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Green Tomato Canning Recipes
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5 from 1 vote

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Pickled green tomatoes is an easy way to preserve a bumper crop of underripe green tomatoes at the end of the gardening season.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Canning Time (Optional)15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

Basic Recipe

  • 5 lbs Green Tomatoes preferably small and firm
  • 1/4 cup pickling salt or kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp. Sugar optional, but helps balance the flavor
  • 3 1/2 cups vinegar 5% acidity
  • 3 1/2 cups water

Basic Pickled Green Tomatoes

  • 6 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp per pint
  • 3 tsp black peppercorns 1/2 tsp per pint
  • 6 garlic cloves 1 per pint

Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes

  • 6 heads fresh dill 1 per pint
  • or 12 tsp dill seed 2 tsp per pint
  • 6 bay leaves 1 per pint
  • 6 cloves garlic 1 per pint

Spicy Pickled Green Tomatoes

  • 6 to 12 tsp red pepper flakes at 1-2 tsp per pint jar
  • 3 to 6 tsp black peppercorns at 1/2 to 1 tsp per pint jar

Bread and Butter Pickled Green Tomatoes

  • 1/2 cup sliced onion a few slices per jar
  • 6 garlic cloves one per pint
  • 6 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp per pint
  • 3 tsp celery seed 1/2 tsp per pint
  • 3 tsp ground turmeric 1/2 tsp per pint

Instructions

  • If canning, prepare a water bath canner and jars before beginning. Preheat it for raw pack to hot but not yet simmering, around 140 degrees F. This is optional, and only nessisary if canning.
  • Prepare green tomtoes by slicing them into reasonable sized pieces for your pickles. Slices, quarters or halves all work.
  • Pack green tomatoes into one pint canning jars. You should have enough to fill 6 jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Choose your spice mix from the list above and add the spices and other vegetables (garlic, onion, etc) directly to each jar.
  • Bring the brine ingredients (including vinegar, water, salt and sugar) to a boil on the stove, and stir to dissolve the salt/sugar. Remove from heat.
  • Pour the hot brine over the green tomatoes and spices in the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. De-bubble jars and adjust headspace.
  • Cap with 2 part canning lids.
  • For Refrigerator pickles, allow the jars to cool on the counter and then store in the refrigerator. Allow the flavors to infuse for at least 2 days, preferably at least a week, before eating.
  • If canning, prepare a water bath canner before beginning. Once the jars are capped with 2 part canning lids, load them into the pre-heated canner and bring the canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts (adjusting for altitude).

Notes

There are multiple spice mixes listed in this recipe. Choose one and add the specified amount of spices to each pint jar. If using quart jars, use twice as much spices per jar.
You can adjust the spices, salt and sugar however you'd like. They are not required for safe canning.
Do not reduce the amount of vinegar in the brine. What makes this a safe canning recipe is that the brine is at least 50% vinegar that's been standardized to 5% acidity. Don't use weaker vinegar, and don't use less than half vinegar.
You can increase the vinegar and reduce the water if you prefer pickles that are more sour, as is often done with bread and butter pickles to balance out the extra sugar in the recipe.