Fermented Green Tomato Relish

Some time ago I wrote a post about green tomato relish and mentioned I may try fermenting it.  Well, I did it.  The results are outstanding if I do say so myself.


Toward the end of the season we were having lots of tomatoes getting chewed on.  I was thinking either birds or rodents even though the chewed spots didn't look like they were made by rodents.  Since we were still getting a few good size tomatoes for fresh eating I kept letting the plants go and put up with the damage.  When I finally pulled up the plants I found out it was some sort of caterpillar doing the damage.  That's what happens when you avoid spraying.


We were going to be going out of town in a couple of weeks so I decided to pull the plants and harvest every sound green tomato and make some relish to ferment.  I ended up with so many little green tomatoes my basket was creaking and I was worried it would break.


Since I had so many I decided on two changes to my plan, first I would clean a bunch of quart jars and second, would use the food processor to save time.


This will not be a recipe with specific quantities as much as it'll be a method to be adapted to what you have on hand.

Two batches of Green Tomato Relish ready to start fermenting

I ran the green tomatoes through the food processor with the julienne/french fry blade.  This cut them into long strips about 1/4 inch square.  I would drop in a red tomato every so often for the little splash of color.  I stopped when the food processor container was full.  Everything was then dumped in a large bowl and mixed well.  We had decided we wanted a bit of heat in the relish so I very finely minced a couple of red ripe jalapenos from the garden and added them.  I added some herbs to one batch but can't tell that they added anything to the flavor.  After everything is well mixed it is time for the salt.


For the salting I used the same process for making sauerkraut.  That means using roughly 3 Tbs for each 5 lbs of mix.  I say roughly because I tend not to measure but use my fingers and go by taste.  Using the 3:5 ratio will work fine though and be more precise if that helps you.  After the salt was sprinkled on everything was mixed and allowed to sit for 30 minutes.  At the end of the 30 minutes, stir the mixture well and put it in jars to ferment.


If you have a fermenting crock you can use that.  I use mason jars for most everything.   Make sure they are clean and well rinsed.  I typically don't bother sanitizing them.  Put some of the relish in the jar and press it down to squeeze out some brine.  Continue to do this until you are an inch or two from the top.  If  you've made a large batch, repeat the process until it is all used up.  Split the brine remaining in the bowl among all your jars.  Use whatever method you choose to keep the relish below the brine and cap the jars. 

Pretty and tasty.  You can see the size of the tomatoes after the food processor.

Once the jars are capped, put them in a pan to catch overflow and set them in an out of the way spot.  I use a corner to the right of our sink that is just a bit awkward to put something we use regularly in.  After 24 hours or so, you'll start to see some liquid in the pan.  This means the fermentation process is starting and the gasses formed are forcing things up.  Start checking the flavor after 3 or 4 days to see if it has reached the desired level of sour.  The first batch was good after 5 days and the 2nd batch took 7 days.  Once it has reached the sour level you want, put them in a refrigerator.  This greatly slows down the ferment.  The flavors will continue to develop until you've eaten it all.


So, like I said, more of a method than a specific quantity recipe.  This relish is good with many things, grilled pork chops and chicken, served with vegetables, or even eaten by itself as a side.  Besides the good wife and me, this has been eaten by the good wife's sister and her family and by a Soldier I work with and his family.  It has been well received by both groups.


I know that much has been written about the benefits of fermented foods for gut health.  I don't know if all this is true and I'm not really concerned with it.  Fermentation does things I know about and care about.  Fermentation makes some nutrients more readily available, lengthens shelf life of the product, and develops some great textures and flavors.  So, if eating all the things I ferment helps our gut health great but I'd be fermenting even if it didn't.


There are many resources online to get you started.  If there is an organic food store close to you chances are good that at least one person that works there knows fermentation.  The one closest to use even sells airlocks for mason jars to aid fermentation.  I've not read it, but several of the sites I've visited to get information have referenced a book by Sandor Ellix Katz called, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.  It can be found here, Amazon. 


Give fermenting a go and see what you think.  It is basically a beneficial bacteria driven pickling process.  If you eat sauerkraut, kimchee, or any other commercially fermented product you'll be amazed at the difference between that and what you can make yourself.  If you give it a try let me know how it turns out.


Uncle T

Fun with Fermentation - Giardiniera

Giardiniera is an Italian/Italian American relish of pickled vegetables typically done in either vinegar or oil.  It can be found in hot or mild varieties.  Depending on where you are seems to determine how it is used.  The Italian version is eaten as an antipasto or with a salad.  In the US, it also gets used as toppings for Italian beef or sausage sandwiches in Chicago.  Some people even use it in pasta.


This is one of those foods that can basically be used/eaten however you wish and it will be good.  The good wife likes it and has been wanting some.  OK, the good wife likes just about any pickled vegetable but that's beside the point.  Since lacto-fermentation is a form of pickling I thought it would be a good thing to make some rather than buy a jar.


I went to the condiment aisle to look at some jars of giardiniera to see exactly what was in the commercial varieties.  The only thing they had that I didn't use was olives.  We could have bought some olives to add but I wasn't sure how or if they would affect the fermentation so we did without.


Since we will eat it out of the jar or as a component of a charcuterie and cheese meal I chose to cut the vegetables in good sized chunks.  If we want to top a sandwich with is we can chop it up some more.  What I ended up using made two quarts.


Lacto-fermented Giardiniera


1 head cauliflower
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 stalks celery
3 medium carrots
1 head garlic, optional
2 - 4 hot peppers, optional
4 tsp salt, non-iodized
4 cups water, non-clorinated


Boil enough water to fill the quart jars and let them sit until ready to pack the vegetables in.  Separate the cauliflower into bite sized florets and place in a large bowl.  Cut the bell peppers into 3/8 inch x 2 inch strips and add to the bowl.  Cut the celery into 3/8 - 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl.  Cut the carrot on the diagonal into 3/8 - 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl.  Slice the peppers, if using and add to the bowl.  Separate and peel the garlic cloves and set aside.  Thoroughly mix the contents of the bowl.  Dump the hot water out of the quart jars.  Start putting the vegetable mixture in each jar adding the garlic cloves to equally distribute. Pack them tight and leave space at the top.  Mix the salt and water to make your brine and fill to the rim.  Put the lid on but don't crank it down hard, fermentation gas and some liquid needs to be able to escape.  Put jars in a pan to catch overflow and put in a warm place in your house while keeping them out of direct sunlight.  In 7 - 14 days, temperature and taste depending, you'll have some tasty fermented giardiniera.  This batch was good at 12 days.

Quart jars of vegetables ready to start fermenting

Once the desired level of flavor is reached, tightly cap the jars and put them in the refrigerator.  Putting them in the refrigerator will slow/stop the ferment and will help maintain the texture of the vegetables.  These will not be super crunchy but you can possibly help preserve some of the crispness by adding some tannin to the mix in the form of oak or grape leaves.  I didn't bother with that and the peppers ended up pretty soft.


The vegetables need to stay submerged during the entire ferment else you run the risk of mold development.  If they are tight packed they may stay submerged on their own.  If not use a weight of some sort to keep them under the brine.  In my gallon jars of sour kraut I use a ziplock bag filled with the brine to keep the cabbage submerged.


Some people call for 1 Tbs salt to 2 cups water which is slightly more salt than I use.  I find, with softer vegetables anyway, that the end result is a bit too salty to my taste.  The primary purpose of the salt is inhibit undesirable bacteria until the lactobacillus has taken off. 


One of the side effects of pickling garlic this way is that it can turn blue or green.  This is perfectly normal and it is safe to eat.  The color change is just a chemical reaction between a couple of enzymes found in garlic or between one of those and the salt.  There may be no color change at all.  If there are no bad spots on the garlic and you don't bruise it when peeling you have a better chance of it staying its natural color.  I had to cut out small bad spots on a few cloves so I got some blue garlic.


In addition to being tasty, lacto-fermented foods are high in probiotic bacteria which we all need.  Supposedly, these bacteria have a whole host of benefits that range from helping your skin look good to weight loss.  They do help keep your digestive tract healthy by maintaining a large variety of microorganisms in your gut.


If you don't like this mix, that's OK.  Select the vegetable/vegetables you like at start fermenting.  You'll get some tasty food and if you share you get to tell them you made it.  Give them a try and let me know how you like them.


Uncle T