Traditional Maritime Green Tomato Chow Food

GREEN TOMATO CHOWCHOW

Steps:

• Chop tomatoes. Transfer to a strainer and sprinkle with salt; let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop cabbage, onions and green and red peppers. Place in a Dutch oven. Add drained tomatoes to pan and, if desired, jalapeno., Stir in vinegar and sugar. Place pickling spices on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners to enclose spices; tie securely with string. Add to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Discard spice bag. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate leftovers.

NOVA SCOTIA GREEN TOMATO CHOW CHOW

Steps:

• Do NOT stress over this. There are many variations. As long as you stick to the basic directions, it will turn out.
• Depending on how fine you want the final product, and the kind of tomatoes you are using (Beefsteak, Roma, etc), you can slice them, cut them into cubes, or chop the tomatoes.
• Peel and slice the onions. Don't worry about fancy - a food processor does a perfectly fine job.
• In a large pot or bowl (I used a 42 cup bowl with a lid), sprinkle the tomatoes and onions well with salt, and let sit overnight covered. They do not have to be refrigerated.
• In the morning, rinse the tomatoes and onions to remove the salt and drain the liquid off. Discard the brining liquid. The vegetables will have reduced considerably in volume.
• Tie the spices in a cloth (cotton or cheesecloth) bag. This amount of spice will make a pickle with plenty of bite, and you can use much less and still have a good chow. One variation is to use 2 Tablespoons each celery seed and mustard seed, and put them directly in the pickle without a cloth bag.
• Not everyone likes a strong vinegar taste. Replacing up to 1/3 of the vinegar with water will still work. Do not go less than that.
• In a large pot, combine vegetables, vinegar (and water, if using), sugar, and spices.
• Cook on medium heat for ABOUT 2 hours, stirring often.
• The mixture will cook down and thicken.
• Follow SAFE, up to date canning methods (defer to official recommendations over this recipe). Fill 6 pint jars with hot pickle, add canning lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
• If any is left after filling the jars, place it in a container in the refrigerator and use within a week or so.
• Let cool completely and test the lids. Any that do not seal should be refrigerated.

GREEN TOMATO CHOW CHOW

Steps:

• 1- Cut up your vegetables in thin round disks. 2- In a large boiler layer your vegetables and after each layer sprinkle with sea salt, let stand overnight, then drain all liquid off in the morning. 3- Then add to the vegetable's one cup of vinegar and balance of water to cover; boil until tender maybe 15 minutes, drain. 4- Then put your pickling spice in a cheese cloth or tea strainer, place in the boiler. 5- Then add the remainder of your ingredients, sugar, vinegar, turmeric and mustard. 6- Start boiling for another 30 minutes until it's blended, do not over boil this will break down your vegetables. "Remove Spice" 7- Sterilize six or seven mason jars and lids, while hot start scooping your Chow, Chow in the bottles clean rims and seal tight. 8- Let go to room temperature all day or over night, then check seals, Remove the rims if the lids are sealed put the rims back on and store in a cool place if not store in your fridge until gone. Alway label and date your bottles. INGREDIENTS IN PICKLING SPICES: Mustard seed, whole allspice, cloves, black pepper corns, bay leafs crushed. Sterilizing and Canning Procedures Method: Sterilization: 1. Start by getting a large boiler and filling in about quarter full of water. 2. Then starting the water to a boil and placing your Mason jars inside then cover. 3. After let the pot boil for about 15-20 then remove your bottles and place them on paper towels or a cloth. Canning Procedures: 1. After your food items are cooked and ready to bottle, scoop hot liquid and put inside your Mason jars. 2. Continue doing this until all bottles are complete and leaving 1/2 inch on top. 3. Clean around the top of your bottles removing any food of rims. 4. Then place caps and lids on your jars and tighten. 5. Then place your jars back in hot water bath and start the boil for another 5 minutes with the cover on boiler.

NOVA SCOTIA GREEN TOMATO CHOW RECIPE - (3.5/5)

Steps:

• In a large pot, sprinkle the tomatoes and onions well with pickling salt, and let sit overnight covered. In the morning, rinse the tomatoes and onions to remove the salt and drain the liquid off. Add them to a large pot, add the vinegar, the sugar, and the pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag. Put the large pot on the stove and turn to medium. Cook the tomato mixture until it is soft and somewhat thickened, about two hours. Stir often, don't let it burn to the bottom of the pan. Seal in hot sterile mason jars. Makes about 6 pints.

CHOW CHOW I

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and salt. Let stand overnight.
• Drain the tomato/pepper mixture and add the hot chile peppers, vinegar, sugar, and horseradish. Wrap the cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in cheesecloth or a porous bag, and add to tomato/pepper mixture.
• Boil for 15 minutes, or until tender.
• Pack tightly in sterilized jars and seal.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO CHOW CHOW

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, turmeric, mustard seeds, celery seed, cayenne pepper, and ginger in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to extract the flavors of the spices. Once the liquid is boiling and steaming add tomatoes and onion. Gently stir to incorporate. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Shut off heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in a serving bowl and serve.

MARITIME FAVOURITE CHOW CHOW

Steps:

• Put tomatoes and onions in a large deep stainless steel kettle or saucepan, sprinkle with salt, and let stand overnight.
• In morning, drain well, pressing out as much water as possible. Return mixture to kettle. Add sugar, mustard, and spice bag. Stir in vinegar. Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until tomatoes are soft and clear - about 1 hour. Bottle in hot jars. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

ELIZABETH'S GREEN TOMATO CHOW-CHOW

Steps:

• Soak the tomatoes and onions in the first amount of water and the salt over night.
• Drain well in the morning.
• Put the spice in a cloth bag, tie shut and crush with a rolling pin.
• Put the vegetables in a pot with the vinegar and second amount of water, putting in the bag of spice.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for half an hour.
• Add the sugars and simmer another half an hour.
• Stir together the cornstarch, dry mustard and tumeric.
• Add a little of the simmering liquid to make a paste, then stir it into the tomato mixture.
• Add the chopped pepper.
• Simmer for 1 to 2 hours til thick.
• Spoon into prepared jars and seal according to manufacturers directions.

CHOW-CHOW - GREEN TOMATO RELISH OR PICCALILLI

Steps:

• 1. Combine the chopped vegetables in a large nonreactive kettle or bowl. Add the salt and stir to combine thoroughly. Cover and let stand for 4 hours or refrigerate overnight.
• 2. Prepare the canner and jars. Add water to a canner with rack and heat to a boil; reduce heat and keep at a simmer. The water should be high enough to be at least 1 inch above the filled jars. I usually fill it about halfway and I keep a kettle or saucepan of water boiling on another burner to add to the canner as needed. Wash jars thoroughly and heat water in a small saucepan; put the lids in the saucepan and bring almost to the boil; lower heat to very low to keep the lids hot.
• 3. Drain the vegetables and rinse thoroughly.
• 4. In a large nonreactive kettle, bring the vinegar, brown sugar, and seeds and spices to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue simmering for 5 minutes. Add the drained vegetables and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• 5. With a slotted spoon, pack the vegetables into prepared jars. Cover vegetables with the pickling liquid, leaving about 1/4-inch headspace.
• 6. With a clean dampened cloth, wipe the rims of the jars. Place the flat lids on the jars then close caps with screw-on rings tightly, but do not over-tighten. Arrange the filled jars in the canner and add more water, as needed, to be at least 1 inch above the jars. Bring to a full boil. Cover and continue boiling for 10 minutes. Remove the relish to a rack to cool completely.
• 7. Check for seals (the middle of the caps should have made a popping sound while cooling and will stay depressed.