Recipe Tuesday - Green Tomato Relish

I was talking to my friend Chris the other day and she was telling me that she had recently been given a jar of green tomato relish, and thought that it would be a great addition to my Recipe Tuesday. Since many of us in Ohio are getting ready to put their gardens away for the winter (ha...I WISH I had a tomato garden!), here's a great use for all of those green tomatoes that are still hanging around.

While I haven't made this before, I'm certainly anxious to try it. It's another good opportunity to try my hand at a little canning. It's fun, seriously. Give it a try!  All you really need is a really big pot. I got this one from WalMart a few years ago.

So anyhow, I searched out a bunch of different recipes on the web, and found lots of different variations, but this is the one that not only got great reviews, but appealed to me the most as well.  I have modified it here in my recipe from the one I found online. 

Green Tomato Relish

also commonly known as Chow-Chow

modified from a similar recipe on Allrecipes.com

 

Makes 12 pints or 6 quarts

24 large green tomatoes
3 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
3 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
12 large onions
3 tablespoons celery seed
3 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups white sugar or 2 cups of granulated Splenda
2 cups cider vinegar

• 1. In a grinder or food processor, coarsely grind tomatoes, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and onions. (You may need to do this in batches.) Line a large colander with cheesecloth, place in sink or in a large bowl, and pour in tomato mixture to drain for 1 hour.
  2. In a large, non-aluminum stockpot, combine tomato mixture, celery seed, mustard seed, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Sterilize enough jars and lids to hold relish (12 one-pint jars, or 6 one-quart jars). Pack relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Screw on lids.
  4. Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with boiling water. Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove jars from pot and place on cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press top of each lid with finger, ensuring that seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Relish can be stored for up to a year.
     

Comments

[fioricet online]

Wow, looks like appetizer for me simple but I think its very nutritious.

[Chow-Chow Relish]

Sounds Yumible! I also like a few jalapenos in mine. Thanks for the recipe.

[ali]

Yum! My grandma makes that every year except she uses corn instead of tomatoes. Delish!

[Suzie Webb]

Hey, thanks for the recipe...I DO have a tomato garden, although we had to 'uproot' it last week with our frosty nights, so DH hung the plants upside down in the garage. We'll see how many more 'red' tomatoes I get, and how many green I'm left with, but I'll definitely keep this recipe on file :)

[Danielle (vtpuggirl)]

Cool recipe, thanks for sharing it. Love your blog header, so neat!

[Angie (mighty-nice)]

Hey - did I miss when you changed your header? I like it! Visiting via the DST blog train - you can visit me here: htpp://isladeangela.wordpress.com/

[Elaine]

Oh I've been a bad blogger lately and I always love your recipes and I've used a number of them. This sounds great do you mail order, LOL. I will have to try this but in a smaller batch, TFS your recipes

[Tami]

I've always wanted to learn to do canning, but haven't gotten to myself to do it yet. :(

Was wondering if you have any LO's done of your karate stuff?

visiting from the blog train :)
http://duchessdesigns.blogspot.com/

[Tammy]

OH MY GOSH BARB!!!!!! Our family has a recipe that has been passed down for 3 generations for Chow Chow. We would make it and add it to chili, white beans and other soupy items. It was always my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and me making this recipe. Of course back then, we used a hand crank to shred all the tomatoes, onions and peppers. We would put hot peppers in ours too. Took a long time, but it was well worth it. When my mother and I moved to Florida and we don't have a garden now for all the items we need, we don't have any Chow Chow. I surely miss it.

[Amanda]

This looks interesting. I've never heard of making anything other than fried green tomatoes.

[Lisa Joy (ljcrochet)]

Thanks for the recipe!

[Jade]

Wow this sounds delish...I would like to try this one of these days!

[Eve]

Oh this one sounds yummy!! You have such good recipes Barb!!