Lady Ashburnham Relish - Simple & Tasty!

A tasty relish originating in my home province of New Brunswick, Canada - and a bit of its aristocratic history!

The History Of Lady Ashburnham & Her Famous Pickles

Step 1: Gather Materials - Day 1

5 - 6 Large Cucumbers (if you have small ones, enough for about 10 cups of chopped cucumbers)

-EDITED- I just made these using ZUCCHINI instead of cucumber - tastes AWESOME!

5 Medium Onions (Aprox 4 Cups)

1/4 Cup Salt (I like to use coarse pickling salt )

Paring Knife, Vegetable Peeler

Large Bowl & Dish Towel

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Materials Day 2:

2-1/2 Cups White Vinegar

2 Cups Sugar

3 Tablespoons Flour

1 Teaspoon Celery Seed

1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds

1 Teaspoon Tumeric

1 Tablespoon Dry Mustard (or in a pinch, you can use 2 Tbsp hot dog mustard)

Stew Pot

6 Jars With Lids

Mixing Spoon / Ladle

Step 2: Prepartation of Cucumbers

1) Wash your cucumbers/zucchini and trim off the ends - Pic 1

2) Peel the skin off using a vegetable peeler (or paring knife) - Pic 2

3) Cut in half, Then cut each half into quarters - Pic 3

4) Gently trim off the seed cores - Pic 4

5) Then finely chop the cucumber/zucchini into small pieces - Pic 6

6) Put them into the bowl and repeat with the rest of the cucumbers/zucchini - Pic 7

You will need at least 10 cups of chopped cucumbers (or zucchini)

Step 3: Preparation of the Onions

1) Cut the ends off and outer skin from the onions - see Pic 1

To finely chop your onion, you can use a knife or a food processor

- You need 4 Cups of chopped onions

2) PARING KNIFE METHOD: End side down, cut in half

- while holding the rounded edges, take each half make several small cuts from end to end - see Pic 2

- turn, and hold your pieces together, carefully cut crosswise - see Pic 3

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD:

- Cut your onions into quarters and choppity-chop! - Pic 4

3) Add your onions to your chopped cucumbers- Pic 5

4) Sprinkle your 1/4 Cup of pickling salt over your onions and cucumbers and stir with a big spoon - Pic 6

5) Cover your bowl and let stand overnight - you can leave them out or place in your fridge - Pic 7

Step 4: Day 2 - Cook It Up!

Let your cucumber(or zucchini)/onion mix sit overnight or for 24 hours - Pic 1

The salt draws out excess water and flavours your cucumbers (zucchini)

1) Drain off the salt water brine - Pic 2

2) In a stew pot, add your Vinegar, Sugar, Flour & Spices, - Pic 3

3) Turn on the heat and stir until flour & sugar are dissolved -Pic 4

4) Add the drained cucumber(zucchini) / onions to the stew pot & stir - Pic 5

5) Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes - Pic 6

6) TURN ON THE STOVE VENT! - it gets pretty strong-smelling

Step 5: Sterilize Your Jars

-You can use pickling jars or reuse other glass jars

-If you want to put your pickles on a pantry shelf and not eat them then

you need to use proper preserving jars.

If you will be eating them right away or keeping your jars in the fridge,

you can use any kind of jars

- If you are using proper preserving jars and are re-using a jar, check the lids for rust.

These should not be reused - the lid, bottom right, is not going to be used - See Pic 1

1) Put water in a frying pan(s) or large pot and set your lids & jars in the water face down - Pic 2

- Boil on medium (5) while your pickles cook

- After some time, your jars will magically suck up the water, this means they're ready.

You can add some more water to your pan/pot and let them bubble away until your stuff is done

2) Remove your jars after the 40 minute mark. WARNING! VERY HOT! Use oven mitts/tongs

Step 6: Fill 'em Up!

1) When your pickles become opaque - they're done! - Pic 1

2) Use a ladle or small measuring cup to scoop and fill your jars - Pic 2

((( get a spoon and sample a bit - yumm! )))

3) Use a clean damp cloth to wipe down your outside of jars and carefully

wipe off the top edge of your jar -it has to be clean to make a good seal - Pic 3

4) Screw on the lids finger tight - Pic 4

5) TA-DAH! all done

6) As they cool and create a vacuum seal, the lids pop down and make a TING! - Pic 5

Next day, once everything has cooled, touch all the jar tops. - Pic 6

If any click, for some reason, they didn't make a seal so they should be stored in the fridge only.

Once cooled, you can eat them right away, no waiting ~ ENJOY!

Step 7: Clean Up

Afterward, I discovered I'd spilled some on the counter.

(I should've been working on my cutting board)

YIKES! This stuff STAINS

A little cleanser with bleach in it or using a magic eraser gets that stain out

LICKETY SPLIT! =)

If you used plastic spoons, you'll notice they stained too, just soak them in bleach - good as new