Green Tomato Pickle Relish is a delicious condiment
This recipe is a great use for green tomatoes of any kind. Tomatoes can be diced for a fine relish, or cut in chunks or sliced to make a tomato pickle.  I like both and I usually make a batch of each. Spice level can be adjusted by the use of hot peppers, or none.This is a wonderfully easy and delicious recipe.  Perfect for new cooks who might be wary of the home canning process (easy instructions here on the Bernardin website)or for those more experienced and looking to use up some of the tomatoes that remain green into our Canadian autumn.
Ingredients Â
Overnight prep ingredients
- 8 cups Green Tomatoes Chopped
- 3 tbsp Salt Coarse
Stage 1: Ingredients to be added to tomatoes after they are drained
- 2 cups White Sugar
- 2 cups White Vinegar
- 1 tsp Tumeric
- 1/2 tsp Celery Seed
- 3 tbsp Mustard Seed
- 3 cups White Onions diced
Stage 2: Ingredients to be added partway through simmering
- 2 each Sweet Red Pepper diced
- 1 each Jalapeno Pepper diced (optional)
InstructionsÂ
Overnight prep
- Combine Tomatoes and Salt.
- Let stand overnight and then drain.
Cooking instructions; Stage 1 – 10 minutes total cooking time
- Combine Tomato Liquid, Spices, and Onion
- Bring this to a boil, simmer 5 minutes
Cooking instructions; Stage 2 – Keep it simmering
- After the first 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and peppers,
- Simmer the entire mixture another 5 minutes, for a total of 10 minutes.
- Bottle and seal in sterilized jars to preserve
A link to the Bernardin safe canning instructions may be found below
Eatin’s Canada is a strong supporter of safe canning practices. We firmly suggest that you water bath your pickles as described in the Bernardin link above. If they are not water bathed, you should treat them as if they are opened, and refrigerate them.
Made this today . Looks good and taste great . Will try it again .Thank you for sharing.
Thank you and you are welcome!
Making this tonight. Wish me luck!
Do you boil the jars after filling? Thank you
Yes, you should waterbath this.
How long do you do you boil waterbath??
I would follow the recommendations on the Bernardin website which are regularly updated.
https://www.bernardin.ca/en/stepbystep.htm
This chart is also helpful
https://meatcheftools.com/how-long-should-i-boil-pickles/
I have made this recipe 3 times so far and love it for my family but have enjoyed sharing it with friends!! So easy!!
Thank you!
Can you boiling water bath this recipe to can?
Yes, in fact you should do so.
I made 10 pints today this recipe has great flavor I can’t wait to try it on a sandwich, sausage, or hotdogs and many more foods. I do have a question do I put them in the fridge once they cool or on a shelf. I did not boil the jars after they were filled.
If you have not waterbathed your pickles, they should be treated like fresh food and refrigerated.
Do you leave the tomatoes and salt on the counter overnight or do you refrigerate it?
I would refrigerate.
Question please.
Recipe says to add the tomatoes, the liquid, slices and onions, bring to boil and then simmer for 5 min.
Instructions are different. They say to add tomatoes and peppers part way through the boil.
Can you tell me which one to do please?
Apologies for not getting to this sooner. GaddAboutEating is taking courses and hasn’t had time to reply.
Thank you for your question. It is one of our most popular recipes, but it did need some clarification.
I’ve adjusted the way the steps are written and the titles to (I hope) help improve clarity.
Thank you
I love this
When you have decided to can the tomato relish, how long do you boil in the water bath? I am looking forward to this recipe!!
This depends on jar size, I recommend following the link to the Bernardin site and using their times. They are always testing and they update if the standards change.
How long does the canned tomato relish need to sit on the shelf, before eating?
I’m one to love eating a jar of whatever immediately, but in general, it takes a week or two for flavours to meld properly for the ideal flavour.
I’m not much on fish house relish but I really like the one! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! Bon appetite!
How long should I leave for water-bath?
It’s best to follow the instructions on the Bernardin site, which we link to in the article.
The referenced site didn’t give info on how long to water bath but said to follow recipe instructions.
My pressure canner instructions said to water bath after bringing to a rolling boil then lowering to a gentle boil process pints -10 min and quarts 15 min
The recipe has always given a link to the Bernardin site, but they have changed their recommendations and no longer give general times as recipes vary greatly. I do think the chart below will be reasonably accurate and that the recipe is sufficiently acidic to make this work. It does assume that you follow best canning practices as outlined on the Bernardin website.
https://www.bernardin.ca/en/stepbystep.htm
This chart is also helpful
https://meatcheftools.com/how-long-should-i-boil-pickles/
Family loved it
For the overnight marinade, do you just stir dry salt into the cut-up tomatoes, or do you add water to cover them?
Typically for something like this, you might put ice cubes on, but otherwise no water.
I made these last year and everyone including me, loves them perfect recipe
Do I use pickling salt for course salt?
Either pickling salt or kosher salt will work.
I have not tried the recipe yet but plan on doing it this next week sounds great. We’ll check up on times to water bath thank you.
I’m no cook and don’t pretend to be so I’m going to ask a stupid question but when you drain the tomatoes is this the liquid you reuse to continue the cooking process. Thanks
This question may be from before I updated the instructions. It does now say to use the tomato liquid.