I don't think we can fully answer the safety issue without knowing the recipe; the brine strength is critical. Also how you processed/stored the pickles.

Apple cider vinegar is perfectly OK as long as it's 5% strength. It does tend to darken but a lot of old recipes call for it specifically because its flavor is preferred.

As for the greenish garlic, that's perfectly fine. Garlic will sometimes turn blue due to an enzymatic reaction in the brine, but it's harmless. Pickled asparagus will sometimes turn pink for the same reason. Usually this happens with immature or insufficiently cured garlic.

Carol

Carol,
Thanks for your reply. Here are answers to your queries:

1. Yes, the cider vinegar we used was 5% strength.
2. Here is the recipe we used, from cooks.com. (We used tomatoes/garlic buds only--not the other vegetables mentioned parenthetically below. We did use fresh dill as well.)

Wash tomatoes and pack in sterile jars. Add several garlic buds. (May
also add strips of celery, pepper, carrots.) Boil the following five minutes:
2 qt. water
1 qt. vinegar
1 c. canning salt
2 tbsp. dill seed
Pour brine over tomatoes. This makes enough brine for 6-7 quarts tomatoes. Add fresh dill if available. Ready to serve in six weeks.

To sterilize the jars, we washed in soapy water, rinsed in hot water, and boiled in a canning pot, then let sit for more than 10 minutes. We heated the jar lids/tops to boiling and kept those hot/submerged as well, until it was time to make the pickes. We used very clean utensils for lifting out the jars, lids, etc.

Thanks for the enlightening info re. the garlic discoloration--that's helpful to know.

Thanks again for your insights...

Gerry

Gerry,
You failed to mention how you processed the tomatoes. Did you use a HWB?

I am sorry,but your brine is not strong enough in acid if you processed them . You need at least half of the brine that is 5% acidity vinegar. You have twice as much water as vinegar, so that is not strong enough to safely preserve your food.
Some of the pickled green tomato recipes I have looked at have all vinegar, no water added.
One thing about canning recipes and methods. Unless you know a recipe is tested to be safe, from a reliable source, they should not be followed. Recipes should be USDA tested or from Ball Blue book, or other sources that say they follow USDA guidelines.
Many old pickle recipes are not safe because they were based upon vinegar that used to be much stronger. Sometimes as much as 40 % acidity.
There are alot of recipes online and in books that are not safe to follow.
You also didn't say how long you processed them. All foods must be processed to be preserved. Otherwise, that is called "open kettle" and not a safe method. Putting a lid on a jar and just letting it seal without processing will not kill any bacteria and you also only get a weaker surface seal, not a true vacuum seal.
Carol is right about the color of the garlic.

I looked up your recipe, Gerry. Linda Lou is right. Those old recipes just cannot be relied upon for safety. Sometimes they're updated, but not in this case.

Refrigerator pickles do have more leeway in terms of brine strength, etc. because they aren't sitting out on a shelf, but given what you told us, my guess is the tomatoes are spoiled. The presence of garlic adds to the risk. I would certainly discard them.

These things happen, especially when you're first learning. I hope you don't get discouraged. Next year is a new season and there are lots of great, safe pickling recipes we can direct you to.

Carol

Carol and Linda, i cannot find my Ball Blue Book right now but if my memory is right it contains a pickled green tomatoes recipe which is 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water. It also contains lots of other veggies. Remember that green tomatoes are high in acid. As another example the green tomato salsa does not have much added acid and it has lots of other veggies

-Robin

Robin, there is a Dilled Green Tomatoes recipe in the BBB which is 50% vinegar, 50% water and which calls for boiling water bath 15 minutes. I did remember that green tomatoes are high in acid, but unless I'm missing something the original recipe as posted is still not proven safe.

Carol

Carol, there is another one as well, a mixed one. I found it in the table of contents when I wanted to make a curried green tomatoes. It has sugar as well. If I could find my BBB I would post it. It is not in the same section as the dilled ones.

I want to be reincarnated as an organized person!!

-Robin

You've all been so helpful--the life you saved may have been mine--not to mention everyone who would have gotten deadly pickles for the holidays. ;)

The pickles will go on the compost pile, to feed next year's crop of green tomatoes.

In the meantime, the information about the BBB was very helpful--I'm ordering that book. It was also very valuable to learn about the limitations of using old cookbooks (and untested web recipes) in this regard. Good to know!

If any of you have wonderful sour dill tomato pickle recipes to share, I am eager to begin collecting for next year.

Again, my sincere thanks for all your input, advice, encouragement.

Gerry

My understanding is that if you are concerned about the safety of your canned foods - and especially if botulism is a concern - the foods should be disposed of where there is NO chance of animals (or people) getting to it. The compost pile is not a good choice because animals could get to it. Also, if in fact the food is contaminated, you would be adding the contaminants to your compost.

A good point about disposal. I'd guess it's just straightforward decay, but since botulism is undetectable, there's no way to know. I'd use gloves also.

Robin, are you talking about the Pickled Green Tomato-Hot Pepper Mix? It's on the same page as the Curried Fruit, but it calls for 2 quarts vinegar, 1 quart water and a cup of sugar. I'm not seeing any other recipe that comes close to what you describe, but the BBB Index is a nightmare, so I could easily have missed something.

You are right in another regard - a fermented pickle could have less vinegar because in the fermentation process acid is created. There's always an exception, isn't there? I'm posting an example below.

Gerry, since you're ordering the BBB I won't post the recipe, but there is a Dilled Green Tomatoes recipe on page 54.

Also I'm posting a link to the National Center for Home Food Preservation Pickles page. You'll see a Kosher Style Dill Green Tomato Pickle you might like. It fits with Robyn's reminder in that the water/vinegar ratio is 2:1.

This is an excellent resource, very reliable. There's a Pickles link on the far left of the page. Click that and you will find all kinds of basic information.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Pickles

Wow. Seems I have a full-scale biohazard on my hands! So I won't compost the pickles. I will throw them out.

I was going to ask if I could reuse the jars, but now I'm scared to even consider it.

For future reference, though, if a jar/lid/cap has been used for canning, can it be re-sterilized and re-used again, or is that no advisable?

I have a lot to learn! :)

Yes Carol that is the one, sigh. It even took me a minute to notice my error when I read your post. Now I wonder where my notes are on the curried green tomato pickles I made. I am hoping I used the proper ratio and not the one that was recently in my brain. Looks Like I might have some dumping to do as well.

-Robin

Phew!! Just found my notes and I used equal parts vinegar and water (I also did not use any hot peppers, just some onion). It would appear that when I misread the quantities I did not trust it would work.

As for re-usinfg the jars, that is totally fine. You can reuse jars and rings, not lids.

-Robin

bloomville, we'll see what the experts say, but I would not be afraid to re-use those jars. The reason is that you will run them through the dishwasher, and you will sterilize them before/as you use them. After all, that is the point of the processing! As I say, we'll wait and see what Linda Lou and Carol and company say.....

For normal use, as Robin says, it is fine to re-use jars and rings, but not the lid.

Oh, and I meant to add - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound quite so scary as it did! Just wanting to err on the side of safety for everyone and everything.

* Posted by Leesa_B zn 5 NE (My Page) on
Hot Green Tomatoes

1 1/2 C vinegar
1 1/2 C water
1 T canning salt

Bring brine to a boil and add tomatoes. Boil largest (golf ball) for 3 minutes and smallest for 1 minute. Add one clove of garlic and one pepper to jar and then green tomatoes. Ladle brine on top and BWB for 10 minutes. This of course pickles the pepper and garlic which are both good too! Enjoy.

* Posted by petrowizard z5a NE IL (My Page) on
Here's the recipe for Fireballs (pickled green cherry tomatoes) from SOS in Iowa. I should think golf ball size would work fine.

Fireballs
14 lb. small green cherry tomatoes - about 1 gallon
4 garlic cloves (1/2 clove per pint)
4 celery stalks (one piece celery per pint - height of jar)
4 red hot peppers (half a pepper per pint)
4 heads dill (can use 1/2 tsp. dill seed & 1/4 tsp. dill
weed per pint)
1 quart water (1/2 cup per pint)
1/2 cup pickling salt (1 TBS. salt per pint)
2 quarts white vinegar (1 cup per pint)
Combine water, salt & vinegar. Bring to a boil.
Pack cherry tomatoes into hot jars.
For each quart, add a garlic clove, a celery stalk, a hot red pepper, and a head of dill.
Pour hot brine in jars to 1/2" from top.
Process 10 minutes in BWB.

Somewhere on here I saw a sweet pickled green tomato recipe too, but I can't find it now. There are also plenty for green tomato relishes, mincemeats, and preserves.

My sweet 100 finally decided to make some tomatoes now that summer's over, so I think instead of having one or two ripe ones every few days I will pick them all & make a pint of the Fireballs with just a pinch of crushed red pepper instead of the hot pepper. I'll put it in the fridge instead of processing.

Melissa

Robin, The green tomato salsa does have a lot of acid. It is 1 cup of bottled lemon juice, which is twice as acidic as vinegar.
Yes, I would throw those tomatoes out, bloomville. Sorry, but I would use this as a learning experience.
You can always use the USDA/extension websites. You can print out the information on them. The Ball Blue book is a wonderful book, too. Worth every penny.
Here is what you need to know about discarding the jars:
Handling Spoiled Canned Food
Look closely at all jars of food before opening them. A bulging lid or leaking jar are signs of spoilage. When you open the jar, look for spurting liquid, mold, or an off odor. Do not taste foods that show signs of spoilage or foods from a jar with unsealed lids. All suspect jars of spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, should be treated as containing botulism toxin. Handle spoiled foods in one of two ways:
Place sealed jars in a heavy garbage bag, close the bag, and place it in a regular trash container or bury it in a nearby landfill.

Detoxify unsealed, open, or leaking jars of food before disposal to prevent the spread of toxin.
Detoxification process: Place suspect jars of food, including lids, on their sides in an 8-quart volume (or larger) stock pot. Wash your hands thoroughly. Add water to the pot to cover to a minimum of 1 inch above the containers. Do not splash the water. Place a lid on the pot, heat to boiling, and boil for at least 30 minutes to insure detoxification. Cool and discard the containers of food, including lids, in the trash or bury them in the soil. Scrub all counters, pots, and other equipment or utensils used in the process. Wash clothing and hands. Place sponges or wash cloths that were used in clean-up in a plastic bag and discard them in the trash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Handling spoiled foods.

Aha! Thank you Linda Lou for the info on the jars. Bloomville, trust Linda Lou, not me.

Ann

Thanks--again, you've all been great. I've learned some good lessons from this exchange.

Here's the sweet pickle recipe that I use.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/sweet_green_tomato.html

OK so now I'm going back to the new recipes I tried this year and one of them is the 9 day icicle pickles from the Book of Small Batch Preserving. This one has 4 c water and 2 c vinegar(5%). Does the 9-day process make a difference or is this one unsafe? The brine was cloudier than others when I was done(BWB). I assumed the source was a good indication that it was a safe recipe, but then again we already discussed the pumpkin butter in The Good Stuff that made me think twice.

Don't discard those Icicle Pickles!

There's been lengthy discussion of Ellie Topp's qualifications previously, so I don't even want to re-hash that issue. Suffice it to say her qualifications are excellent and her recipes are safe.

The "4 cups of water" in the icicle pickles is misleading because those 4 cups are used only to soak the vegetables in a salt brine. The actual syrup is 100% vinegar plus sugar, so it far exceeds the usual 50-50 minimum.

"The Good Stuff" is an excellent cookbook, but it was published in 1997. As is acknowledged in the front matter, it is an updated edition of "Fancy Pantry," which had gone out of print. Approximately 50% of the recipes in the original book had been updated; the remainder had not.

It really never purported to be a canning book. In Witty's defense, the position on pumpkin butter has changed relatively recently as further testing was done. My 1996 Bernardin book has a recipe. So basically it post-dates publication of your book.

Carol