Bread & Butter Green Cherry Tomato Pickles
Jackie Gordon
Condiments & Canning
The end of the harvest of 2013, I had what seemed like a zillion green cherry tomatoes that I “put up”. Since I love bread and butter pickles made from cucumbers I figured green cherry tomatoes would be a treat ‘bread and buttered”.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of green cherry tomatoes
- 1 pound of sweet onions, sliced thin
- 1 large red pepper, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- Ice cubes
- 2 cups light brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- 2 teaspoon dill seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Directions
- Wash and drain the cherry tomatoes. With a toothpick, poke six holes in each cherry tomato.
- Mix cherry tomatoes, onions and red pepper and salt in a large bowl. Cover with two trays of ice cubes. Set in the refrigerator for four hours or overnight.
- The next day, drain off the liquid in the bowl. Rinse the vegetables under cold running water and drain well.
- Combine sugar, vinegar, turmeric, mustard seeds, celery seeds, dill seeds, crushed red pepper flakes in a large pot. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Add drained vegetables to the pot. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. With a slotted spoon pack vegetables into hot sterilized jars. Place pot of brine back on the stove at a simmer. Add three black peppercorns and two allspice berries to each jar.
- Pour hot brine over the veggies in each jar leaving about 1/2 inch space between the vegetables and the lid of the jar. Place flat lids on each jar. Screw on bands to seal, but don’t over tighten them.
- Arrange jars right side up in a canner and add water so it’s at least one inch above the jars. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for ten minutes.
- Cool jars on rack. Store in cool place for at least 3 weeks before eating.
Total time:
Yield: Makes 5 pints.
Notes
I used Vidalia onions. I’m sure you could use sliced or quartered green tomatoes for this recipes as well, if you don’t have a windfall of cherry tomatoes.