Beet Horseradish Relish

My Canning Cellar

Beet Horseradish Relish
The ingredients I used were:

three store bought 15 ounce cans of small whole beets, drained

2 cups diced onion

2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cup horseradish sauce

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
I put the vinegar, horseradish sauce, salt, and the peppers into my dutch oven. Because the horseradish sauce was hard to mix in, I used the immersion blender on the sauce till it was thoroughly mixed. Then I added the beets and onions which I had chopped up using the food processor.

I brought the mixture to a boil and I used a wooden spoon to continually stir it to avoid burning or scorching. After it started to boil, I turned the heat down so that it simmered for 15 minutes and thickened up.

Using my canning funnel I filled each preheated jar to the bottom line which took about 1/4 cup. Then I wiped the rims with a vinegar cloth, put the lids on and finger tightened the rings. For this water bath food, I used my Presto Precise Digital Canner, and was able to stack 18 four ounce jars. I covered them with water per the instructions and they processed for 15 minutes once the canner was up to pressure.
So again this process was hot food into hot jars into hot water. I realize in listening back to some of the episodes that sometimes I mention having two inches over the jars and sometimes one inch over the jars, and if I was new to this, I may even confuse myself. What I normally do is if the jars are stacked in a more narrow canner like the Presto digital, I feel comfortable with two inches above. When I use my wider stove top water bath canner and the jars are spread out more, one inch is enough for me assuming the process time is only 15 minutes or less. I never want my water to boil down below the rims of the jars. This is just the way that I feel comfortable doing.
Modern lids no longer need to be boiled before use but I like to let them sit in a pan of hot water just to soften them up a little bit. Whether they actually get soft, I don’t know but it may be one of those little habits or quirks that just makes me feel better doing it, and it doesn’t hurt anything.
I removed the jars when the canner signaled it was done, and I put them on a dish towel on the canning table where they sat for 24 hours. I was worried about the jars I’d bought that I’d never heard of before, but every one sealed with a deliciously sounding Ping. 12 of the jars were Ball brand and 6 were a brand I’d never heard of before but they’d been on sale at the time so I bought them. I’m not sure how to pronounce the name Lovoln that’s L O V O L N.
So I want to remind my listeners that I am still a learning canner and therefore I am not trying to instruct you HOW to can but rather how I can, and then folks can make their own decisions based on their own knowledge and research. While I did use the Ball recipe as a guideline, I had to substitute a lesser amount of canned beets for fresh ones and the horseradish sauce for prepared horseradish. I left the sugar the same, as sugar is an important component to setting up a jelly or jam like consistency although in this case I wasn’t trying to make a jam but rather more of a relish as it was called. And as long as the processing method and time is correct, I feel comfortable adjusting ingredients here and there, and I also can add or delete spices as they don’t add to or delete from the processing time.
Polish cwikla (CHEEK-wah) = grated horseradish with beets.
P.S. I am NOT an Amazon affiliate, I just buy a lot from there.
https://tinyurl.com/3v4wrz7e Lovoln 4 ounce jars
https://tinyurl.com/njjymc68 The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving