Green Tomato Relish

13 years ago

I love tomato relish but I haven't found a recipe that sounds like the one I like. There was a place in Tulsa that sold 'David Beards Tomato Relish' made in Texas, but the business has closed (or been swallowed up by the casino). I still have several jars and the ingredients say: tomatoes, onions, sugar, vinegar, jalapeno peppers, salt, and a small amount of a preservative. This is the kind I like and the tomatoes are in bite size chunks, not shreded or grated.

The recipes below are not approved recipes as far as I know.

Here is one that was printed in The Oklahoman some time ago from Kathryn Olds in Edmond who says she got it from her SIL.

One half peck of tomatoes

6 large onions

6 green peppers

2 tablespoons canning salt

1 pint of vinegar

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons celery seeds

2 whole cloves

1/2 tablespoon turmeric

Grind tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Sprinkle with the canning salt. Put in colander and let drain oernight.

In large saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar and spices to boiling. Add drained tomato mixture to hot syrup. Heat to boiling. Simmer until clear. Seal in Sterilized jars. Makes about 7 pints. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Here is another:

Ardyth's Green Tomato Pickles

1 gallon green tomatoes (coursely chopped)

1 cup red sweet pepper (chopped)

2 cups onions (chopped)

1/2 cup hot pepper (chopped) (or less, to taste)

Combine above in saucepan and add:

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

Cook about 20 minutes. Put in sterilized jars and seal. This recipe doesn't call for a boiling water bath, but I would probably add it.

There is also one in the Ball Blue Book, but it has cabbage.

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Comments (3)

seedmama
13 years ago
Soonergrandmom,
If you like the one in the BBB, but want to do it without cabbage, ask about it in the Harvest forum. They are pretty good about evaluating how a substitution will impact density and pH (read safety). You'll get the standard disclaimer, "this is not an approved recipe", but you might also get an answer that makes you feel comfortable with a substitution.
marcy3459
13 years ago
Carol,

I always judge recipes by the taste of spices that I like in pickles. It sounds like the ones you have that you like didn't have any spices. Did you taste any in them? Also, if you like the chunks, you might check out green tomato pickle recipes instead of relish recipes.

I like the sound of the first recipe, but then I like the taste of cloves and celery seed in pickled recipes. I would put jalapenos in place of the green peppers after seeding them. And I would probably add a stick or two of cinnamon and have what I would call green tomato pickles that I would like. I would also do a lime soak to keep them crispy. And I always tie up any spices in cheesecloth, because I like "clean" pickled stuff.

If you don't mind, I'm going to use the first recipe for green tomato pickles this fall, tweaked a little. But why are you asking about green tomato recipes so early? Are you overrun?

Marcy
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You can mix and max the spices to your taste, just don't change the total quantity of spices in either recipe, or the levels of vinegar and sugar, or the total quantity of vegetables. It's pretty important to either sweat off or drain off the liquids though in this relish. I usually am pretty haphazard with that part and my relish is a bit watery. I love homeade relishes! You should definately give homeade ketchup a try if you have enough ripe tomatoes! Annie gave me some once, it was fab.!
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They do go through a pale color on their way from green to red. They also get softer. Once the greenest green has faded to that whitish color, they're not far from ripening. They will actually continue to ripen on their own at that point. And they will still be flavorful. The skin is still smooth, just pale in color. Sun scald looks like a lesion and has a rougher texture. Reminds me of being blistered from sunburn when I was young and didn't know any better. Doesn't sound like what you have. I found this summer that the greenest hardest tomatoes were easiest to process when shredding for relishes. The ones that were past that greenest stage turning pale into pinkish were softer and had to be diced with a knife instead of being processed on the grater. You want solid bits, after all, not sauce. For relishes and mincemeats, especially.
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wolflover
13 years ago
Soonergrandmom,

This is the recipe I use for Green Tomato Pickles. It sounds like it would be similar to what you are wanting. Thanks for your post reminding me. I am going to make some today. :)
Dawna

Green Tomato Pickles
1 gallon green tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup green and/or red bell peppers, cut in square chunks
2 cups onions, cut in wedges or chunks
1/2 cup jalapeno peppers, sliced

Bring this to a boil and pour over veggie mixture:
2 cups vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoon canning salt
(a little red pepper if needed)

Bring entire mixture back to boil and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally ). Don't bring to a full boil for more crisper pickles). Ladle into sterilized jars, water bath 5 minutes to insure a good seal. Makes 7-8 pints.

The original recipe said to cook for 20-30 minus (with no water bath) but I thought that cooked the stuff too soft. You can use your own judgement on cooking time.

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Green Tomato Relish

Comments (3)

seedmama

marcy3459

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wolflover

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