A First Try at Home Canning ~ Green Tomato Pickles

October 28, 2007 at 8:33 pm · Filed under Cooking, garden

I had a plethora of green tomatoes left on the vines, and with the unseasonally warm autumn, I let them stay right up until the bitter end. Happily my weather-watching paid off, because the very day after I picked these, we had the first frost.

slice of green tomato, in varying autumn light

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I went out to get some more mason jars for my dry goods, and right there on the shelf above I found a beautiful Granite Ware hot-water canner and a little canning kit. For $12, I could not pass it up. The kit consisted of the 21-qt canner with lid and a rack to hold seven quart-sized jars, a wide-mouth funnel, a pair of jar-lifting tongs, a magnetic lid-lifter, and a tool to remove air bubbles from packed food. I decided to try canning my own green tomato pickles.

The recipe was very basic, with no sugar. Only the tomatoes, salt, vinegar, water and pickling spice (and yes, I cheated this first time and bought ready-made pickling spice!). I haven’t cracked open a jar yet, as it needs to cure. If they taste any good I will post the recipe later. Meanwhile, here is the process in photos. It was alot of fun, if somewhat time-consuming, and I definitely intend to try more home-canning.

getting ready ~ tomatoes, jars, bands and lids all washed in hot soapy water, rinsed and dried

clean tomatoes ready to slice

two and one-half lbs of green tomatoes were sliced, about 1/4″ thick

the sliced tomatoes were layered with kosher salt and pickling spices in a large, non-reactive pot. vinegar and water was carefully poured over, and the whole cooked about fifteen minutes, until fork-tender

using the wide-mouth funnel, cooked tomatoes and liquid were ladled into sterilized pint-sized jars. tops and threads were wiped clean, and sterile lids applied and fastened in place with the dry, sterile bands

the jars were transferred to the rack of the canner, and lowered into the hot-water bath, which must cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. water was brought to a boil, canner covered and the jars processed in the boiling water for ten minutes

when ten minutes was up, the rack was lifted and the jars allowed to cool slightly before removing with the jar-lifting tongs. they were set on a clean towel to absorb heat and prevent cracking. after 24 hrs, the seal was tested (making sure the lid would not spring back when pressed). now the pickles are ready to be stored in a cool, dark place for up to one year

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I also bought some no-sugar-needed pectin — naturally sweet yellow-tomato jam might be next! 🙂

Oh, and How ‘Bout Those Sox!!!! 🙂

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