Canning 101: Sweet Honey Corn Relish

On a visit to my stepdaughter's a few years ago, I first tasted corn relish. That in itself is an amazing feat, considering I live in Iowa where corn is found everywhere in the summer. Since then, I've been on the hunt for a tasty corn relish that I could can and enjoy during the winter when fresh sweet corn isn't available.

I found this corn relish in one of my canning books, The Pickled Pantry: From Apples to Zucchini by Andrea Chesman (available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions), where I've found several delicious pickle and relish recipes. This one is a hit too.

The recipe says you'll end up with 5 pints. I followed the recipe exactly and got 7 pints.

Sweet Honey and Corn Relish

8 cups raw corn kernels (from 10 to 12 ears)
2 onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 to 1 1/2 cups honey
3 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar (5%)
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon pickling or fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ClearJel

Combine the corn, onions, green and red bell peppers, 1 cup of the honey, 3 cups of the apple cider vinegar, celery seeds, salt and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the honey.

Stir together the ClearJel and the remaining 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar until smooth. Stir into the corn mixture, and boil gently until thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more honey if desired.

Ladle the hot relish into clean, hot pint-sized canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, and seal.

Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Do not open for at least 6 weeks to allow the flavors to develop.

Yield:  5 pints