Gran’s Green Tomato Pickles
From ‘And the Love is Free’ Print Book page 79
Sorry. Video is not available for this recipe.
This is probably the closest thing we have to a family recipe. Gran’s green tomato pickles were famous throughout the Clancy Clan. And while I wasn’t ever lucky enough to try Gran’s pickles, I can well and truly vouch for Mum’s version.
These are a great reason to grow your own tomatoes like Mum used to. They are the perfect solution for what to do with the green tomatoes left at the end of the growing season. They are the perfect partner to leftover cold roast lamb but also make a toasted cheese sandwich something special.
Gran and Mum used to use dripping or lard to seal the tops of the jars and I remember the fun of opening a new pickle bottle and picking off the solid white lot. In more recent years, Mum stopped using dripping and just sealed the jars while the pickles were still hot with no apparent problems.
3kg (61b) green tomatoes
1kg (21b) onions
1 1/2 cup (110g or 4oz) salt
1125mL (2pt) white vinegar
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1kg (21b) sugar
1 cup (150g or 5oz) plain flour
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1 tablespoon turmeric
lard or dripping to seal, optional
Chop the tomatoes and onions, add salt and cover with water. Leave overnight. Next day boil for 10-20 minutes and strain. Put vinegar, cloves, peppercorns and sugar into a pan. Bring to the boil.
Combine flour, turmeric and mustard and add a little cold vinegar and mix to a smooth paste. Gradually add flour mixture to the boiling vinegar and stir until well thickened. Add the drained tomatoes and onions and boil for a few minutes.
Divide between sterilised jars and top with melted lard or dripping, if using and seal immediately.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Ugh, I didn’t realize I would need to convert recipes to cups.
Hi Pat!
I know some people are very fond of their cup measurements but I really encourage you to invest in a set of digital scales.
They aren’t very expensive and they’re super useful. Not only are they more accurate than cups, they’re also much quicker. And you can get ones that do both metric and imperial measurements so you’ll never have to worry about converting a recipe again!
Jx