Relish a sweet and sour corn relish for a change
Who relishes relish?
If you live in the Chicago area, you know that pickle relish (sometimes a very bright green) dresses Chicago’s very tasty hot dogs. Which is what I was talking about with a not-from-Chicago friend. He knows where he lives that ketchup should not be drizzled on a hot dog. EVER.
Pickle relish? A definite “yes” from me and a raised eyebrow from him.
Yellow mustard? Lay it on.
My friend asked me if I’d ever had corn relish.
Corn relish?
It is similar to sweet pickle relish, except it is made with corn and not cucumbers.
Reaching back into my memory bank, I remembered seeing corn relish on a grocery store shelf decades ago. At that time, I bought a bottle and used it on a burger, along with other burger trimmings (sweet pickle relish makes a burger for me). I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
I tried some corn relish in tuna salad. Again, interesting, but not great.
I searched for an organic, no-sugar-added corn relish to purchase. I couldn’t find one.
Wondering if I could make my own version of corn relish with some 21st-century adjustments, I searched the internet and found what looked like a standard recipe from good ol’ Betty Crocker.
That corn relish recipe, like many others, called for ½ cup of granulated sugar, which supplied nearly 400 calories and 100 grams of carbohydrates. Yikes.
That much sugar was needed to balance out the acidity of a half cup of apple cider vinegar; a classic sweet-and-sour foundation.
Over the last few years, I have found that organic stevia works well as a calorie- and carb-cutting sugar substitute. When combined with other flavors, most folks do not know that no sugar has been added.
My local farmers market had beautiful farm-grown sweet peppers in a rainbow of colors. Perfect for my relish. Bottled fire-roasted red peppers would have worked well, too.
Betty Crocker’s recipe suggested fresh corn, but frozen corn can be guaranteed organic. It’s usually harvested and frozen shortly afterward, preserving its sweet, sweet flavor.
My corn relish came together quickly, unlike chopping pickles for a pickle relish, which requires a lot of time. I also changed the recipe by using Kosher salt to make sure it dissolves.
I found the sweet and sour combination perfectly balanced and decided to test it on a hot dog instead of pickle relish (yes, it may be sacrilegious).
• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.
•••
No Sugar Added Corn Relish
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn*, thawed
¼ cup finely diced red or green bell pepper*
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion*
½ cup apple cider vinegar*
10 packets of organic stevia
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or ¾ teaspoon sea salt)
½ teaspoon celery seeds
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Bring frozen corn to room temperature. Dice sweet bell pepper and onion and set aside.
Add the apple cider vinegar, stevia, salt, celery seed, mustard seeds and white pepper to a small saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer the corn, bell pepper, and onion to the saucepan and stir together. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a clean pint glass jar and them cover and refrigerate.
Makes about one pint
Nutrition values per tablespoon: 10 calories (5% from fat), 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 2.1 g carbohydrates (1.8 g net carbs), 0.9 g sugars, 0.2 g fiber, 0.3 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 52 mg sodium.
*Organic preferred
Betty Crocker suggested adding a bit of a favorite hot sauce or canned, drained black beans.
— Based on a recipe from bettycrocker.com