With fall comes the clean up of the final tomatoes lingering on the now drying vines in our garden. Yes, it’s hard to believe that it’s time to harvest the last of the green tomatoes. Pickled green tomatoes is a third generation family favorite. I also love the memories that come with canning pickled tomatoes each year. Fall canning was one of my favorite times of the year when I was a little girl. I’ve stood beside my grandmother and mother countless times washing jars, rinsing tomatoes, and eventually slicing tomatoes. My grandmother passed away more than fifteen years ago, but she left me a treasured keepsake, her hand-written recipe for pickled tomatoes. My mom doesn’t can anymore due to age, and health complications. But that doesn’t keep me from taking her our canned goods to enjoy! I love to share our canned food, or what I like to call our blessings with others.
Okay, enough reminiscing! If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating one of these crisp and spicy slices of deliciousness…you don’t know what you’ve been missing! I know they sound weird, but trust me, they are delicious with pinto beans, aka soup beans, soups, meatloaf, and any other hardy supper. Pickled tomatoes doesn’t have to be limited to a side for heavy country cooking. Remember, clean recipes can include soup beans, soups, tuna patties, meatloaf made with venison, or elk, grilled chicken, and so much more. They also make a great addition to salads as well. I like to use them in place of pickled banana peppers with my salads. The possibilities are endless!
Pickled Green Tomatoes are a fall and winter favorite.Now for the few ingredients that you will need.
green tomatoes
1 pint of salt
1 quart of vinegar
5 quarts of water
jalapeno peppers (optional)
Pickle crisp can be added to this recipe as well.
Process
1.) wash and sterilize quart jars
always wash jars, even if they are new
Sterilize all jars before using them2.) in large stock pot combine salt, vinegar, and water
3.) While these ingredients are coming up to a boil, wash and quarter the tomatoes, or slice them according to your preference.
4.) Slice jalapeno peppers (the removal of seeds is optional)
5.) add sliced tomatoes and jalapeno peppers to sterilized jars add a teaspoon of pickle crisp.
5.) Bring ingredients up to a boil and pour over tomatoes.
6.) wipe rims and seal tomatoes
7.) Process in boiling water bath for ten minutes (optional)
8.) Carefully remove jars of tomatoes, place on a towel to cool
9.) Do not disturb the jars over night, check rings to ensure tightness the following morning
10.) Don’t forget to date the lids before putting the jars of tomatoes in the pantry
Tomatoes will change from bright green to a dull green after they are processed.Now all that’s left to do is to try to contain the excitement ,and desire to crack open a jar of these delicious green tomatoes! You can experiment with various seasonings for spicier pickles. We have added red pepper flakes to the ingredients, which resulted in a much spicier pickle. They were delicious, but I prefer to use the recipe above. I confess, I’m somewhat a creature of habit! This recipe is time-tested and has always turned out a crispy delicious pickle. I’ll never forget my youthful summers spent helping my grandmother and my mother can tomatoes. I’ve been canning pickled tomatoes with this same recipe for nearly thirty years, and still enjoy the process almost as much as I did when I was a little girl! I am super excited to share this recipe with you, and for you to try my grandmother’s green tomato pickles. If you have enjoyed this fall favorite, be sure to check out my clean and spicy salsa recipe Clean and Spicy Salsa. I look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to follow my blog for many more upcoming fall favorites.
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Pingback: My Grandmother’s Canned Pickled Green Tomatoes | Candace Vianna Writes
Thank you Candace Vianna for your support!
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I’ve never tried a green tomato pickle. They sound really good and I have no shortage of green tomatoes in the garden. I may have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Take care. Bob
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Reblogged this on A Healthier Me…Simple & Clean.
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This sounds good except for a pint of salt which is a LOT of salt. Was this a mistake?
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This is tried and true recipe that my grandmother followed for more years than I know. I’ve canned with it for nearly thrift years. It does seem like a lot of salt, but this is correct. The only thing I changed with her recipe is adding pickle crisp to create a crispier pickled tomato. Let me know if you try them. They’re a favorite in our family, neighbors, and friends. God bless.
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Thank you for all your help!!!!
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Have you ever used onions in this recipe?
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I’ve not, but I recall my grandmother using onions. I actually tried this brine with carrots, onions, zucchini, and cauliflower as an experiment. They were delicious. I’ll try to add that full recipe soon.
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How many quarts/pints does this recipe yield?
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I typically can get seven quarts from this recipe.
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One additional question, do you use white or apple cider vinegar?
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I use white vinegar. Make sure it is 5% acidity to ensure the safety of your food. I need to update the post and add this intimation. I enjoy answering readers. Thank you for asking. Always feel free to ask.
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How many quarts does recipe make??
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I typically get seven quarts with this recipe.
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Roughly how many green tomatoes do you use in this recipe? And do you have a preference between wedges and slices?
Also, I noticed pickle crisp is added in 2 different steps of the directions, is that correct?
Thank you for sharing, I’m excited to try this!!!!
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I usually use a three gallon bucket of tomatoes. My favorite is wedges! I’ll check the steps to see if I need to make corrections. The pickle crisp should be added only once. I add it after I put the tomatoes in the jar. This is a sure fire recipe! My grandmother used it for more than forty-five years, then my mom and aunts used it, and I have used it now for at least 25 years. It’s an oldie but a goodie. Keep me posted on yours!
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If I don’t have the crisp, will they still be good? I don’t want soft tomatoes.
Is regular salt alright or should I use nickeling salt? How long before they can be eaten? Store in dark place or refrigerator? Thanks!
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They’ll taste good, but won’t be as crispy as the ones with pickle crisp. I use non iodized table salt, but have used iodized too. I couldn’t tell any difference. Usually after two to three months they’re ready to eat. I store mine in the basement. I have added a jar to the fridge to be chilling and they were good so I don’t think the light will hurt them. I’ve just always stored mine in the basement.
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How many green tomatoes do you need?
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I usually use about a three gallon bucket of green tomatoes for seven quarts of pickles.
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Thx!
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after canning how long do you wait before opening a jar
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I usually wait at least six weeks to eight weeks. We have opened them sooner and they’re good but better with at least six weeks being sealed! 😊
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I will use pear cherry tomatoes from the garden. How many cups of tomatoes per recipe?
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It will depend if you are canning pints or quarts. We typically can quarts. I don’t measure the tomatoes as we usually have an an abundance of tomatoes each year. I add cherry tomatoes whole if they’re small and halve them if they’re larger. I add them until I have at least an inch of space between the top of the tomatoes and the ring of the jar. I hope this helps. Let me know how your tomatoes turn out.
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