Green Tomato Chow Chow

Green Tomato Chow Chow. A delicious, easy pickle relish made from plentiful seasonal green tomatoes with just the right fragrant spice mix.

This is one if those recipes I've been meaning to add for a while.  However, I thought maybe it's one for which, folks already had great family or favourite recipe.

This year however, i received dozens of requests over the past few weeks for a recipe for this tasty condiment. 

I'd seen quite a number online in my social newsfeeds but many of them are what I would call too "plain". Most centred around a little pickling spice, tomatoes, onions, sugar and vinegar with little variation.

Most I had encountered growing up in Newfoundland were indeed those plain versions. I remembered our family's version was a little different.

Memories of Green Tomato Chow Chow.

Years ago, my Dad had a little plastic covered greenhouse in the corner of the garden that never seemed to withstand the blustering Newfoundland winds! 

Cucumbers and tomatoes were mostly always the only things that were grown there. Like everyone in Newfoundland who grew them, the season was often long enough to ripen a small part of the crop.

I suspect a plethora of leftover green tomatoes was where the popularity of green tomato chow chow sprung from.

As often happens with memories, smells are often quite triggering, especially the scent of cooking in my case. 

What I remember from chow chow cooking was the very slight fragrant scent of Christmas spices. While not fully forward in favour, there was always the hint of cloves and cinnamon on our chow chow recipe.

Just a small amount complimented the sweet, tangy flavour very well. So that's what I tried to replicate in this recipe.

Adjust to taste.

Like a lot of pickling recipes, they tend to be quite forgiving and adaptable. Don't care for very sweet pickles? Adjust the sugar.

Wide differences in salt levels occur in many recipes as well. This one is in the lighter side of salt but I have previously reduced salt in other recipes considerably.

The same applies to the spices in this recipe. I consider them to be not terribly intense at all, but others may want to cut back on them. 

I like a little background heat in many such recipes but, as with some other ingredients, this is optional or can be easily moderated.

In the end, as I always say, recipes like this are just a starting point. Let your own taste guide you to what might just become a new family seasonal favourite and tradition to make, at this time of year.

Looking for another pickling idea?

Check out these incredibly popular recipes for Newfoundland Pickled Beets or an incredibly popular local favourite, Mustard Pickles!

Like this Green Tomato Chow Chow recipe?

You'll find many more traditional and Newfoundland inspired recipes in our Newfoundland section and even more great dishes in our Fish & Seafood Category

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Yield: 4-5 pints

Green Tomato Chow Chow

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Additional Time: 12 hours

Total Time: 14 hours 30 minutes

Green Tomato Chow Chow. A delicious, easy pickle relish made from plentiful seasonal green tomatoes with just the right fragrant spice mix.

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Ingredients

• 4 lb diced green tomatoes
• 1 lb white or yellow onion
• 3 tablespoon sea salt or fine kosher salt (DO NOT USE IODIZED TABLE SALT)
• 8-10 garlic minced (optional, or add more or less tot taste.)
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar (you can use white if you prefer or half and half)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar (you can use pickling vinegar or white vinegar)

FOR THE SEASONING MIX

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• 3 tablespoon pickling spice mix
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional or to taste for a little spicy heat note)

Instructions

SOME PROCESS PHOTOS ARE ABOVE IN THE POST AND BELOW IN THE NOTES.

1. Chop the tomatoes and onions to about a medium dice (2 cm pieces)
2. Sprinkle on the salt and toss well.
3. Leave in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Give the mix a toss every couple of hours if you can.
4. This process seasons the veggies and extracts some liquid.
5. Strain the tomatoes and onions, discarding the salty liquid.
6. Add them to a large pot along with the garlic, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.
7. Bring to a gentle boil before adding the seasoning mix.

To prepare the seasoning mix.

1. Add all of the seasoning mix to a spice grinder, blender, or food processor and grind together to a fine powder.
2. I have a dedicated coffee grinder that only for this purpose. I simply wipe it out with a damp cloth between uses and different recipes.
3. This can also be done using a mortar and pestle if you prefer.
4. Add the seasoning mix to the pot and simmer slowly until the mixture comes to a jammy constancy.
5. This time varies depending on water content in the mix but mine simmered for almost 2 hours.

To bottle the Green Tomato Chow Chow

1. Sterilize your jars, their seals and fastening rings in boiling water.
2. Fill the bottles to the first line of the neck of the jars.
3. Add the seals and rings, to the bottles. The rings should only be finger tight; just enough to ensure the seals have a little bit of pressure on them so that they do not slip out of place in the water bath.
4. Process in a hot water bath as directed by the bottle manufacturer for 15 minutes. The bottles MUST be fully submerged in gently boiling water to seal properly.
5. Turn off the burner after 15 minutes and allow the bottles to sit for an additional 5 minutes submerged in the water.
6. Finally remove the sealed bottles from the water.
7. Let them cool completely before tightening the ring fasters and storing on a cool, and preferably dark place for up to a year.

Notes

Nutrition Information

Yield

128

Serving Size

1 tbsp
Amount Per Serving Calories 17Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 134mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber 0gSugar 4gProtein 0g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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