Seasonal Endings, My Favorite Piccalilli

Every Fall about this time I scramble about trying to clear out the veggie garden and put it to bed. Shorter days and cool nights here tell me my gardening season is coming to an end. This can be a good thing, a quieter time.. but before I pull up all
the tomato plants, and head for the composter, I'll pick every last green tomato I can lay my hands on, knowing full well there isn't a chance left that they will turn luscious red. And that's okay. this season has been a plentiful one. So plentiful in fact, I needed to head over to our local farm and pick 25 extra pounds!

You might ask, what will she do with all these green tomatoes? Well, an annual event around our house is to make my summer's ending piccalilli. I can't take credit for this recipe. It is my grandmothers, dating back to the late 1800's. You know what they say? If it works, don't fix it! It's probably the only family recipe I haven't adapted adding a bit of this or that of my own. It's absolutely perfect, just as it is! Serve it in the cooler months with pork, poultry, tomato sausage or fish dishes. Me, I could eat it right out of the jar! :)

Grandma’s Green Tomato Piccalilli

Be very accurate in weighing tomatoes and onions.. making sure the measurement you use is AFTER slicing. The recipe will yield quite a few jars of piccalilli, but can easily halved or quartered. I put mine up in many sized canning jars, but for practical purpose, jelly jars are a good portioned size to use. Make extra jars, as it makes a great xmas gift!


Vegetables Prepared


8 lbs green tomatoes-sliced
3 lbs onions-sliced
4 cups cider vinegar
5 cups white sugar
16 whole cloves
½ cup salt
2 cinnamon sticks – broken up into very tiny pieces

· Use a large kettle and alternately layer the tomatoes and onions and sprinkle
with salt between each layer. Cover the pot and let stand overnight.


Layered tomatoes & onions.. salted


· Next morning, drain the vegetables—DO NOT WASH them. Put the cider vinegar in
your kettle, add sugar, spices and heat until the sugar has dissolved well. Add
tomatoes and onions into this pot now. Cook slowly until the vegetables are just
tender. Cover and set overnight.

· This next morning bring the piccalilli to a rapid boil, stirring well, and then
bottle at once. Do not cook anymore. Your kitchen will smell divine!
No need to water bath or process this recipe. Enjoy!