Rhubarb Relish 2.0

Rhubarb crumble and strawberry rhubarb pie are delights to be had while rhubarb is in season. When rhubarb makes its appearance I put some aside for rhubarb relish, a delicious tangy condiment that I discovered a year ago and decided I could not do without. Rhubarb relish is the only kind of relish my husband dares to eat. It pairs well with cheese and sausage and it's a must for summer BBQs. I posted a recipe for rhubarb relish last year. Here is an updated version with more pictures.

Rhubarb Relish 2.0
Makes about 5 pints or 10 half-pints.

8 cups rhubarb, chopped
6 cups onion, chopped
6 cups cane sugar (or beet [white] sugar)
1/3 cup molasses
4 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. salt (not iodized)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbps. finely grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground pepper

Chop rhubarb and onions and place into a large heavy bottomed pot.

Add the sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, salt, cinnamon, fresh ginger, ground cloves and ground pepper.

Stir together and place on stove top at medium-high heat. As the mixture comes to a boil reduce heat to medium-low or low. Stir the relish to prevent scorching. As the mixture thickens stir the relish more often. Simmer until the relish has thickened to the desired consistency. It takes me close to an hour and a half for my relish to simmer down to a nice thick sauce. To check the consistency of the relish I place a dollop onto a chilled plate, if the sauce mounds it is thick enough.

As the relish is simmering away, sterilize the pint or half-pint jars in the water bath canner. I do a combination of both sizes of jars. The pints I keep and the half-pints I give away as gifts. Leave the sterilized jars in the water bath canner until you need them. Also remember to prepare the lids.

When the relish has thickened fill the sterilized jars leaving the appropriate headspace (1/4 to 1/2 inch). Return the jars to the water bath canner and once the water has returned to a boil process for 10 minutes making sure to adjust time to your elevation.

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