This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
When your home is overflowing with produce in the warmer months, this summer fruits relish is the perfect way to bottle up that summer flavor. Sweetened with ripe peaches and strawberries, with a hint of tartness and spice from ingredients like lime and chili, you’ll love the way these flavors come together. Pair this unique relish with cheese and sourdough crackers or enjoy the tangy spread in a sandwich made with homemade sourdough. It’s summer sunshine in a jar!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Use Up Summer Fruits and Vegetables – If you have an overflowing garden or bought too much at the farmers market, this relish is a fantastic way to use up those surplus fruits and vegetables!
Flexible and Budget Friendly – This recipe is great because you can mix and match based on what’s growing in your garden or what you have available. It’s also super economical because you can buy when summer produce is on sale or even use up produce that might not look perfect for eating but is still ideal for preserving.
Capture Summer Flavors – You’ll be so delighted to crack open a jar when summer is long over and it’s cold and dark outside! It’s an ideal way to brighten up a cheeseboard or welcome a guest.
Ingredients
- Peaches – One of my favorite summer fruits! My peaches were small so I used 6, but if you have larger peaches you may only need 4. Nectarines or plums would work too. No need to peel any of the fruits (seriously, no one has time for that!).
- Bell Peppers – I used red and yellow for color.
- Pear – This helps add pectin and texture to the relish, you could also use a green apple. Again, no peeling necessary!
- Red Onion – I like a red onion for color, but you could use a small white or yellow onion too.
- Strawberries – I love these for the sweet summer flavor!
- Raisins – Any raisins are fine. You could also substitute dried apricot or another dried fruit.
- Fresh Garlic and Ginger – These add the perfect little kick.
- Lime Juice and Zest – Lemon would also work for a nice brightness.
- Chili Flakes – You could also use a fresh red chili here to add a nice subtle undertone of spice.
- White Vinegar – I usually use white vinegar because it’s budget friendly, but apple cider would work too.
- White and Brown Sugar – I like the flavor of using both, but you could use only one if that’s what you have.
How To Make Summer Fruits Relish
Combine the chopped peaches, bell peppers, pear, red onion, strawberries, raisins, ginger, and garlic in a medium heavy-based pot. Add in the lime juice and zest, chili flakes, vinegar, and sugars and stir to thoroughly combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about an hour, or until the liquid has cooked off and you have a thick relish consistency.
You want the fruits to mostly break down, but still have a little texture, and the mixture will darken in color. The texture for this relish is close to that of a jam, but you’re not aiming for quite as thick or jellied texture as your typical jam.
While the relish simmers, carefully pour boiling water into your jars. Let them sit for a few minutes, then empty and set aside. When the summer fruits relish reaches your desired consistency, carefully ladle it into the warm jars using a funnel. Leave about a half inch of headroom at the top. Place the lids on tightly. Let the jars cool on the counter, then transfer them to the refrigerator.
Kate’s Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- I generally don’t bother peeling any of the fruits as I like the fiber and nutrients in peels. Plus, it saves you so much time and effort!
- I use a food processor to chop everything up which saves me so much time. Don’t overdo the chopping though as you don’t want a fruit puree!
- Depending on the ripeness of your fruit, this relish may turn out more or less sweet than you expected. I always recommend tasting as you go and adjusting with more sugar if needed.
How To Use This Relish
My family loves this summer fruits relish on a cheeseboard with some soft cheese, like a Brie or Camembert, and some sharp cheddar! You could pair it with so many different crackers, like the whole wheat sourdough crackers pictured, or a sourdough seeded cracker for some texture.
This summer fruits relish would make a great sandwich paired with ham or turkey and cheese on my sourdough discard sandwich bread. Or add some relish to a sourdough grilled cheese!
Pop a bow on a jar of this summer fruits relish, pair it with a loaf of simple sourdough bread or a couple of sourdough baguettes, and you’ve got the perfect gift! or a couple of sourdough baguettes
How To Store + Freeze
I don’t can this relish, I just keep it in the fridge and it’s fine this way. It lasts at least a month unopened and around 2 weeks once you open the jar.
You can also freeze the relish in the jars (just leave plenty of head room for expansion).
Frequently Asked Questions
Great question! A relish is a condiment made up of chopped fruits or vegetables that’s usually cooked or preserved with vinegar and sugar to make it both sweet and tangy/sour. A relish is typically chunkier than a chutney (although this one could probably be called a chutney too!), and features more cooked or pickled ingredients compared to a salsa.
Similar to jams, relish cooking times can vary widely depending on your stove and type of pan, as well as your specific ingredients. I recommend using the timings as an estimate, adjusting the temperature of your stove as necessary.
Absolutely! Feel free to swap in other fruits and vegetables, just keep in mind the sweetness and the texture and try to swap for something relatively similar. For example, it’s easy to swap out the peaches for other stone fruits, or the strawberries for other berries. If you substitute something with a different flavor profile – for example, tart dried currants instead of sweeter raisins – then you may want to add a bit more sugar.
Summer Fruits Relish
Equipment
- Food Processor (optional)
- Medium Heavy Based Saucepan (a wide pan is best for even cooking)
- Stainless Steel Jar Funnel
- Stainless Steel Ladle
- Jars (I've used 4 x 240ml jars)
Ingredients
- 300 g Peaches, fresh, chopped, about 4-6 peaches
- 2 Bell Peppers, chopped
- 1 Pear, medium, chopped
- 1 Red Onion, small, chopped
- 200 g Strawberries, fresh, trimmed, and chopped
- 100 g Raisins
- 1 tbsp Ginger, fresh, grated
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced or grated
- 1 Lime, juiced and zested
- 1 tbsp Chili Flakes
- 220 ml White Vinegar
- 150 g White Sugar
- 50 g Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Combine the chopped peaches, bell peppers, pear, red onion, strawberries, raisins, ginger, and garlic in a medium heavy-based pot. I use a food processor to chop everything up and it goes super fast!
- Add the lime juice and zest, chili flakes, vinegar, and sugars and stir to thoroughly combine.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about an hour, or until the liquid has cooked off and you have a thick relish consistency. The texture for this relish is close to that of a jam, but you’re not aiming for quite as thick or jellied texture as your typical jam.
- While the relish simmers, carefully pour boiling water into your jars. Let them sit for a few minutes, then empty and set aside. When the summer fruits relish reaches your desired consistency, carefully ladle it into the warm jars using a funnel. Leave about half an inch of headroom at the top. Place the lids on tightly. Let the jars cool on the counter, then transfer them to the refrigerator.
Notes
- I generally don’t bother peeling any of the fruits as I like the fiber and nutrients in peels. Plus, it saves you so much time and effort!
- I use a food processor to chop everything up and it goes super fast. Don’t overdo the chopping though as you don’t want a fruit puree.
- Depending on the ripeness of your fruit, this relish may turn out more or less sweet than you expected. I always recommend tasting as you go and adjusting with more sugar if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Rate and comment below!
