Monday 3 September 2012

Green Tomato Pickle.


It's Harvest Festival time up at Haddock's. Everything is doing what it said on the packet, and as usual I'm over-run with produce. And I can't stand to waste anything. 

All my tomato based preserves are done, but I still have a glut of fruit on the vines. I had considered grubbing them all up (except our lunchtime 'Portuguese' salad toms), but thought better of it.

With this in mind, I'm always on the look-out for simple pickle/jam/chutney recipes, and this one for Green Tomato Pickle fitted the bill. The recipe is of unknown origin, but possibly dates back to when the tomato was first introduced into Britain around 1590.  


The washed green tomatoes were quartered, sprinkled with coarse salt, and left overnight. In the morning the juices were poured off, and I gave the them a quick rinse and dry.

They were then half covered in vinegar, sprinkled with sugar, and cooked down for 30 mins until softened. On tasting I added some dried chilli and coarse ground pepper, and adjusted the sweetness. 


And this is the result. Three jars of pickle for the store-cupboard. 

I did have a small taste, and (I must admit) it didn't taste particularly 'special', but it'll make a good addition to our other pickles and chutneys. It'll be good with cold meats and cheese; but, then, all pickles are!

The reason for the red-ish colour is because I only had red wine vinegar in the house. I imagine it should really have been GREEN.  

And had I named it, it would have been called Green Tomato Chutney; not Pickle. 


17 comments:

  1. Looks yummy Cro! Our garden did poorly this year with the drought (we plan to blame everything we failed to do this summer on the drought) but we did buy fresh stuff from friend farmers. No cannong yet but tomatoes just coming on.

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  2. Green Tomato Pickle recipe is very attractive and different variety. Using tomato am preparing new variety Tomato Mint Chutney recipe is a very excellent and delicious.

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    1. Thanks for that. I'm really after 'storing' recipes for use throughout winter. Your recipe looks like a chutney for eating freshly made, but sounds delicious.

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  3. I would have called it something else too. I think of pickled green tomatoes like I do. Yours look so pretty in the jars. I am picking my tomatoes clean because of poor plants and pickling them, because that is how we like them. Guess I am a Kosher kind of gal.

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  4. Made some sweet chilli chutney yesterday. Today's wind has brought down a load of hazel nuts so have just made a batch of caramelized cinnamon nuts. I'll probably leave the rest for the nut hatches.

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    1. Yes our hazel nuts are down too. Mostly tiny little things, but one bush has excelled. I just eat them as they are.

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  5. Our cherry tomatoes have produced fairly well, but the larger varieties, not so much. We should still have a good bit of time for all those green tomatoes hanging on the plants to ripen, though. One of my uncles used to pickle whole cherry tomatoes, and they were quite tasty, but the only thing I've ever done with green ones is batter and fry them for my father. (YUK!)

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    1. I've always wanted to try fried green tomatoes, you've now given me the push I needed. I'll let you know!

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  6. Figs no.
    Grapes no.
    Now, green tomatoes I CAN do...bloody weather.

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  7. I also hate to waste....job well done! They look beautiful in the jars...

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  8. You're almost ready for winter now.

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  9. CHutney, pickle... it looks wonderful! I have a zillion jalapeno peppers and a lot of tomatoes to deal with tomorrow! Salsa, anyone?

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  10. My neighbour just came over with a basket of banana peppers - Yikes -any ideas/recipies come to mind???

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  11. My dad used to make green tomato chutney. Your recipe looks so easy and has scope for concocting your own improved spice mixture. Your year is rolling on!

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