Scotland's short, cool season often ends with the first frost and the tomato plants still full of hard green fruit. That often leaves an odd mix to use up: green tomatoes, a few red ones, a cabbage, onions, celery, a pepper or two and a cucumber. Rummage relish takes exactly that mixture. It is the finely chopped, quicker-cooked member of the chutney family, and it makes about eight jars that keep in the cupboard once processed in boiling water.
- Makes
- about 8 x 470ml (US pint) jars
- Prep
- salt the vegetables the day before and leave them in the fridge for 12–18 hours
- Cooking time
- about 40 minutes, then 15 minutes' processing in boiling water (20 minutes above about 300m)
- Keeps
- best used within a year, unopened, in a cool, dark, dry place
- In season
- the end of the tomato season, before the first frost
Ingredients
- 1.9 litres green tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 16 medium)
- 950ml ripe red tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped (about 6 large)
- 950ml cabbage, chopped (about 1 small head)
- 710ml onions, chopped
- 475ml celery, chopped
- 240ml green sweet peppers, chopped (about 2 medium)
- 240ml cucumbers, chopped
- 240ml red sweet peppers, chopped (about 2 medium)
- 120ml canning or pickling salt
- 950ml brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp celery seed
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp mustard seed
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1.9 litres vinegar, 5% acidity (white distilled or cider)
The vegetables are measured chopped, by volume, so fill a measuring jug with each one rather than weighing it; measure the sugar in the jug too, and check the vinegar label says 5% acidity.
Method
- Wash all the vegetables. Core and chop the green tomatoes, peel, core and chop the red tomatoes, and chop everything else.
- Measure each chopped vegetable in a jug, then mix them all in a large bowl with the salt.
- Cover and leave in the fridge for 12–18 hours. If a full batch won't fit in your fridge, make a half batch (see below).
- Drain the vegetables thoroughly and pour away the liquid.
- Sterilise the jars so they are hot when the relish is ready, and have new lids to hand (see the sterilising guide).
- Put a rack in the bottom of a canner or a deep pan, half fill it with clean warm water and start heating it.
- Put the vinegar, sugar, spices and garlic in a large stainless steel or unchipped enamel pan (not copper, brass or iron, which react with vinegar) and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the drained vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Turn up the heat and bring the relish to a full boil.
- Pack the hot relish into the hot jars, leaving about 1.25cm (½ inch) of space below the rim.
- Run a clean skewer round the inside of each jar to release air bubbles, and top up to the same level if needed.
- Wipe the rims with a clean, damp paper towel and put on new two-piece canning lids (a flat lid and a screw band).
- Stand the jars upright on the rack in the hot water. Add boiling water, pouring it around the jars, until it is at least 2.5cm above the lids.
- Cover the pan, turn the heat to high and bring to a vigorous boil.
- Once it is boiling, time 15 minutes (20 minutes above about 300m), keeping a gentle but steady boil with the lid on. If the water stops boiling, bring it back to a full boil and start the timing again from the beginning.
- Turn off the heat, take off the pan lid and wait 5 minutes.
- Lift the jars out upright onto a towel, at least 2.5cm apart and away from cold draughts. Don't tighten the lids.
- Leave undisturbed for 12–24 hours, then check the seals (see below), label with the date and store.
Match your leftovers to a tested mix
Relish proportions can't be improvised: extra vegetables in the same vinegar thin out the acid that keeps the jar safe. Pick the recipe that already uses what you have, and follow its own method for the jars.
| Recipe | What goes in | Jars |
|---|---|---|
| Rummage relish (this page) | Green and ripe red tomatoes, cabbage, onions, celery, green and red peppers, cucumber | Processed in boiling water |
| Apple and green tomato chutney | Green tomatoes, cooking apples, red onions, sultanas | Long-cooked, hot-filled and sealed |
| Apple chutney | Cooking apples, onion, red pepper, golden raisins | Processed in boiling water |
| Fall garden relish | Cabbage, cauliflower, green tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers | Processed in boiling water |
| Piccalilli (US style) | Green tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions, cabbage | Processed in boiling water |
| Pickled green tomato relish | Green tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions | Processed in boiling water |
| Tomato-apple chutney | Ripe tomatoes (peeled, not green), apples, onion, green pepper, raisins | Processed in boiling water |
If your pile is mostly green tomatoes, apples and onions, go straight to the apple and green tomato chutney, the one mix here that uses all three. The jar methods aren't interchangeable: don't hot-fill a recipe that calls for boiling-water processing.
Don't add squash or pumpkin to any of these. They aren't safe in a cupboard-stored chutney or relish; pumpkin and squash pickles need to be kept in the fridge. Swapping one vegetable for another changes more than the flavour, as the guide to mixing fruit and veg in preserves explains.
What you can and can't change
The one variation the recipe allows is curry relish. Add 475ml raisins and 1½ tsp curry powder with the vegetables at step 8; it makes about 9 x 470ml jars. Beyond that, keep every quantity as written. Don't reduce the vinegar or sugar, don't add extra vegetables, and don't use a vinegar whose acidity isn't stated. There has to be a minimum, even level of acid right through the mixture to stop botulism bacteria growing.
For a smaller batch, halve every ingredient, the vinegar and salt included. The processing time depends on the jar size and your height above sea level, so it stays the same.
Use canning or pickling salt if you can. Ordinary table salt, iodised or not, is safe, but the anti-caking agent in it can make the liquid cloudy. Avoid flaky salt: it varies in density, so a jugful doesn't hold a reliable amount.
Why the jars are boiled
Long-cooked chutneys are often just hot-filled, with the lids on straight away so a vacuum seal forms. This relish cooks for only about 40 minutes, and boiling the filled jars is part of its method. No special kit is needed beyond a pan deep enough to hold the jars on a rack, which keeps them off the hot base, with at least 2.5cm of boiling water over the lids.
Only pint jars (about 470ml) and two-piece canning lids (a flat lid and a screw band) have a processing time for this recipe. Larger jars such as 500ml ones, clip-top jars with rubber seals and reused jam jars with twist-off lids are all outside the method. If ordinary jam jars and a saucepan are all you have, make the long-cooked apple and green tomato chutney instead, which is hot-filled rather than boiled in the jar. There's more on closures in the guide to jars for preserving.
Checking the seal
Once the jars are cool, check each lid:
| Test | Sealed | Not sealed |
|---|---|---|
| Press the middle of the lid | It stays down | It springs back up |
| Tap the lid with a teaspoon | A clear, ringing note | A dull sound |
| Look across the lid at eye level | Curved slightly downwards | Flat or bulging |
Put any jar that hasn't sealed in the fridge and eat it within a few days. Alternatively, reprocess it within 24 hours: reheat the relish to boiling, pack it into a clean hot jar with a new lid, and process for the full time again.
When and where to pick
Frost timing varies a lot across Scotland, so check the frost dates for your area and pick the tomatoes before it arrives; the rest of the end-of-season work is in the October jobs. Bring the best green tomatoes indoors to ripen if you like, and use the rest here. Use only fresh, firm vegetables with no sign of rot.
Storing and opening
| Stage | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Unopened, sealed | Clean, cool, dark, dry place (10–21°C), so not an unheated shed or garage in winter | Best used within a year |
| Opened | Fridge | Within a few weeks to a month or two |
Take the screw bands off sealed jars before storing. It keeps the lids dry and shows up a broken seal straight away. Keep the jars away from damp, which corrodes metal lids, and away from a cooker, hot pipes or sunlight. Relish that darkens in the jar has usually had too much air left in it.
Before opening a jar, check that the lid is still curved downwards. Don't taste anything from a jar with a bulging or loose lid, liquid that spurts out, an unnatural smell, or mould on the surface or under the lid. There's more on spoilage signs in how long preserves keep.
Common questions
Can I use malt vinegar?
Not for this relish. It was written for white distilled or cider vinegar with 5% acidity on the label, so use one of those. Never use a vinegar whose strength isn't stated.
Can I leave out the cucumber or the celery if I don't have any?
No. Leaving a vegetable out changes the proportions the recipe was tested at, and only those proportions are known to be safe. If your leftovers don't match, pick a different mix from the table above.
Can I add apples or courgette?
Not to this recipe. For green tomatoes and apples together, use the apple and green tomato chutney.
What if I live high up?
Process for 20 minutes instead of 15 if you are more than about 300m above sea level.
Why is my relish cloudy?
Usually the salt. Table salt contains an anti-caking agent that can cloud the liquid. It is still safe, and canning or pickling salt avoids it next time.
Sources
Show the 16 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Rummage Relish (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): all ingredient quantities and counts, yield (about 8 pints), salting and standing 12–18 hours in the fridge, draining, simmer times, ½ inch headspace, removing air bubbles, wiping rims, two-piece lids, processing times by altitude (15/20 min), Curry Relish variation (about 9 pints)
- Using Boiling Water Canners (National Center for Home Food Preservation): rack, half-filling with warm water, at least 1 inch of water over jars, pouring water around jars, high heat and lid on, timing from the boil, restarting timing if the boil stops, 5-minute wait, lifting jars upright, spacing and avoiding cold draughts, not tightening lids, cool dry storage out of direct light
- Cooling Jars and Testing Jar Seals (National Center for Home Food Preservation): cooling 12–24 hours, don't retighten lids, press test, reprocessing unsealed jars within 24 hours with a new lid, unsealed jars in the fridge and eaten within several days
- Storing Home-Canned Foods (National Center for Home Food Preservation): tap and look-across seal tests, reheating to boiling before reprocessing, removing screw bands before storage, clean cool dark dry place at 50–70°F (10–21°C), best used within a year, damp corrodes lids, avoid heat and sunlight, signs of spoilage and not tasting suspect jars
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): relishes and chutneys as chopped fruit and vegetables cooked with seasonings and vinegar; 5% white distilled or cider vinegar; don't alter vinegar, food or water proportions or use vinegar of unknown acidity; minimum, uniform acid level to prevent botulinum growth; fresh, firm produce free of spoilage
- Salts Used in Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): canning or pickling salt recommended; iodised or non-iodised table salt safe; anti-caking agents can cloud the brine; flake salt varies in density and is not recommended
- Fall Garden Relish (National Center for Home Food Preservation): ingredients and yield for the comparison table
- Piccalilli (National Center for Home Food Preservation): ingredients and yield for the comparison table
- Pickled Green Tomato Relish (National Center for Home Food Preservation): ingredients and yield for the comparison table
- Tomato-Apple Chutney (National Center for Home Food Preservation): ingredients (ripe, peeled tomatoes) and yield for the comparison table
- Preserving Winter Squash and Pumpkins (NC State Extension, Henderson County Center; Renay Knapp, 2024): pumpkin and squash pickles, chutneys and relishes can't be safely canned and must be kept in the fridge
- Chutney (Penn State Extension): chutney as a relish-type condiment; never reduce the vinegar; darkening from air left in the jar
- Home Canning Equipment for Making Pickles (University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension): stainless steel or unchipped enamel pans; no copper, brass or iron with acid mixtures
- Food Safety and Labelling Guidance for small scale home producers of chutneys, pickles, flavoured oils and jams (Scottish Borders Council): chutney hot-filled with lids on straight away so a vacuum seal forms
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation): shorter end of the range for opened jars (about 1 month in the fridge)
- 25 dirt-cheap ways to garden organically and save (Garden Organic): longer end of the range for opened chutney kept in the fridge