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Sliced red chillis in soy, a relish from Singapore

Kyopolou (Кьопоолу), a relish from the Balkans made from red bell peppers, eggplant and garlic

A relish is a cooked pickled, chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.

[edit] Description and ingredients

The item generally consists of discernible vegetable or fruit pieces in a sauce, although the sauce is subordinate in character to the vegetable or fruit pieces. It might consist of a single type of vegetable or fruit, or a combination of these. These fruits or vegetables might be coarsely or finely chopped, but generally a relish is not as smooth as a sauce-type condiment, such as ketchup. The overall taste sensation might be sweet or savory, hot or mild, but it is always a strong flavor that complements or adds to the primary food item with which it is served.

Relish probably came about from the need to preserve vegetables in the winter.^{[citation needed]}Chutney might be considered a type of relish. India where the preparation originated from, generally includes either vegetables, herbs or fruits,^{[citation needed]}

In the United States, the most common commercially available relishes are made from pickled cucumbers and are known in the food trade as pickle relishes. Two variants of this are hamburger relish (pickle relish in a ketchup base or sauce) and hotdog relish (pickle relish in a mustard base or sauce). Other readily available commercial relishes in the United States include corn (maize) relish. Heinz, Vlasic, and Claussen are well known in the United States as producers of pickles and relishes. One of the best known pickle manufacturers in the UK is Branston.

Piccalilli can be mixed with mayonnaise or crème fraîche to make remoulade.

A notable relish is the Gentleman's Relish, which was invented in 1828 by John Osborn and contains spiced anchovy. It is traditionally spread sparingly atop unsalted butter on toast.

Within North America, relish is much more commmonly used in Canada, on food items such as hamburgers or hot dogs, than in the United States. American-based fast food chains do not normally put relish on hamburgers even at their locations in Canada, whereas Canadian fast food chains, such as Harvey's do have it as an regular option just like ketchup, mustard, etc. The American-based fast food chains use regular pickles to a greater extent. If it is offered as an option at Canadian locations of American-based fast food restaurants (i.e. Wendy's) it is only as something you can ask to get in packets on the side rather than explicitly put on the burger. Regular restaurants, independent fast food restaurants and sports stadiums in Canada regularly offer relish as one of the key toppings of hamburgers and hot dogs, along with ketchup and mustard, whereas this is less common in the most of the United States, although there is variation within the Unites States.

[edit] Kinds

• Ajvar
• Zacuscă
• Chow-chow - Made with cabbage, this sweet relish is popular in the southern United States and is often eaten with a bowl of pinto beans.
• Mixed pickles
• Piccalilli
• Sweet pickle
• Sauerkraut
• Tartar Sauce
• Bostongurka

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Relish

• Relishes at recipe source
• USDA Standards for Grades of Pickles (including relishes)

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