Recipe: how to make the tangy rhubarb-raisin relish from Kensington’s Thomas Lavers Cannery

PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes
Makes 4 Cups

RHUBARB-RAISIN RELISH

2 ½ cups rhubarb, chopped
1 ¼ cups onion, chopped
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
1 ¼ cup cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp each ground cinnamon and allspice
¼ tsp ground cloves
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup raisins

1. Place rhubarb and onions in a saucepan along with sugar, onion, vinegar and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add spices, scraping bottom so mixture doesn’t stick. Stir for about 30 minutes until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove and refrigerate a small spoonful to see if relish holds together and is not too runny. If not ready, continue simmering and repeat testing process. Remove from heat. Stir in raisins. Stir and let cool.

TIP
This relish is sweet with subtle tangy acidity, making it a great match for buttery soft or semi-soft washed rind cheeses such as Le Riopelle de l’Isle, Mi-Carême or La Sauvagine.

TYE THOMAS AND BRYAN LAVERS
Tye Thomas and Bryan Lavers, the pickling duo from Kensington Market’s quaintest cannery, are champions of the city’s thriving artisanal food movement. The two have been friends since the ’90s, when they’d get together and reminisce about their mothers’ canning parties. They’ve channelled the good old days into their shop, selling Mason-jarred preserves. Their rhubarb-raisin relish is simple and traditional: the recipe has been passed down in Lavers’ family for over a century.

Recipes developed by Victoria Walsh. Recipe photography by Ryan Szulc. Illustrations by Aleksandar Janicijevic. Interviews by Meaghan Binstock, Chantal Braganza, Matthew Hague, Peter Saltsman, Courtney Shea and Caroline Youdan.