If you've never tried green tomato chow chow but love relishes and similarly tangy yet sweet condiments, this recipe is for you! A traditional Canadian condiment most popular in Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, green tomato chow chow (sometimes also called tomato chow or green tomato relish) is best served with cold meats, burgers, casseroles, hot dogs, sausages, or fish cakes.
This simple condiment is a great way to preserve any green tomatoes from the garden that may not ripen before the first frost, or simply an easy, foolproof recipe to try your hand at canning and home food preservation!
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Variations of Green Tomato Chow
Depending on where in North America you are, the ingredients for green tomato chow recipes can vary. The one common factor is that the various recipes all contain lots of green tomatoes! After that, the differences become quite noticeable, resulting in an almost entirely different kind of pickle.
The traditional Atlantic Canadian recipe for green tomato chow is made using only green tomatoes, white onion, mustard seed, cloves, and white vinegar. With the migration of Acadians from the Canadian maritime provinces in 1765 to southern states such as Louisiana, and New Mexico, green tomato chow recipes there more closely mirror the traditional Canadian version of chow.
In the northeastern United States (such as Pennsylvania), green tomato chow chow recipes include a much larger variety of vegetables depending on what's seasonally available. This includes green tomatoes, onions, red pepper, yellow pepper, green cabbage, cauliflower, peas, and carrots, as well as various spices and vinegar. These recipes tend to resemble Piccalilli (a British vegetable pickle) quite closely.
Equipment and Ingredients You'll Need
Since we'll be making the traditional Atlantic Canadian version of tomato chow, you really only need a handful of ingredients. If you've grown your own tomatoes in the garden this year, you won't have any problems sourcing green tomatoes! If you wish to make the tomato chow slightly spicy, you can add one or two fresh jalapenos to the recipe.
Some recipes call for chopping the vegetables in a food processor, or grinder, though I prefer to keep the green tomatoes chunky as they do break down during the cooking process. You'll need:
- 10 lbs whole green tomatoes - they should be hard and firm, with no imperfections or signs of rot.
- 2.5 lbs medium white onions - sliced
- ¼ cup pickling salt
- 3 cups white sugar (brown sugar can also be used)
- 2.5 cups pickling vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pickling spice
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
If you plan on canning this recipe after cooking the tomato chow (as we will be), you'll also need the following:
- a large canning pot
- a set of canning tongs
- a ladle or handled cup to fill jars
- oven mitts
- 8 - 9 500ml mason jars
- New poplids and rings
- labels
A note on canning
If you've never canned anything before, this is a great 'intro to canning recipe' as its high acidity and few ingredients leave little room for error. Before starting, please familiarize yourself with the basic process for canning high-acid foods! Knowing how to safely can foods is very important to prevent botulism, and if done correctly, will allow you to store the green tomato chow in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months! The processed jars also make a great gift during the holidays!
If you don't wish to can this recipe, you can also just cool the finished chow and refrigerate it in jars for up to a month.
Canadian Green Tomato Chow Chow Recipe
Since there are several lengthy steps in this recipe, I would strongly suggest preparing and salting the onion and tomato mixture the day prior to cooking and canning. This will make the process easier and also allow the salt to properly draw enough moisture out of the green tomatoes.
Preparing the Ingredients
1. Begin by sorting through all of your green tomatoes. The size does not matter so much as the quality of the fruits. The tomatoes should be firm and green, with no black spots, signs of disease, or pests. If a few tomatoes are just beginning to turn color, this is ok, but the vast majority of tomatoes should be green. Remove all leaves, stems, and flower nubs. Wash the selected fruit well to remove any dirt or insects from the garden.
Weigh the final selection of tomatoes to ensure you have 10lbs. Otherwise, adjust the remaining ingredients accordingly to maintain the correct recipe ratio.
2. Once the tomatoes are washed, cut the green tomatoes into small bite-sized chunks. As my green tomatoes were a mix of cherry tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes, I quartered the majority of them and cut the larger ones to match. A uniform size is important to cook all vegetables evenly.
Once the tomatoes are chopped, peel and slice the white onion. Cut the onion slices to be a little smaller than the tomato.
3. Mix the sliced onions and chopped green tomatoes together in a large bowl or pot. Add the pickling salt, and mix well. Cover the pot/bowl and refrigerate the salted vegetables for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Salting the vegetables helps draw out moisture from the tomatoes while also seasoning the tomato mixture.
Cooking the Green Tomato Chow Chow
4. Once the salted vegetables have sat for 6 to 8 hours, pour off any resulting brine liquid from the pot/bowl and discard it. Drain well to prevent the end result from being too salty. A large colander works well for this.
5. In a separate small saucepan, mix the 2.5 cups vinegar with the 3 cups of white sugar. Mix well until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining white wine vinegar and spices to the sugar/ vinegar mix to create the pickling liquid.
6. Transfer the drained onion and tomato mixture to a large pot, add the pickling liquid to the pot, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Once the pot starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the tomato chow for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring periodically. During the last half hour of cooking, stir the pot more frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom.
Canning The Green Tomato Chow
7. During the time that the green tomato chow is simmering on the stove, assemble, wash, and prepare all your canning equipment.
This includes: washing all equipment, pots, and jars/lids in hot soapy water, heating the washed snap lids and rings for at least 10 minutes, boiling the washed glass jars for 10 minutes prior to filling in a large canning pot (keep jars and lids in hot water until ready to fill), setting out a dishcloth and rack on which the processed jars can cool, ensuring you have all tongs, ladles, stir spoons, and funnels you plan on using properly washed and dried.
Once everything is ready to go, read over the basic steps of hot water bath canning again to familiarize yourself with the process and clear up any lingering questions you may have. For this recipe, we followed the USDA Home canning guidelines for processing times and headspace requirements as described in Guide 6: Preparing and canning fermented and pickled vegetables.
8. Once the green tomato chow has simmered for about 2 hours and has slightly thickened in consistency, it's time to start canning! The tomatoes and onions should be fully translucent at this point.
Use your canning tongs to carefully remove a glass jar from the hot water (one at a time). Gently pour the water back into the pot, then fill the hot glass jar with the hot green tomato chow. Repeat this process until all glass jars are filled, leaving ½ inch of headspace at the top. Work carefully yet quickly to prevent the tomato chow and jars from cooling too much.
Once all the jars are filled, use a clean, dampened cloth to wipe all the jar rims, removing any spilled chow and leaving a clean surface for the flat lids to seal to.
Place a snap lid on each filled jar, followed by the metal ring, making sure not to twist the ring on too tightly. Fingertip tight is plenty!
Using the canning tongs, gently place the filled jars of green tomato chow back into the large pot of boiling water. Ensure there is at least 1 inch of water above the lids of the jars. This helps ensure that the water temperature is even all around. It's normal for air bubbles to start escaping from the jars - that is a good sign!
Bring the canning pot to a roiling boil, and process the green tomato chow chow for 5 minutes at altitudes below 1000ft, 10 minutes for altitudes between 1000ft -6000ft, and 15 minutes for altitudes above 6000ft. Start the time only when the pot is at a rolling boil.
Cooling and Storing
9. Once the green tomato chow chow has been processed for the proper time as indicated above, turn off the pot of water and let the jars sit until the water has stopped boiling, about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the jars one at a time with your canning tongs, and place them on a dishtowel or rack to cool for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature. You should hear the lids pop as the jars begin to cool down, indicating an air-tight seal.
Once fully cooled and all lids have 'popped', remove the metal ring from the jars and ensure all lids have properly sealed. Sealed lids will slightly curve downwards, and won't move or make a clicking sound when pressed. Gently wipe the jars with a clean damp towel, and label the green tomato chow with the processing date. Leave the twist rings removed for long-term storage to prevent the lids from rusting. Store in a cool dark place for up to 18 months.
Any jars that did not properly seal should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed promptly.
Recipe
Homemade Green Tomato Chow Chow
Ingredients
- 10 pounds whole green tomatoes chopped into bite sized peices
- 2.5 pounds medium white onions sliced
- ¼ cup pickling salt
- 3 cups white sugar brown sugar can also be used
- 2.5 cups pickling vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pickling spice
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preparing & Salting The Vegetables
- Begin by sorting through all the green tomatoes. The tomatoes should be firm, green, with no black spots, signs of disease, or pests. Remove all leaves, stems, and flower nubs. Wash the selected fruit well to remove any dirt or insects from the garden.Weigh the final selection of tomatoes to ensure you have 10lbs. Otherwise, adjust the remaining ingredients accordingly to maintain the correct recipe ratio.
- Once the tomatoes are washed, cut the green tomatoes into a small bite-sized chunk. A uniform size is important to ensure the even cooking of all vegetables.
- Once the tomatoes are chopped, peel and slice the white onion. Cut the onion slices to be a little smaller than the tomato.
- Mix the sliced onions and chopped green tomatoes together in a large bowl or pot. Add the pickling salt, and mix well. Cover the pot/bowl and refrigerate the salted vegetables for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
Cooking The Green Tomato Chow Chow
- Once the salted vegetables have sat for 6 to 8 hours, pour off any resulting brine liquid from the pot/bowl and discard it. Drain well to prevent the end result from being too salty. A large colander works well for this.
- In a separate small saucepan or bowl, mix the 2.5 cups vinegar with the 3 cups of white sugar. Mix well until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining white wine vinegar and spices to the sugar/ vinegar mix to create the pickling liquid.
- Transfer the drained onion and tomato mixture to a large pot, add the pickling liquid to the pot, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Once the pot starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the tomato chow for 1.5 - 2 hours stirring periodically. During the last half hour of cooking stir the pot more frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom.
Canning The Green Tomato Chow
- During the time that the green tomato chow is simmering on the stove, assemble, wash, and prepare all your canning equipment. This includes: washing all equipment, pots, and jars/lids in hot soapy water, heating the washed snap lids and rings for at least 10 minutes, boiling the washed glass jars for 10 minutes prior to filling (keep jars and lids in hot water until ready to fill), setting out a dishcloth and rack on which the processed jars can cool, ensuring you have all tongs, ladles, stir spoons, and funnels you plan on using properly washed and dried.
- Use your canning tongs to carefully remove a glass jar from the hot water (one at a time). Gently pour the water back into the pot, then fill the hot glass jar with the hot green tomato chow. Repeat this process until all glass jars are filled, leaving ½ inch of headspace at the top. Work carefully, yet quickly to prevent the tomato chow and jars from cooling too much.
- Once all the jars are filled, use a clean dampened cloth to wipe all the jar rims, removing any spilled chow, and leaving a clean surface for the flat lids to seal to. Place a snap lid on each filled jar, followed by the metal ring, making sure not to twist the ring on too tightly. Fingertip tight is plenty!
- Using the canning tongs, gently place the filled jars of green tomato chow back into the large pot of boiling water. Ensure there is at least 1 inch of water above the lids of the jars.
- Bring the canning pot to a roiling boil, and process the green tomato chow chow for 5 minutes at altitudes below 1000ft, 10 minutes for altitudes between 1000ft -6000ft, and 15 minutes for altitudes above 6000ft. Start the time only when the pot is at a rolling boil.
Cooling and Storing
- Once the green tomato chow chow has been processed for the proper time as indicated above, turn off the pot of water and let the jars sit until the water has stopped boiling, about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the jars one at a time with your canning tongs, and place them on a dishtowel or rack to cool for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature. You should hear the lids pop as the jars begin to cool down, indicating an air-tight seal.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
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Harold Daniel
The elevation is required time doesn't make since to me.do I need a cheesecloth for pickleling spice
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Harold, the variable boiling times according to altitude are taken from the USDA guide mentioned in the article (I have fixed the link). For the spices: I leave them in. You want to boil them with the tomatoes to get the most flavor out of them.
Harold Daniel
My bad I read the elevation wrong. I got it now. It's in the fridge for overnight I'll cook it tomorrow and let u no how it is. Thanks
Holly
This is great recipe with very well written instructions. I did reduce the sugar by half as my Grandparents always made a less sweet more tangy version of what they called "chow chow". I personally can't imagine the full quantity of sugar since half the amount is still a touch too sweet for me for me BUT this is definitely personal preference and not a knock against the recipe. I was super happy to use up 5 lbs of green heirloom and cherry tomatoes and ended up with four pint jars plus a half pint for the fridge. Thanks so much for the recipe chef Markus!
Cynthia
My family has used the same Zucchini Chowchow recipe for generations and always get asked for our recipe as it's so tasty. So, when hurricane Helena set her path for Western North Carolina I quickly harvested as much of my garden as I could. I found I had a large amount of green Cherry Tomatoes and had no recipes for them. I found this recipe and got to work. Wow! Tasty, very easy and I had all of the ingredients. Thank you for the great recipe and I'm sure it will go in our family favorites cookbook!
Kay Beauvais
To the earthfoodandfire.com owner, Thanks for the well-organized post!
Rob Murray
With a second batch I used 1 more cup of vinegar because I ran short the 1st time. I substituted 2 cups of granulated stevia for white sugar but did add a cup of brown sugar to the 2nd batch. I used store bought pickling spice mixture and used it in a cheese cloth bag along in addition to the amounts you recommend . -Tastes great! Thanks
Sandy
I have been searching for a Chow Chow recipe similar to what my parents used to make when I was a kid, and this is it! The smell while cooking, the taste of it, it all brang back memories of my childhood. I lost both of my parents when I was a teenager/young adult, and I never got this recipe (I think it was a memorized one instead of one on paper). I have asked numerous family members here in NB, and no one knew the recipe. I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this one, it is about as close as I can remember. I made a half batch and will definitely be making more in the coming weeks.
Quick question though, is there a quick way to get the skins off the tomatoes before cooking everything down? I don't remember there being skins in ours growing up (I was young and they easily could've gone unnoticed), but with all the pickling my parents did, I can't see them taking up a lot of time removing them. Either way, this recipe is a keeper!! Thank you for sharing! ????
Chef Markus Mueller
Hey Sandy, I don't have a quick way of removing the skins besides blanching the tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water, then plunging into ice water and peeling the skins off with a sharp knife. Would be quite labor intensive especially if the tomatoes are small though. With the green tomatoes this method may also not work so well, i have honestly never tried to remove green tomato skins. Glad you enjoyed the green tomato chow recipe though!
Chris Legere
Is there a minimum amount of time it should be stored before opening? Or is it good to go right away.
Chef Markus Mueller
The recipe will be good to go right away once its cooled.
Rob Murray
Do I need to add allspice, turmeric, cloves and cinnamon if I am using fresh pickling spice mixture from our local health food store? I plan to use it in a cheese cloth bag. It sounds to me like it could be an either/ or situation.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Rob, I would probably leave the fresh spices out if you are using a pickling spice mix, though I can't speak to how it will turn out or how much spice mix you would need. Trial and error!
West
This is the best chow-chow recipe I’ve ever made. Thank you for sharing!
Cherise
I pulled up one of my tomatoes plants to prep my bed for spring planting so I had a few pounds of green tomatoes that I didn’t want to just fry. I found this recipe and gave it a try (although I used table salt instead of pickling salt and nutmeg instead of allspice) and it was so delicious! We don’t have chow chow in California so I didn’t know what to expect but to me it tasted like the best relish you’ve ever had. This will definitely be a keeper in my house. Thank you!
RACHELLE DAVIES
Hi, i have green tomato chow in my fridge not opened since summer. Do you think it is safe to eat still?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Rachelle, I unfortunately can't really answer that, I would suggest opening it and seeing what it smells/looks like. It should smell like fresh relish with no off odors or smells, have no signs of mold, rust, or other bacteria growing, and not have any liquid sitting on top. There are so many variables when it comes to canning that unless I canned it myself I can't give a definite answer and you will have to use your own judgment.
S Loggie
Just made this and had some with our lunch of ham and scalloped potatoes. My husband called it yummy. Many thanks.
Linda
I love this recipe. I had to make a half batch because I didnt have enough green tomatoes. The season was so great for growing this year that most of our tomatoes ripened on the vine. I am not complaing. I saw years when we had to pick all of our tomatoes green because the weather got cold too soon. We live in Newfoundland. Thank you so very much for this delicious recipe. I look forward to making other recipes you have listed.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Linda, glad you enjoyed our green tomato chow recipe! Feel free to tag us on social media @earthfoodandfire! We love seeing what our readers are up to!
Beth
This recipe was absolutely delicious. Paired very well with homemade fish cakes and beans on Cape Breton Island.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Beth, I bet the chow went very well with your fish cakes and beans indeed!
Linda
This is so delicious, just like my neighbor used to make when we were young and she would give our family a bottle. We sure looked forward to it. Later on my mother began to make it and it was just as good. I made this last week and quartered the recipe and there is only a cup or so left. I love it over cooked greens, my husband loves it on his salad and its good on anything I think. Thank you so much for posting this recipe which I will make from now on when I am lucky enough to get some green tomatoes.
Wanda Ellenberger
Do we rinse after brining? Thx.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Wanda, there is no need to rinse the tomatoes after brining when making the green tomato chow. Simply drain well and any excess salt will be removed with the liquid you discard.
Jodi Braun
Do the tomato chunks remain distinct chunks in this recipe? Or do they disintegrate when cooked?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Jodi, the tomato chunks will break down some, but you will have noticeable tomato pieces in the end product!
April
Hi. Wondering if you put the pickling spice in a bag and add it for the duration of the cooking?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi April, no we did not use a bag, the pickling spices are added directly to the green tomato chow and left in.
Linda Hefferman
I just made this today and I am originally from New Brunswick. It is a distinct taste that I remember from the past. Thank you so much for posting this. This is well worth 5 stars in my humble opinion.
I may post some pics of my chowchow process and finished product later. Too busy right now but took pictures as I went along.
Rachel L.
I cannot find white wine vinegar in my town, would rice wine make it taste the same? I can wait till I get to a bigger city if this will compromise the taste.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Rachel, The rice wine vinegar may alter the taste slightly, but they are close enough that you can use it.
Valerie
Hello just making this and have to ask ...ground or whole spices?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Valerie, all the spices are ground except for the pickling spice. I'll update the recipe to clarify this!
Sandra Mueller
Will this recipe work with green zebra tomatoes? Thanks.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Sandra, the recipe should work with any green tomatoes! The important thing is that the tomatoes are unripe and are 'green' and hard. Ripe tomatoes will have a much higher water content then unripe green tomatoes. As such using ripe tomatoes would result in a much more liquid end product.