. They call this ‘Ketchup aux Zucchinis’ or ‘Ketchup aux courgettes‘ because of its sweet and sour taste. However, the correct term should be “relish” since it is a marinated, then cooked veggie mix. This recipe was a great way, back in the day, to bring some vitamins into your system for those hard winter days, therefore trendy.
Origins
To make a long story short, the origin of this type of “chutney” comes from far, far away in India. Then the Indians brought it over to the British, where they started to make the “pickled fruits” chutneys to preserve the autumnal fruits. From there, it came to Canada, with the help of one of the first British colonies. From India to Canada, the product changed quite a bit. The fruits got swapped for veggies, some spices got lost along the way, and the condiment name changed to ‘relish.’
The Technique
Some people shred their whole veggies with the help of a food processor or cheese grater to save some time. For my part, like my grandma, I’m doing it the traditional way, by hand (brunoise cut). It also looks more appealing with mini cubes. If you feel lazy, though, make it with the food processor. As for the rest of the technique, it’s pretty simple; check the video below.
The base of the ingredients is usually similar from recipe to recipe… what changes the most is the set of spices used. Some people like it “ultra” spiced with loads of aromatics, and others like it more subtle. Some recipes will have celery seeds or nutmeg, others mustard grains, but all use turmeric powder. I believe it’s a friendly “wink” to its Indian origin. Turmeric doesn’t taste much, it’s mainly used for its colour and has plenty of health benefits, so why not? (more info on health benefits of Turmeric here)
I use saline herbs called “salicorn” to flavour my relish, but I know it’s hard to find for most… instead, I use a “popular” aromatic for this condiment: celery seeds.
*Try this recipe on top of a beautiful French omelette to bring it to another level! Check my French omelette recipe here!
So let’s get these homemade zucchini relish going!
Canned Zucchini Relish
Ingredients
- 250 g zucchinis (peeled and cut into small dice)
- 1 onion (cut into small dices)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (cut into small dices)
- 1/2 green bell pepper (cut into small dices *can substitute for red bell pepper)
- 500 ml white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 450 g sugar
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp saline herbs (salicorn) ( or celery seeds)
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the onion and zucchini into small diced cubes, and add to a strainer inserted over a bowl with the big grains of salt.
- Add weight to the veggies and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours up to a night.
- Once ready, drain the residual water collected in the bowl.
- Dice the bell peppers.
- Add to the veggie mix with the turmeric powder, saline herbs (or celery seeds), sugar, vinegar and pepper.
- Add the mix to a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 30 minutes at low heat.
- Five minutes before the end of cooking, add the cornstarch mix.
31 Comments
My grandmother made relishes, too. They’re such a great way to jazz up a simple meal! I haven’t had zucchini relish in ages, and now I want some!
good stuff should always stick around;)
Well I am not much of a “canner” per say. My mom always had the fruit cellar stocked with jars of homemade goodness. Now this recipe is something I know I could make….and it sure sounds delicious too. Printed for a later date. What a great way to use zucchini too.
This looks so tasty and I can see it improving any sandwich. Love the colors! 🙂
Miam miam! C’est tellement bon du ketchup/relish maison! Quand j’étais plus jeune, je refusais d’en manger, c’est seulement dans les dernières années que j’en ai goûté dans une cabane à sucre bio avec de la tourtière et c’était tellement délicieux que je leur en ai acheter pleins de bouteilles et on en mets sur nos hamburgers et hot dogs. hihi
ils doivent bien fait leur ketchup de zucchini avec du bon sirop d’érable! Ca doit être follement bon! Mmm
I never thought there could be zucchini relish but this looks so delicious. I will try this 🙂
Easy and tasty, you ll love it;)
I’ve never heard of zucchini relish before, but it sounds delicious. I need to make some for myself.
It s fantastic you ll love it!
I love your recipe very much but I have to ask, is there a substitute for the corn syrup because I’m not a fan?
You mean corn starch? It s totally optional it simply thickens the whole thing.
I took a class once on making relishes and loved what we made. This looks like it would be tasty and I might need to make it.
Thia ia an EXCELLENT application of all that summer zucchini! The beautiful jars make great winter gifts too. 😉
I love making chutneys and your courgette relish is right up my street, it looks so delicious, perfect for cheeses and cold meats.
Yes, I can see myself using this relish with hot dogs! Also, a new thing to keep me busy!
What a fun idea for a house warming! or just to enjoy myself. Thanks for sharing!
okay. I always make the same thing with zucchini so this is a good new way for me to use it. Thank you so much!
Loved your recipe 🙂
thanks!
What a great way to make use of all of those beautiful summer zucchini! I’m a relish fiend, so I will definitely try to make this before fall kicks in.
What a great recipe! I’ll have to keep this in mind next year when I have gobs of zucchini coming out of my garden 🙂
I think my family would really love this stuff. They are gaga for relish and this will be a different take on it.
Oh this sounds like a great way to use up zucchini during the summer months and then enjoy it during the winter months when they are no longer in season.
I’ve never attempted to make a relish before but I need to now. This zucchini relish with it’s sweet and sour flavors looks amazing! Looking forward to trying this.
I found this recipe to be so easy to follow and very helpful. I can’t wait to do this again and include my kids.
It was so delicious and everyone loved it! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
This made such great presents! Everyone loved it.
The zucchini is perfectly pickled and has a great flavor. This recipe is a keeper!
I’ve never heard of a zucchini relish, but it’s such a great way to use up all the zucchini in our garden!!! Thanks for the recipe.
We had this with our burgers last night, it was totally the icing on the cake! So delicious, and definitely brought an added flavor!