Thread: Green Tomato Pickles

Pickles, chutneys and relishes all use vinegar as their their preservative. They are not only fantastic with a good lump of cheese but also can be used as glazes, stirred into gravy and sauces, used as a condiment with curries, added to sandwiches.

Let's start with some definitions borrowed from River Cottage Handbook 2 Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2: Pam Corbin, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: 9780747595328: Amazon.com: Books

Pickles - clear. The British tradition of pickling vegetables or fruit entails raw or blanched produce that is whole or in large chunks. The ingredients are salted, rinsed and drained before placing in jars and covering in vinegar and spices.

Pickles - sweet. Large chunks of vegetables or cooked in sweetened vinegar and flavoured with spices. Sometimes cornflour is added to thicken the syrup / vinegar.

Chutneys. Originate from India and as such were freshly made as an accompaniment to a meal. In the UK they take a different approach and preserve fruits and vegetables in a savoury mix of spices, vinegar and sugar. They are rich, spiced and sweet. The fruit and / or vegetables are cooked for a long time until the consistency is smoother and spoonable. Good chutneys retain the flavour of their key ingredient. Chutneys are often left to brew before eating to ensure a mellow flavour.

Relishes. A mix of a pickle and chutney. Not cooked for as long as a chutney and can be eaten immediately.

Anyway, that means this recipe of mine (passed from my dear old Ma) is a pickle. Originally, I first learned this when I had baby tomato plants growing in my garden, and at the end of summer I'd have a bucket or two of tomatoes left over in various stages of ripeness.

Now I live in Asia I have to source the tomatoes first. When I was at the supermarket last week the baby tomatoes where $100 per kilo.... so I wasn't going to buy them for a pickle. But I asked a local friend and she got me a bag of green tomatoes from a local market and don't ask me how much they cost cos I don't know, she wouldn't hear of me giving her any money for them. So I'll give her a jar instead.

Ingredients






1-1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1/2 kg of green tomatoes
100 grams of baby corn (or cauliflower*)
5 small red onions*
1 cup of raisins*
2 large onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of brown sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
3 dried cloves
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 splash of Tabasco sauce or chilli flakes
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons of cracked black pepper
3 teaspoons of salt

*I didn't use any of these items yesterday, but I could have. I'm also thinking diced carrot would go nicely as well.



Roughly chop the all the vegetables.
Add the white wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, spices and bring the mixture to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, or until the pickles has thickened slightly.



Spoon the pickles into sterilised jars.**

** It is really important that you sterilise the jars properly, or they'll grow all sorts of nasty stuff. You can do this by boiling all jars and lids for a good 10 minutes prior to using them. I have a baby bottle sterilizer which I used when the missus wasn't around.

I had a cheese and pickles sandwich this morning to test and it tasted pretty good to me, possibly slightly too sweet. (I was sort of guessing all the amounts above, I might add a little more vinegar next time)

Looks good KW

Cheers mate, it's surprising easy to make. Who needs Branstons ?

I made some mango chutney a few months ago. That turned out pretty good.
I'll definately try this one KW, it looks good.

you know being an american and a Chef for over 20 yrs i love a good chutney as much as the next guy.


But being an american i love the sweet pickle and if you would like to make a watermelon pickle I would say try this. not something you eat every day but a good use of watermelon when you buy at store and will have a cool refreshing condiment to go with your sandwich, grinder, stack, and it will empress your friends and look good on the plate.


the way i do it is get two Issan watermelon and eat to almost a half inch to the white and peel off the green.

boil 10 cups water
when water boils add 2 cups sugar palm sugar is a great sub for white sugar
add two cinnamon sticks and 3 whole cloves
boil 1 min
add prepared watermelon rind and remove from stove let cool and place in cooler overnight until cool.
this recipe lets the red and white show hey the 4th of july is coming up.. may not be a holiday for the other side of the pond but we all love good eats.
place in glass jar and seal do not leave longer than a month below is a recipe if you know how to can and have the equipment.
The color wil not be as bright but if you like sweet pickles/bread and butter this is a good substitute.

enjoy

Quick Pickled Watermelon
"This quick pickle makes a nice addition to a summer barbecue.[at] You might substitute tarragon or fresh ginger for the fennel and bay." Linda Ziedrich
• 1/4[at] cup water
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
• Pinch of pickling salt
• 1 Mediterranean bay leaf
• 4 cups watermelon flesh, red part only, seeded and cut into pieces 
about 1 x 3/4 x 3/4 inch
[at]
Method
In a nonreactive saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the watermelon.[at] Over medium heat, bring the contents to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.[at] Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature.
Put the watermelon pieces into a dish wide enough to hold them all in a single layer.[at] Strain the cooled liquid over the melon.[at] Let the melon stand for 20 minutes, and then drain off the liquid.
Chill the melon for at least 1 hour but no longer than 4 hours before serving.
Makes about 4 cups

I love stuff like this. Especially pickles and preserves. My aunt used to make tomato jam which I have never seen anywhere else. I will have to give this a try.

The watermelon sounds nice, I'll try it, cheers!

Would love to see it on a thread.. i didn't build kitchen due to my design costing as much as my house. being a chef and all wanted too much. wood fired oven, 12 burner stove top/hob i think.. everything you see on master chef. still thinking about sponsor's to build and produce a weekly show. Me and significant other cooking same dish different translation..you think it would work?.

Originally Posted by afghanpicker

Would love to see it on a thread.. i didn't build kitchen due to my design costing as much as my house. being a chef and all wanted too much. wood fired oven, 12 burner stove top/hob i think.. everything you see on master chef. still thinking about sponsor's to build and produce a weekly show. Me and significant other cooking same dish different translation..you think it would work?.

English lessons for housewives via a cooking show, great idea!

Might have to try this one, KW. Mr NR and I are addicted to pickles & chutneys

So am I! Let me know how it goes, it really is dead simple!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Ingredients







1/2 kg of green tomatoes


1 cup of brown sugar


, possibly slightly too sweet. (I was sort of guessing all the amounts above, I might add a little more vinegar next time)

.....or a bit less sugar. 1 cup is apparently 200 grams, which seems a fair bit for 500g of tomatoes!

Yikes, 1/4 cup sounds more reasonable.