Monday, September 24, 2012

Piccalilli (Green Tomatoe Relish)

Oh, goodness, I took a picture last week of the pints of Piccalilli we made and it's nowhere to be found on the camera.  Well, nothing I can do about that. 
My neighbor told me to go pick all of her and her son's green tomatoes out of their gardens.  She was tired of canning and was done with the garden this year.  I happily spent an entire afternoon picking green tomatoes!  As the sun shone on my back I couldn't help but think how truly blessed I am to have such giving, friendly neighbors.  I savored my surroundings that day, as where I live is truly beautiful.  It's a humble, blue-collar, small town; quiet except for the birds chirping and an occasional car passing by in the distance.  It was a gift not only of tomatoes, but also of an enjoyable afternoon.
I had to leave the two laundry baskets of tomatoes right where I picked them as I couldn't pick them up.  Each weighed about 50 lbs, my husband told me.  I asked him to pick them up on the way home as he passed their garden.  He didn't realize how much there was!  Yes, he weighed them!
So what to do with all those green tomatoes.  Green tomatoe relish, of course!  We made 3 times the recipe and still had some tomatoes left over, but it made a dent just the same.  I got this recipe from another woman that lives in town; a farmer's wife.  She told me the recipe was delicious and she didn't let me down.  Here it is:

Green Tomatoe Relish
22 green tomatoes, quartered
2 small onions or 1 large, quartered
6 green peppers, quartered
6 sweet red peppers, quartered
1-1/2 qts vinegar
3-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup salt
1-1/2 tsp allspice
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp clery seeds
1/2 cup mustard seeds

Wash veggies put through food chopper, usng medium blade. Drain. Place veggies in pot, add 1 quart vinegar.  Boil 30 min, stirring now and then.  Drain and discard liquid. Return veggies to kettle and add remaining vinegar, sugar, salt and spices. Simmer 3 minutes.  Keep mixture simmering while packing jars. 
Pack into one hot, sterilized jar at a time.  Fill to within 1/8" of jar top.  Seal each jar at once.  Process in boiling water bath (212) for 5 minutes. Makes 6-7 pints.


          

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you had a nice day while you were picking green tomatoes. I can't believe that you picked two 50 pound baskets full of tomatoes, wow! You must have been one busy little bee out there in the orchard! :)

Your recipe does sound good too.

Blessings! :)