Green Tomato Finale

Okay, I think this is it for preserving summer's bounty. I'm not saying I won't do some jam and the like this winter, but it won't be under the gun as it was with the 1/2 bushel of green tomatoes I've been working on. Even as I prepared them, some were slowly pinkening.

Last week I made a few jars of green tomato jam, as a partner to my red tomato jam, both from Mireille Johnston's Cuisine of the Sun. I also made some kosher style green tomato pickles. These efforts, combined with this week's business trip ( theoretically known about, yet unplanned for), an unexpected house guest put up at the last minute for a friend's wedding, and the events surrounding that wedding, I am, as the English say, knackered. (For some reason, this expression brings to my mind the image of an especially knobby, weary old cart horse. Does it have an actual equine connection? I don't know.)

Should I experience another burst of energy in the near future, I may make the rest into some Green Tomato "Mincement"- a meatless concoction which would permit my vegetarian kin to indulge in mince pies for the holidays. This recipe looks pretty good, but I may well not have the stamina to get it done before the tomatoes have all ripened. No problem, they will be eaten, one way or another.

The kosher style green tomato pickles, which were a childhood favorite of mine, were a simple project. We used to get them from the deli, and they were a very potent article. I would be allowed a small slice from one tomato. I was expected to cut my portion in tiny bits to nibble along with poached meat or chicken, served after a bowl of the excellent, brothy homemade soup it was poached in. Because these pickles were so mouth watering and savory, and because they they were doled out to the children in such very small portions, we coveted them, and treated them as precious delicacies. (Probably our adults thought a more substanial helping might be the cause of bellyache in the young.) Even now, I find the idea of being the sole owner in possession of four entire quarts of whole green tomato pickles pretty dazzling.

This is a brine pickle made without vinegar; the sourness comes from the fermentation process, as is traditional. I am not actually sure how many pounds of these tomatoes I used, but it was less than 1/4 of a bushel. The reason I don't know exactly, is that I was working from a larger quantity, and following the directions of Helen Witty, in Better Than Store Bought. First, you fill whatever ceramic crock(s) or glass jar(s) you may have with rinsed whole green tomatoes. Of course, you should make only as many jars as you wish to have full of pickles. And it may be that it is possible to be carried away.

I selected 2 cartoonishly immense, 2 qt. wide mouth glass ball jars, which I had purchased earlier this year, in a set of 6, with no plan (or clue). One now contains some delicious and lethal homemade maraschino-type cherries, and lives in the fridge. I expect to fill another with preserved lemons, as my quart jar of same is going down fast. These big jars are hard to squeeze in the fridge, so I may well be decanting the pickles into smaller jars when they are ready to eat. Prep of the pickles happens outside the fridge, so the big jars are perfect for this.

You the fill the jars to the top with water, and pour the water out into a large measuring cup first (to see how much you have), and then into an appropriately sized pot. For each quart of water, you add to the pot 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp black peppercorns, 2 tbsps coarse salt, and 1 tbsp pickling spice. Bring this to a boil, simmer on low for 10 minutes, and let it cool completely.

In the meantime, stuff a bunch of dill into each container, along with an unpeeled clove of garlic for every qt. of liquid. At least one dill flower head should go in each. If your dill does not have a flowerhead, add a tsp of dill seed as well. Once the brine is totally cool, pour it over the tomatoes to cover. Here is where the giant ball jars are especially handy:The tomatoes must be totally submerged in the liquid, so if you have a fairly wide crock, you will have to weight them with a dinner plate, or the like. The 2 quart ball jars, however, are really only just wide enough to fit the tomatoes in, so they stick to each other, and to the jar sides-the neck keeps them down, and they aren't bobbing around.

Now cover the top of the container with a piece of reasonably porous fabric, and place your pickles in a cool spot for 1-3 weeks. (This results in a sort of bonnet-mobcap thing, which looks a bit coy, but is necessary.) You are encouraged to putter daily, skimming the white froth that forms on top, and discarding it, until you judge your pickles ready. Then you should cap them, and store them in the fridge, where they will last nicely for months. I got some plastic, widemouth screw-on lids from Polstein's Hardware, which fit a standard wide mouth ball jar, and are good for covering already opened preserved items in the moist fridge environment. I think I will put mine, when ready, in wide mouth quart jars, and use these lids. If you love kosher pickles with dill, you will find the aroma heavenly.

The green tomato jam promises to be tasty, but turned as sadly beige as my Niagara grape conserve while cooking up. The pickles however, are the charming shade of green they always were. Still, I'd love to make a sweet preserve that was (naturally) this color.

Comments

[Amy]

This is the THIRD blogpost I've read with a wonderful green tomato recipe. It is killing me to be in the middle of a move and not able to harvest my own garden this fall. I have big, big plans for the backyard of the house I'm moving into, and I'm bookmarking this recipe for next summer. Thanks!

[anapestic]

I wonder whether you could cut the green tomatoes into rough dice and freeze them until you felt like making the mincemeat. They wouldn't last indefinitely that way, of course, but it might buy you some time. It's been a while since I looked at a green tomato mincemeat recipe, and I don't remember how much structural integrity the tomatoes need to keep.

[redfox]

You can feel free to give me the red tomato jam recipe any time you like!

[lindy]

ms red fox: It is at the very end of the Cuisine of the Sun post.

[Kimberly]

Yes, Lindy, knackered does have a rather gruesome equine connection. From Merriam Webster: Knacker (n) - a buyer of worn-out domestic animals or their carcasses for use especially as animal food or fertilizer. I remember some reference to horses being bought by a knacker in a book I read as a child; I was horrified.

It took me a while to figure out what I was seeing in your photo; no, that's not seaweed, it's dill. The pickles sound wonderful, but I think I'm done with green tomatoes for this year.

[lindy]

Kimberly-Thanks. I wonder if I once knew about this, and it remains in my subconscious, or if the word just sounds as if that's what it means. Anyway, I didn't feel quite that tired.

[redfox]

Duh.

[dave]

Knacker actually has two equestrian meanings. One defintion of a knacker is "a person who purchases or hauls away livestock carcasses for processing into tallow, hides, fertilizer, etc." Old horses that have outlived their usefulness are also referred to as knackers, indicating their readiness for the knackery or rendering facility.

[J. Hoogstrate]

Thanks for that update. Your posts would surely motivate a lot of people to try their hand at green things. With so much interest being generated about going green, it sure needs to enter into our recipes as well. Using fresh green vegetables is not only a great way to cook but is also beneficial to our health. We run a global sustainability website online called the green news that covers many kinds of green issues.