A great way to use up green tomatoes from the garden, this green tomato chow makes a delightful condiment for cold meats, sandwiches, burgers, sausages, fishcakes, and more!
10poundswhole green tomatoes chopped into bite sized peices
2.5poundsmedium white onions sliced
¼cuppickling salt
3cupswhite sugarbrown sugar can also be used
2.5cupspickling vinegar or white vinegar
1cupwhite wine vinegar
1teaspoonpickling spice
½teaspoonground allspice
½teaspoonground cloves
½teaspoonground turmeric
¼teaspoonground 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
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 447.9kcal
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Keyword green tomato chow no cabbage, nova scotia green tomato chow