Although a lot of people like to fry these sour tomatoes, my favorite way to prepare green tomatoes is to make pickled green tomatoes that are available for sale on many online stores but you can make it yourself as well.
Tomatoes. In my opinion, a garden is not a garden unless there are at least a few of these delectable fruits growing on their vines all throughout the summer.
We plant a wide range of tomato species in our backyard garden each year.
As a result, we have an abundance of fresh tomatoes to eat, and we also put a large quantity of mature, red tomatoes into jars for storage for the cooler months of the year.
However, by the end of September or the beginning of October, the pleasures of eating tomatoes that are ripe, juicy, and red come to an abrupt end because the risk of the first frost increases.
Therefore, you should hurry to remove all of the unripe green fruits from the vines before Jack Frost can frostbite them with his icy bite and render them ineffective.
The question then is: what are we going to do with all of these green tomatoes?
There are a number of methods for bringing unripe tomatoes to maturity; however, by the time we get to that point, we typically have hundreds of pounds of ripe fruit waiting in our freezer to be transformed into whatever recipe we come up with to stock our pantry for the upcoming cold season.
Why not turn these sour, unripe beauties into something that is delicious despite the fact that they are still immature?
If you really wanted to, you could pick a few green tomatoes and make fried green tomato sandwiches with them.
There are also a great number of fancy chutneys and relishes that make use of the green tomato, which is frequently disregarded.
But in the midst of all the commotion that comes with the end of the harvest season, who has the time for that? This recipe for pickled green tomatoes is quick, simple, and delicious all in one.
They are sure to be a favorite, and it doesn't take very much time at all to make them into the tangy goodness that they are to serve on top of your favorite burgers or hot dogs, or, as is my personal preference, along with some delicious fried bluegill.
If you want the best results, you should use red tomatoes that are firm and unripe.
I am aware that there are numerous lovely heirloom varieties of tomatoes that remain green even when they are fully ripe, but you should not use those in this recipe.
It is possible to use unripe slicing tomatoes, but the texture of the finished product may suffer depending on how firm and juicy the tomatoes are.
It is recommended that you choose the more compact varieties that are still nice and firm. If they are already extremely juicy and just a little bit mushy, you will end up with pickled green tomatoes that are mushy due to the pickling process.
Even though it is not nearly as crisp, it is still delicious. These pickles taste best when made with green cherry tomatoes, but you can substitute any other type of small, firm, unripe green tomato.
In the most recent batch, I harvested almost all of my tomatoes by removing them from their vines in advance of going on vacation.
They were all still relatively small, but many of them are varieties suitable for slicing and canning, such as purple Cherokee and german lunchbox.
How to Make Green Tomatoes in a Pickling Liquor This is an extremely straightforward recipe that requires few ingredients and a short amount of preparation time.
These sour fruits can be stored for a long time without a lot of trouble if you use this method.
Because we want ours to be able to last on the shelf for a long time, we can it so that it can be stored at room temperature.
If, on the other hand, you want to make pickles that can be stored in the refrigerator, the method is the same with the exception of preparing the canner and carrying out the processing.
You will only need to wash and sanitize your jars, pack, and lid, and then place them in the refrigerator.
Step 1: Wash & Sterilize Jars Even if you are going to make pickles in the refrigerator, you still need to wash your jars in hot, soapy water and then either boil them or clean them in the dishwasher to ensure that they are sterile.
If you are going to be preserving food by canning it, there is no need to sterilize the jars because they will be sterilized during the processing.
Simply wash the jars in hot soapy water and get your canner ready.
Step 2: Slice the tomatoes to your liking.
The method that I like best is to quarter the larger tomatoes.
If you are using cherry tomatoes that are underripe and smaller, you can simply cut them in half.
You also have the option of slicing larger, unripe green tomatoes into slices of green tomato if you so desire.
If the tomatoes are not sliced, the brine will not be able to penetrate the thick, green skin, and the finished product will be rather tasteless.
This is true regardless of the variety of tomato that is used.
Although they are not required in any way, I like to include some red onions that have been diced because they contribute both flavor and color to the dish.
Making the pickling brine is the third step. In a large stockpot, combine vinegar (either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar will do) with water and salt (either kosher salt or canning salt).
If you want to make the bread and butter variety, put all of the spice ingredients into the brine, bring it to a boil, and then stir in the salt and brown sugar so that they can dissolve.
In order to make garlic dill, add dill seed and peppercorns to the brine.
Then, put a clove of garlic and a bay leaf into each quart-sized jar.
The salt should be dissolved while the brine is being brought to a boil over medium heat.
Step 4: Pack jars Tomatoes, red onions and/or red peppers, garlic cloves, and bay leaves, if using, should be crammed into the canning jar as tightly as possible.
After removing any air bubbles, pour hot pickling liquid over the contents, leaving a half-inch headspace between the two layers.
Wipe rim. Center lid. Finger tighten ring.
If you are making pickles in the refrigerator, you will first let the jar cool off slightly before placing it in the refrigerator.
When preserving food by canning, the processing time for pints and quarts is the same: 15 minutes in a canner that uses boiling water and is adjusted for altitude.