Homemade Corn Relish: Sun Rays in a Jar
Corn is king in my side-dish kingdom. Chewy, sweet, creamy, golden and flavorful, what’s not to like? You can bake it, grill it, roast it, grind it and eat it right off of the cob, but today I’m going to honor this native grain as an indispensable condiment. (Move over ketchup and mustard.) Corn relish is my absolute favorite savory thing to make and preserve, next to my sweet-sour pickles.
Corn relish celebrates summer using a medley of garden greats from fresh sweet corn to onions to roasted peppers. The recipe acts as a framework. Add what you like, and spice it up as you see fit, or as hot as your taste buds can tolerate.
So what do you do with corn relish? Everything! I add it to soups, salads, and stir fry; and mix it in a batter for fritters, hush puppies, cornbread and pancakes. I enjoy it naked on a spoon. (For clarification, the relish is unadulterated; I’m fully clothed.) I tuck it in quesadillas and spoon it on brats. Corn relish can stand alone or enhance another recipe or dish.
Easy to make and can, corn relish takes minimal cooking time and brings together the flavors of summer to be unleashed all year and in any dish you so choose. (Tip: Here’s a video on how I remove the kernels from the cob.)
Corn Relish Recipe
Print recipe
| Serves | 7-8 pints |
Ingredients
- 10-12 Ears corn
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1 heaped tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon ground tumeric
- 2 Teaspoons mustard (dry or Dijon-type)
- 3 Cups white vinegar ((5-6% acidity))
- 3 onions (finely chopped)
- 3-4 sweet peppers (roasted (optional) , and chopped)
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Boil water, add ears of corn, cook until tender about 3-5 minutes | |
| Step 2 | |
| Cool corn, and then slice from the cob, reserve corn kernels in a stock pot or dutch oven. Mince peppers and onions, and add to corn. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Mix sugar, flour, salt, mustard and turmeric, add vinegar. | |
| Step 4 | |
| Heat mixture to a simmer, whisk until fully incorporated. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Add mixture to corn and stir and heat to simmer. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Cook for 15 -20 minutes until relish thickens. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Add mixture to sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 head space and seal and process in water bath for 15 minutes. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Cool, and test lids by making sure they are tight and inverted in the middle. | |
As my favorite vegetable, corn and I go way back. As a young child, I recall a friend of my parents saying, “Corn? No thank you. In Italy, corn is what we feed to the pigs.” This first grader thought, “Those are some really lucky pigs.” (Oh well, at least I’m in good company.)
Lucky pigs indeed! I relish your relish …sorry I couldn’t resist. Seriously, I can’t wait to make a batch!
Thank you for the reminder that it’s corn relish time! Though I have the unfortunate tendency to want to treat it as a side dish instead of a condiment.
Thanks for the, a-hem, clarification… and for the laugh.
PS. Still like the beard. How is the mouth?
Thanks Jacqui, the beard may reappear as I’m not liking the double chin. (Gettin’ old ain’t pretty.) As for the mouth, the tooth was pulled after a failed root canal. It sure costs a lot to leave a hole in your jaw. It’s healed, now I’m pondering an implant. Cost about the same as a two-week European vacation, which sounds like a lot more fun, too. Thanks for asking.
I got an implant, wth a sinus lift, last year. All is well, but do sometimes wonder if it was worth the money. I’m 41 and the teeth on either side were solid, so I guess an implant was the best option, but after getting the tooth out and having no tooth in the spot for 6 months, I kind of got used to it and it wasn’t a big deal. You have a bigger and better smile than I do though, so a gap might be more noticed.
I’m a fan of Trader Joe’s tomatoeless corn salsa which reminds me of the corn relish I used to eat growing up, and which I keep meaning to find a recipe for. Only TJ’s has coriander seed in it. This year I will make Trader Tom’s corn relish instead, slip in some coriander seeds, and eat local!!! Thanks!
I’ll have to check this TJ offering out and maybe do a little comparison and recipe tweaking.
Looking forward to trying this. Do you grow corn? Too cold where I live in MT for corn. I do get plenty of cucumbers from my greenhouse, are you going to share your recipe for sweet-sour pickles?
Hi Elizabeth, I do grow corn, but this year, I may take a break as it’s a heavy feeder and challenge to grow here too. The cool maritime climate is not best place for such a sun seeking grain. And yes, I will share the pickle recipe in the next week or so. What variety of cucumbers do you grow?
I look forward to the pickle recipe. Socrates works great in my greenhouse, but is not a pickler, I train them up a string. This year I’m also trying Harmonie, which is a pickler, and might try a couple plants of Poona Kheera and Boothby’s Blonde. I always have many more cucumbers than I can eat, the Socrates produces so many, so fast!
Too much corn-not enuf Boz. JK;)
Recipe’s new to me, I’m tempted!
So true, more Boz, more Boz, I concur. 😉
My problem is any fresh corn and there’s none left to preserve. I can make a “pig” of myself 😉 I wonder if it would work with frozen?
Perri, I’ve made this using frozen corn and it was really good. Not quite the sweet fresh corn taste, but still worth making. Say about a pound and half of frozen corn works with this recipe.
Bookmarked for making when midwest sweet corn is available!
Can’t wait to see what you do with it Eileen, maybe a side to one of your savory tarts.
thanks so much for the recipe. Our farmers’ market is a great source for field corn (trucker’s favorite) or sweet corn varieties (silver queen or peaches and cream) so I will have fun this summer trying both types. Have you tried Texas Caviar? YUM!!! great beer drinking party dip made with corn/beans and hot Rotel. As us southerns say..you will slap yo momma it is so good!! LOL
Janet, I’m not familiar with Texas Caviar, but that is about to change. A good old sloppy, drippy dip to plop a corn chip sounds like a snack I can wear as well and eat up! Thanks!
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Hi. I’m just about to make this Relish, but I can’t see where you add the red peppers. Perhaps I’m going cross eyed, but I still can’t see it 🤣Help!
Hi Rita, good catch, I forgot to add that part. Simply chop up the peppers to about kernel size and add to the corn before adding the liquid mixture. Hope this helps and again, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Happy Cooking and Canning!
You forgot to add onions to list for cooking
Thanks for the heads-up Sheila, I’ll check it out.