Artificial Food Coloring Free Classic Relish
Bright, tangy, and loaded with real vegetable flavor, this homemade relish is the kind of condiment that makes everything it touches taste better — from hot dogs to potato salad to a simple grilled cheese. Store-bought relish is one of those sneaky products that often hides synthetic dyes to achieve that vivid green color, so making your own is genuinely the easiest way to know exactly what's in the jar. Here, the golden hue comes entirely from ground turmeric, and the crunch and color come straight from fresh cucumbers and both red and green bell peppers. The brine is a simple balance of white distilled vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, and celery seed — classic pickling pantry staples with nothing artificial in sight. Salting the vegetables first draws out excess moisture, which means the finished relish has that satisfying, slightly firm texture instead of turning watery and limp. It comes together in one saucepan and stores beautifully in the fridge, so you can keep a jar on hand all season long.
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Learn more →Ingredients
16 servings
- 4 cups english cucumbers, finely chopped (about 3 medium cucumbers)
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 medium onion)
- ½ cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
Instructions
- 1
Combine the chopped cucumbers, onion, and both bell peppers in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the vegetables and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, until the vegetables have released a significant amount of liquid.
- 2
Transfer the salted vegetables to a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Press firmly with your hands or the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible — the vegetables should feel noticeably drier.
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