Green Tomato Chow Pickles

This is another old fashioned recipe. It makes a delicious pickle from garden-fresh green tomatoes and onions. Put a few jars of the green tomato chow and my pickled beets together and you have a great Christmas present for the pickle lover in your family.

Directions:

Yield: 10-15 pint jars

1. Use a tomato corer to remove tomato cores.
2. Run tomatoes and onions through the food processor or cut them by hand. The food processor is recommended because the pieces need to be sliced quite thin and this can be quite time consuming if you are cutting them by hand.
3. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the sliced tomatoes and onions and mix together. Mixing the salt will cause the moisture to drain from the vegetables. Place the cut vegetables into a large stock pot. Place the lid on the pot and let it sit over night.
4. The next day, drain the moisture from the tomatoes and onions using a colander.
5. Add vinegar, water, red pepper and sugar to the sliced tomatoes and onions.
6. Create a pouch for your pickling spices using cheese cloth (watch the video for instruction on creating your pouch). Making a pouch allows you to keep all the flavour of the pickling spices without having the hard pieces mixed into your pickles. Tie the pouch closed with a long piece of butcher’s twine. Drop the seasoning pouch into the vegetables and tie the opposite end of the twine to the handle of your stock pot.
7. Transfer stock pot to the stove. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once you reach the boiling point turn down to a low heat and let it simmer until the onions and tomatoes are tender.
8. While the mixture is cooking sterilize your jars and lids by placing them in boiling water.
9. Remove half a cup of liquid from the stock pot and set aside to cool.
10. Once the liquid has cooled, poor it into a large container. Add corn starch, dry mustard and turmeric. Using a fork or whisk, mix together until smooth.
11. Add the paste we have just made to the simmering mixture. Stir.
12. Remove the pouch of pickling spice
13. Continue to simmer the pickles until they thicken, approximately 15-20 mins.
14. Carefully remove a pint jar from the boiling water.
15. Using a funnel, fill the jar with the pickles until there is about 1/4 of an inch space left in the top of the jar.
16. Wipe the edge of the jar to make sure there is nothing on it that would prevent the lid from sealing. Then place the lid on the jar and tighten.

Much like the pickled beets from last week, this can be a messy process. The video also includes tips for preparing to fill the jars and how to make the least amount of mess. Once the jars have cooled, store the pickles in a cool place for 4-6 weeks before serving. The longer they sit, the better the flavour.