Just a guess as it is what my family used and it was always called Grandma's Chow-chow (probably because that was what she called it).

While there are safe recipes for Chow-chow available, I had to shelve Grandma's recipe due to safety issues if canned rather than just fridge stored.

Wife found one in Tastes of Home Magazine several years back that is very similar so you might try it and see if you like it.

Taste of Home Tomato Garden Relish***

10 pounds tomatoes
3 medium sweet onions, finely chopped
2 medium sweet red peppers, finely chopped
2 medium green peppers, finely chopped (we use 2-3 jalapenos)
2 teaspoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
4-1/2 cups white vinegar (we prefer cider)
2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons canning salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves (we cut it to 1/2 tsp)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Peel, core, and finely chop, (and drain) tomatoes. Place in stockpot with onions and peppers. Put mustard and celery seed in a spice bag and add it and remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring all to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 60-90 min. or until slightly thickened. Remove and toss the spice bag. Ladle hot mixture into pint jars. 1/2" headspace, remove air bubbles, cap and process in BWB for 20 mins. (adjust for altitude). Makes 9-10 pints.

***Not NCHFP tested or approved but as it is a straight vinegar recipe it meets the safe pH requirements.

Works great with any bean dish especially butter beans, black-eyed peas, and crowders but it also good on baked potatoes, rice, grilled fish, scrambled eggs, hamburgers and cold deli sandwiches and subs.

Dave

Never heard of putting relish on beans but I'm a Yankee ;-)

Sounds like H&D "pepper onion relish" (1st ingredient tomatoes) that I tasted this weekend, that had pectin in it so I considered it more of a "tomato marmalade" and I might want to cut down on the peppers and onions but it was pretty close to the "tomato spread" recipe I was looking for last year (not sweet, just wanted tomato flavor in spreadable consistency but more than just plain tomato "paste").

So I might cut down on the spices, but Dave, was wondering if you ever measured the chopped ingredients? So hard to figure what a "medium" pepper or onion is. Is a "medium" pepper (bell or not) the size of a large jalapeno? What about onion? I know it's important b/c they're low-acid.

Thanks for the recipe - can't wait until I have tomatoes to try this!

Dave!

Thank you! The mix of the cider vinegar and brown sugar along with the baking spices sounds close to what I am remembering. I will try cutting the recipe to 1/4 to get a sample before making the entire batch, but this is closer than the other recipe I'd found:

http://foodinjars.com/2010/09/tomato-jam/. (I also don't know that it's been tested, nor do I know how to verify % acidity).

Do you think I could substitute my fresh ginger for the dried? Or is ginger a dangerous "add" to a canning recipe?

I've been canning for three years, but most of my projects have been pickles or very vinegary or very sugary items. (most from the Ball Canning book) I am hoping to experiment a bit more this year.

Thank you again!
Cindy

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Jam

http://foodinjars.com/2010/09/tomato-jam/. (I also don't know that it's been tested, nor do I know how to verify % acidity)

It would probably be considered safe IMO because of the undiluted ratio of 1/2 c (8T) of lime juice to 5 lbs. of tomatoes. Plus all other ingredients except for the ginger are dried ingredients and all the sugar has a binding effect on any free water left in the tomatoes. As a general rule lime juice and lemon juice are more acidic than even vinegar and using bottled (stabilized) lime or lemon juice insures even greater pH control. Fresh limes and lemons can vary greatly in pH which is why using the bottled juices is recommended.

The only real question with it IMO is the density and if that is enough processing time? Till it "reduces to a sticky, jammy mess" leaves lots of room for interpretation and I would want it to be more soupy than tomato paste, more like tomato sauce. Since tomato sauce calls for 35 min processing to insure proper heat penetration, I would increase the processing time to 35 min.

Do you think I could substitute my fresh ginger for the dried? Or is ginger a dangerous "add" to a canning recipe?

The general rule is you can always add additional dried ingredients without affecting pH but you cannot add fresh ingredients as they will affect the pH. In this particular recipe, since it is a straight vinegar recipe you have a bit of leeway so such a small amount of fresh ginger would probably still be safe. However that change would NOT be considered a safe one routinely.

I am hoping to experiment a bit more this year.

Experimentation without formalized training in the underlying issues first can be quite risky. Tread carefully.

Dave

Another recipe you might want to try is called "Grandma's Chili Sauce" from the Ball complete book of Home Preserving and also found on their website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grandma's Chili Sauce

Thank you Dave - when I say "experiment" I was talking about trying new (safe) recipes and some more pressure canning. I did one round of beans last summer and did not blow up my kitchen. ;-) (I'm kidding, tho the kitchen really did not blow up.)

Overall, I've been very pleased with my canning projects. I'm building skills and it's so nice to open "summer in a jar" in January.

Thanks again for the recipe and the info about adding fresh ginger. I'll report back once I've had a chance to make the Relish.

And thank you TxTom! That one looks tasty too! I wish I had the tomato crop I'd expected to have this year, the never-ending rain has been terrible for my tomatoes and instead of bushels of hugs, healthy tomatoes, I'm getting baskets of puny and unhappy tomatoes. Some are ok, but most are really kind of sad.