Green Tomato Chow Chow

We started making this fantastic 'relish' many years ago. It has now became a household staple here at home, and with my kids, as well. We all love it because it is a bit tangy, not sweet, is not full of sugars like store bought relish is, and has a bit of crunch to it.

Chow chow is is the perfect topping for all sorts of meats, sausages, egg dishes, veggie dogs and hot dogs, is a great burger topping, makes yummy homemade tartar sauce, great in tuna salad ( or faux tuna salad made with chick peas), on meat loaf… truly so versatile and yummy, you will be adding it everywhere. We go through tons of it annually.

One batch makes a good 6 to 8 pints. I like ours in smaller jars, this year’s batch filled 17 of the 250 ml jam jars.

*please note that this has to sit overnight so takes about 24 hours to make.

Hubby's mad chopping skills. Takes him 1/2 hour, takes me 2 hours! 

Here is what you need….

• 7 lbs green tomatoes, chopped very finely

• 5 medium green or red peppers, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

• 5 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of pickling salt

• 2 1/2 cups of cider vinegar

• 1 1/2 cups of sugar

• 1/4 cup of pickling spice in a cheesecloth bag

• 2 tsp dry English mustard

Combine veggies and salt in a large bowl, mix, cover, and let sit overnight.

Strain the veggies in a colander. Press out all excess moisture. Set aside

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a pot, boil over a medium-high heat.

Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the veggies to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Stir often.

Remove from heat and get rid of the spice bag.

Spoon into the hot, clean, and sterile jars, leaving 1/2 inch (1 cm) of air space to the rim.

Stick a knife into the relish to get rid of any air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, and seal. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes

This recipe is truly wonderful, I hope that you will give it a try, may just become a staple in your pantry, too. We make sure to gather enough unripe, green tomatoes before they all ripen up in order to make this chow chow.

This recipe is from the ‘well preserved’ cookbook by Mary Anne Dragan. The whole book is amazing, if you want to do a lot of canning from your home grown garden, invest in this book.

She also has a new one out for small batch preserving, which I totally want to get! I don't get any money for recommending these books, I just share what I like and what I like to use.

Happy Canning! ~ Tanja