This year the tomatoes began the ripening season in fine fettle – then, the rains came.  We did get to enjoy a few rounds of fresh tomato pasta sauce, tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, and, my favorite, tomato, sweet butter, and homemade white bread sammich.  But, then came pale pink, none-too-filled with the sun’s warmth, blotchy globes followed by hard, green never-to-ripen fruit.  So, after a couple of fried green tomato and green tomato tart meals (see past posts), I made a couple of batches of my mom’s best green tomato relish.  If you’ve had the same problem, scoop up your greenies and put up a few jars – it’s great on grilled meats, fish, sandwiches, and tossed into salads.  I will give you the general idea but you can really add and subtract ingredients as you wish.  This recipe makes enough to can about 8 pints but it can easily be cut way down to make just enough to have a good-sized container in the fridge.

About 8 to 9 pounds green tomatoes, washed and cored

4 large sweet onions, peeled and trimmed

3 red bell peppers, washed, stemmed, and seeded

2 green bell peppers, washed, stemmed, and seeded

1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and seeded, optional

¼ cup coarse salt or to taste

3 cups sugar – depending on your taste

3 cups white vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon celery seed

½ teaspoon ground turmeric 

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

You can deal with the vegetables in any way you wish – hand grate, grate on the grating blade of a food processor, or do as my mom did, push them through the shredding blade on a hand grater.  Once shredded, place all of them into a large nonreactive saucepan or canning pot.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and place over high heat.

Bring to a boil; then, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until slightly thickened and well seasoned.  Depending on your plans, either transfer to clean containers with lids, cover, and let cool.  Then refrigerate for up to 1 month.

If canning, ladle the relish into hot, sterilized jars, cover with the appropriate canning lids, and place in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove from the hot bath, invert on wire racks, and let cool before storing in a cool, dark spot.