our tomato plants are loaded up with green tomatoes. i know that in a few weeks i am going to have more than enough red tomatoes so i decided to pickle some green ones.
recipe follows
ingredients
4-5 pounds of green tomatoes (you can use more or less, this recipe makes a lot of pickling juice)
2 quarts distilled white vinegar
1 quart water
3/4 cup kosher salt
10 garlic cloves, peeled
4 bay leaves
hot peppers
peppercorns
fresh herbs, optional
directions
-heat up vinegar, water, salt, garlic, and bay leaves to a boil for 10 minutes
-cut up larger tomatoes into smaller wedges, cherry tomatoes can be whole
-put tomatoes and fresh herbs into sterilized jars
-put 5 peppercorns into each jar
-slice a hole into each hot pepper
-remove bay leaves and garlic from pickling liquid. you can leave them if you would like but sometimes the acid turns the garlic a shade of blue
-our liquid into jars leaving about 1/4 inch space from the top
-seal jars with new lids
-process jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes or refrigerate
-if processing, let the pickles rest on a shelf for a month or so before eating