Last week was about jams and jellies. This week pickles, relishes, and sauces.
September 22, 1988
Do you remember when you came home from school in the fall and the kitchen was filled with nice spicy vinegary smells and jars of relish were cooling on the table? Mom had worked all day chopping the vegetables and fruit by hand or grinding them in a hand powered grinder.
It’s a lot easier now with food processors and electric grinders to put up the last of summer abundance for winter tables. In days gone by no Sunday dinner was complete without at least three dishes of pickled vegetables or fruit on the table. No longer do we need such a generous display but a carefully chosen relish still enlivens any winter meal.
Piccalilli
12 1/2 pounds green tomatoes
12 green peppers
12 red sweet peppers
12 large onions
1 medium head of cabbage
3 tablespoons salt
3 cups vinegar
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon turmeric
Grind the first five ingredients. Mix with the salt. Let sit overnight in a non- metallic container. Drain. Cover with water and drain again. Mix with the rest of ingredients. Boil 20 minutes. Pour into previously sterilized pint jars. Process 20 minutes in a hot water bath. Seal jars.
English Chutney
1 pound apples, chopped
3/4 pound raisins, chopped
12 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 red sweet peppers, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups brown sugar
4 cups vinegar
Mix all the ingredients. Cook slowly until thick, about 30 minutes in a hot water bath. Remove and tighten lids.
Tomato Sauce
5 pounds tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped green peppers
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrots
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste
Peel tomatoes. Cut into chunks. Heat the oil in a heavy kettle and saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the green peppers, carrots, celery and tomatoes. Add parsley, oregano, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil. Uncover and simmer 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove the bay leaf. This is important. Pour into containers and freeze. Makes 2 pints.
The Farmer's Wife 