Chow-Chow

Ingredients

• 2 quarts small green tomatoes
• 12 small cucumbers
• 3 red peppers
• 1 cauliflower
• 2 bunches celery
• 1 pint small onions
• 2 quarts string beans
• 0.25 lb mustard seed
• 2 oz turmeric
• 0.5 oz allspice
• 0.5 oz pepper
• 0.5 oz clove
• salt
• 1 gallon vinegar

Method

This is a hot-pack pickling method: salt draws moisture from the vegetables through osmosis, concentrating their flavour and firming their cell walls so they don't turn to mush in the vinegar bath. Do not skip the salting stage or you'll end up with soft, watery chow-chow.

Dice the green tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and cauliflower into pieces roughly the size of a pea. Cut the celery and onions to match — uniformity matters for even brining and even cooking. Trim and halve the string beans. Spread everything on a clean cloth or across several plates and scatter salt generously over the lot — you're aiming for a visible white coat on every surface. Leave uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours. The vegetables will weep considerably; this is where the magic happens. The salt denatures the proteins in the cell walls, making them more permeable. Don't rinse them, just drain thoroughly in a colander, pressing gently to remove excess liquid.

In a wide, heavy-bottomed pot, warm the vinegar (1 gallon by volume; if working in metric, that's roughly 4.5 litres) over medium heat. Add the mustard seed, turmeric, allspice, pepper, and clove. Bring to a rolling boil — the spices need heat to release their oils into the vinegar, which will carry them through the vegetables. Once boiling, add the drained vegetables all at once and stir to submerge. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Stir every few minutes. The vegetables will soften but should retain a slight bite — test after 15 minutes, then every 5 minutes thereafter. Aim for tender but not collapsing; 20–30 minutes usually does it, depending on how finely you cut.

While the chow-chow simmers, sterilise your jars by boiling them in water for 10 minutes. Pack the hot vegetables and their liquid into the hot jars, filling to within 5mm of the rim. Seal immediately. The hot preservation method relies on the heat itself to sterilise the contents and create a seal as the jars cool. Store in a cool, dark place for at least four weeks before opening — the flavours marry and mellow during this rest.