Fruit Relish from Fletchington Farms!

I'd like to give a BIG welcome to a "real life" friend and fellow homeschooler Paula!  Go check out her blog at Fletchington Farms!  This gal is a real life homesteader...she farms, cooks, sews, knits, preserves...truly an inspiration!  

This next recipe is very special to me. It’s one of the very few recipes I have that I know my Great Grandma used to make. I have her old cook book but who knows which ones she used. This Fruit Relish

was made every year and my Grandma still makes it, and now I do too.

Not too many people make fruit relish at home, but up here is seems to be more popular. Up here they tend to call it Chili Sauce, which I find confusing because I think chili sauce is more like ketchup in consistency (like Heinz Chili Sauce). Where as my Fruit Relish still has all its parts visible. Start this recipe early in the morning.  You don’t have to babysit it, but it takes a while.

Fruit Relish

*recipe says 8 qts, but it seems to change every year

24 large tomatoes, you want tomatoes to be the majority of the ingredients

6 peaches

6 pears

6 apples

6 onions

2 red and green peppers

1/2 c pickling spice

2 T salt

3 c white sugar

4 c vinegar

-Peel and dice everything. You want the pieces no larger than 1/2 inch. Tie the pickling spice into a cheesecloth bag. Mix ALL the ingredients into a large pan/pot. Let stand for 3 hours. Then simmer, uncovered, until thick. My recipe says 2 hours, but I have never had it ready that quickly. I simmer over a fairly low temperature that way I don’t have to worry about sticking and burning.  You want it thick but with plenty of liquid to fill the jars -hope that makes sense.

Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-1/4 inch headroom. Seal and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

How to Peel Fruits Easily:

-Bring a large pot of water to boil. Put in a few fruit you want to peel, sometimes it’s easier if you cut a X in the bottom. Let sit in the water a few seconds then carefully lift out and set aside for a couple of minutes. If you are not cooking the fruit, put it into a cold water bath to stop the cooking. If you are using the fruit for

something like fruit relish, the cold water is unnecessary.

Paula