I LOVE the green tomato hot dog relish in the Ball complete book. I use it in tuna salad, potato salad, tartar sauce, on hot dogs, etc. It is wonderful stuff, and I much prefer it to pickle relish.

Check out the one at NCHFP where you can sub green tomatoes for the tomatillos. We like it a great deal.

Pickled green tomatoes are also a great thing to have around. 2 different recipes for them at NCHFP - one sweet and one spicy.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatillo Green Salsa

I've made Tomatillo Salsa and Zesty Salsa recipes from Ball's Blue Book, using green tomatoes or tomatillos. We like them both, but slightly prefer the latter because it is loaded with more peppers and onions. The only changes I make are I use white vinegar instead of the cider in the Zesty, because sweet salsa doesn't work for us. Also, after the first time of making the Tomatillo salsa, I now use bottled lemon juice instead of the lime. For me the lime juice flavor is too prominent whereas the lemon juice takes a more comfortable back seat. So if I want lime, I add fresh.

I'm going to make that hotdog relish. Not having to peel green tomatoes appeals to me greatly.
I have made green tomato pickles, but not quite like the standard recipes. I slice large green tomatoes with a mandoline and treat them like dill pickles.
About that Zesty Salsa, need I peel the tomatoes first?

Deborah

No you never need to peel green tomatoes for anything I can think of.

Dave

Dave, Ball Complete has at least two green tomato recipes that require peeling, Salsa Verde and Green Chili Sauce.

Both recipes call for chopped, cored, peeled green tomatoes. It was kind of off-putting for me.

Why would they require peeling? Are the peels going to curl up like ripe tomato peels would? Will they be tough? I'm perplexed.

Deborah

SO I made 3 batches of the hot dog relish, and since that is more than enough for me, I tried the salsa verde recipe in the complete book. I did not peel the tomatoes, and there is no noticeable peel aspect to it. It is quite good too! While I can't go without my green tomato relish, if I ever have a surplus of green tomatoes like I did this year, I would make the salsa verde again. Hope this helps :)

Yes, it does help. Salsa Verde sounds good.
I'm making three recipes with the green tomatoes:

Hotdog relish: unpeeled
Zesty Salsa: Peeled (tedious stuff to peel)
Charred Chili Salsa (unpeeled)
I've completed the charred chili salsa, and it doesn't seem affected by the fact that the tomatoes are unpeeled, so I may rethink this idea of peeling the Zesty Salsa.

I can't fathom why Ball Complete sometimes calls for peeling green tomatoes, but if anyone knows, I'd sure appreciate an answer.

Deborah

I think the general call for peeling is to reduce the bacterial count since the peel is the primary source. It is a good guideline for many things but not really necessary for green tomatoes, especially since they are normally quite small. Then again if I was using green beefsteaks I'd take the time to peel them. Easy enough to do with a peeler.

Dave

How would peeling possibly reduce bacterial count? If that was a true risk, the act of peeling would spread any bacteria to the tomato flesh....when you peel tomatoes, they are very juicy. Sorry to disagree with you, but this doesn't make sense.

If I have five pounds of small green tomatoes, does that mean they have less bacterial count than five pounds of large green tomatoes?

Doesn't the ratio of surface area to volume on a sphere decrease with volume? I know tomatoes aren't actually spheres, but it's the closest shape I could relate.

Of course there are folds and ripples, which would increase the surface area, but that's splitting hairs.
In fact, this whole thing is beginning to sound like angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Anyway, wouldn't boiling answer most of the bacteria.... and vinegar put pay to the rest?

Sorry, Dave, science and math were short term memory storage for me.

Deborah

Hey it's not my personal opinion. It is the reason given in the USDA/NCHFP guidelines and publications - sometimes in bold face type - that the peel is the primary source of bacteria and other contaminants so should be removed. Whether that bacteria would be spread to the flesh of the vegetable would all depend on how you peeled it but logic tells you you would be removing at least a good portion of it by removing the peel.

That's why they recommend peeling carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, etc. etc. I just offered it as a possible explanation in response to the question for why the BBB called for peeling. Are there other possible explanations? Sure. Tough peels, chewy peels affecting texture, color changes, pesticide content, taste and quality affects, etc.

And it is hardly a new debate either. Comes up most often with applesauce, potatoes, and tomatoes in discussions here. Some just flatly refuse to peel their potatoes or carrots before canning. Others wouldn't even think of canning them without peeling. Some don't care if their tomato sauces have pieces of peel and even seeds in them. Others can't imagine sauce with either seeds or peels. Same goes for making applesauce. Include the peels? Yuck.

So whether you want to accept the NCHFP recommendations or not is your choice. You want to leave the peels on? Fine. You want to remove the peels? Fine. Your choice. No need to calculate the bacterial content of 5 lbs. of large vs. 5 lbs. of small tomatoes. Large ones are easy to peel, small ones not so much.

Anyway, wouldn't boiling answer most of the bacteria.... and vinegar put pay to the rest?

No, sorry that isn't a valid assumption. Sounds like it should be I know but it isn't. It is kin to "pressure canning kills everything so anything can be pressure canned". It is the time of the canning process and the % of the vinegar that determine how much bacteria is killed.

So if a tested recipe calls for peeling and 20 mins. processing and you elect to leave the peels on and use the same amount of time then all of the bacteria may not be killed. Same goes for vinegar. If the recipe calls for peeling and 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water but you don't peel then that diluted vinegar has more bacterial to contend with.

Is that a big risk? Likely no, but it is an added risk element that needs to be considered.

Dave

Today I made 11 pints of Tomatillo Salsa and 14 pints of Mexican Tomato Sauce, using no oregano and tomatillos instead of red tomatoes. Hope the latter will make a good base for Green Enchilada sauce..

I have never peeled green tomatoes for anything; that includes subbing green tomatoes for red in the Zesty Salsa recipe. Green tomatoes and tomatillos both have more acid than do red tomatoes and, good quality shiny green tomatoes, being less mature, would have fewer bacteria than do red (less natural 'decay'). I feel very safe not peeling them. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_salsa/tomatillo_green_salsa.html says, pertaining to Tomatillo Green Salsa "Note: You may use green tomatoes in this recipe instead of tomatillos." Doesn't say peel them first. I've seen several Univ. extension services say that "green tomatoes are more acidic than ripened fruit and can be canned safely with any of the following recommendations" that is, using green as a substitute, but don't say peel first. I think saying peel the green tomatoes was a mistake.

I'm staring at 10 pints of charred chili salsa made with unpeeled green tomatoes. (I made a double batch.)

I'm sad. Charring four pounds of peppers was a lot of work. I would take the risk, which I think is minimal given the vinegar for this recipe is uncut, but they were going to be a gift for my daughter. I daren't keep them since my children are liable to spy them and spirit them away...

Thanks, Dave, and everyone else for the trouble you took to assist me. I do appreciate it.
Deborah

" Mexican Tomato Sauce" Pittacinejungle, where is that recipe? Can you tell me about it? Is it in Ball?

Deborah

Hi Deborah. I'm attaching a link to the Mexican Tomato Sauce from nchfp @ U of GA. Check for instructions there, but here is the ingredient list:

Mexican Tomato Sauce YIELD: About 7 quarts (pressure canned 14 pints 2012)
2.5 to 3 lb. chile peppers (I used a mix of several different types)
18 lb. tomatoes as purchased (for green sauce, it took 7.5 lbs. of washed and chopped tomatillos to make the 7 quarts)
3 cups chopped onions
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. oregano (I used cilantro instead, but this small amount gave only slight flavor indication it was used)
1/2 cup vinegar (5% acidity)

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Mexican Tomato Sauce

Can someone post the ball hotdog relish recipe or the enchilada verde sauce?? Thanks!