Damn i wish i had the problem of too many cukes! I have 4 cuke plants that were attacked by deer early in June all 4 are still alive and in various states of recovery. I was able to harvest two nice cukes this weekend to make a nice cuke salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh garlic but i had my 7 year old daughter over this weekend and she at about 75 percent of it :( lol. Still see alot of baby cukes on the one strongest plant and the three other stunted ones are slowly making a comeback with some minor flowering. The worst of the 4 looks bad as it just a 4 inch stalk, but it does have some leaf buds so im not counting it out yet ;) Its probably not to late to go to the garden store and buy a 4 pack of cukes and plant some more. Might have to get another 4 pack of pepper plants too while im there ;)

50/50 is the minimum sale ratio of vinegar to water for all vegetables. There are a few tested and approved recipes that use a bit less vinegar but for untested ones use at least 50/50. More vinegar is better but yours fall within the "safe" range. You can reprocess with new correct brine within 24 hours but it will make them softer. Or you can leave them as is but I would mark the jars and plan to use them within 3-4 months, 6 months max. pH will rise over time on the shelf so I wouldn't plan on long shelf storage. I'd probably reprocess them but it is your choice. Dave

Thanks everyone! I have my store brand, which does say apple cider and not apple cider flavored. I'll be sure to always read the labels thoroughly from now on! I also purchased a bottle of Heinz for later batches since it was a glass bottle vs. the store brand plastic bottle. I prefer glass. I noticed yesterday at the health food store that they sell very large containers of Braggs cider vinegar. It seemed cheaper in bulk, but I think I'll stick with the cheaper variety for now.

To work backwards with your questions, there is no standard guide book. Basically the "standard" is the result of science and testing. There are a number of general "rules" about what can be safely processed and what cannot, but you will often see recipes from highly-regarded sources like the NCHFP that seem to "break" the rules. For example, there are safe-tested recipes for peppers marinated in oil and for citrus curd with eggs. Generally both of those contradict recommendations, but in laboratory settings, products with sufficient acidity were developed which made risk-free recipes possible. Obviously that can't be achieved in a home setting. There are sources that provide general guidelines. The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning is available online for free and the opening section, Principles of Home Canning is helpful. The NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation) offers a free online self-paced course which also provides training in the basic principles. Also, if you live where there is a strong Extension Service network, there are still some few agencies that offer training in the Master Food Preserver program. But due to cutbacks, those programs are much scarcer than they used to be. It's ironic that just as there's a revived interest in home food preservation (both as an economy measure and as a slow foods/whole foods craft) the availability of such training is much more limited. Some cosmopolitan centers also offer classes in home food preservation or specific areas like pickling or jam-making during the summer season. I live near Portland where the interest is very high and all kinds of classes and seminars are on offer privately and through stores like New Seasons. The trick is determining which are reliable. There are also books, some of which do provide basic information on principles of preservation and food safety as well as recipes. Beverly Alfeld has two books - one on sweet preserves and one on pickles and relishes - which are practically college courses in the information they provide. Linda Ziedrich also offers a good amount of background in her books on sweet preserves and pickles, though less than Alfeld. She also has a website. Basically, for most it's a combination of training, self-education and experience. If you are aware, keep asking questions and take advantage of trustworthy sources online and in print, you will get there. To answer your other question, yes you can reduce the sugar in the relish, even eliminate it completely. Old recipes tend to be heavily sugared, again to compensate for the 10% or 15% vinegars they originally called for. It's not a safety issue to cut back. However, sugar also affects mouth feel (high levels of sugar in the syrup essentially "candy" the veggie chunks), color retention and texture. A relish without sugar will tend to be "flabby" though you could compensate with pickle crisp. What I would recommend is you scale your recipe down and make a very small test batch as originally written and let it rest on the shelf at least six weeks. Then try it and draw your conclusions about how you want to adjust next time. My biggest lesson was with a corn relish I made. I cooked it and was so turned off by the sharp smell and flavor I hesitated to even bother to go ahead with canning. My original impulse was the compost pile. But I decided I'd gone that far I might was well finish. When I opened a jar after Thanksgiving I was so glad I'd given the recipe a shot. It was delicious and is now one of our standby recipes. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Guide 2009 Revised Edition