Green Tomato Chow Chow is a fabulous relish that uses up those green tomatoes that haven't ripened at the end of the season.
I am not a fan of fried green tomatoes. Great book, good movie, but the actual dish is not one of my favorites.
And if you have pounds of green tomatoes you need other ideas to use them up.
This recipe is courtesy of my Great Aunt Wanda. Mom pared down her the original recipe that called for 10 pounds of tomatoes. I'm sure Aunt Wanda would can this to share with family and friends and eat throughout the winter.
If you have more than 1 pound of tomatoes, increase the recipe and can them in pint or quart jars. If you've never canned before read these water bath canning instructions from Ball.
How to ripen green tomatoes
If you grow tomatoes, you will probably have some tomatoes that will not have time to ripen before the weather cools.
You could just toss them in the compost pile, but here are a few tried and true methods for getting them to ripen:
- keep them on the vine and hang them upside down in a warm dark place inside to ripen (like a closet or kitchen cabinet).
- put them in a paper bag with a ripe banana or apple to ripen
- if they have a little color, and you have a window that gets plenty of light, spread them out on the sill.
Green Tomato Chow Chow
Ingredients
- 1 pound green tomatoes
- 1 pound green cabbage
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- ½ medium red pepper
- ½ small onion
- 1 ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¾ cups water
- 1 ½ tablespoon distilled white or cider vinegar
- dash black pepper
Instructions
- Coarsely chop tomatoes, cabbage, peppers and onion. Mix and divide in half.
- Process first half with pulse button in food processor and reserve.
- Finely chop second half of mixture and mix with processed portion in large pot.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
- Cook uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Correct seasoning to taste.
- Ladle into 1 quart glass jar and store in refrigerator or process in a water bath canner.
Amy
I am going to have some small green tomatoes that do not have a chance to ripen. Thank you for sharing this post and for hosting the party.
Audrey
I got some from a friend that knew I wanted to make this recipe so she plucked them for me.
Marilyn
Thank you for hosting. I love sharing with your readers and always find inspiration here. Have a blessed week! #OverTheMoon #WWBlogHop #ThursdayFavoriteThings
Delightful Repast
Audrey, this is just the sort of thing my Southern daddy liked. Though he's no longer with us, I think I'll make this recipe in his honor. #HappinessIsHomemade ~ Jean
ARV
Food is such an important part of our memories, isn't it? I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Erin
Hi, Audrey,
This was a saving grace for using up end-of-season tomatoes. We would like to can this next season. How long does the chow chow need to process in the water bath canner?
Thank you!
Audrey
I checked a few places I trust (The Spruce Eats and Fresh Preserving) and both processes pint jars for 10 minutes. If you do half pint, I'd still go 10 minutes. For quart jars, 15 minutes.