This tomato relish is made with green tomatoes: the small, hard fruit still hanging on the plants when a short, cool Scottish season comes to an end. They are grated with red and green peppers and onion, simmered briefly in salted water, then given just five minutes in a sweet mustard vinegar thickened with a spoonful of cornflour, so the relish stays bright and crunchy rather than dark and jammy. It is a tested recipe from the US National Center for Home Food Preservation, and a five-minute boiling-water bath in sterilised jars makes it a cupboard preserve. For ripe tomatoes, make the red tomato chutney instead.
- Makes
- about 4 x 470ml (US pint) jars from the half batch below; 7 to 9 jars from a full batch
- Cooking time
- 5 minutes' simmering in brine, 5 minutes in the vinegar, then 5 minutes' processing in boiling water (10 minutes above about 300m)
- Keeps
- best used within a year, unopened, in a cool, dark, dry place
- In season
- September and October, before the first frost where you are
- Jars
- pint (470ml) canning jars with two-piece lids; ordinary jam jars mean fridge storage only
Ingredients
- 2.25kg small, hard green tomatoes
- 340g red peppers
- 340g green peppers
- 450g onions
- 60ml pickling salt (sold as canning salt in the US)
- 475ml water
- 400g white sugar (about 475ml in a jug)
- 475ml white distilled or cider vinegar, 5% acidity
- 40ml (2 tbsp plus 2 tsp) American-style yellow mustard (sold in the UK as "American mustard")
- 1 tbsp cornflour
These quantities make a half batch; check the vinegar label says 5% acidity.
Method
- Stand clean pint jars upright on a rack in a canner (a pan deep enough for 2.5cm of boiling water over the jars), fill the pan and jars with hot (not boiling) water to 2.5cm above the jar tops, and boil for 10 minutes. Above about 300m, add a minute for every further 300m. Leave the jars in the hot water until you fill them, and prepare new two-piece canning lids following the maker's directions (see the sterilising guide).
- Wash the tomatoes, peppers and onions, then coarsely grate or finely chop them all.
- Dissolve the salt in the water in a large stainless steel or unchipped enamel pan (not copper, brass, iron or galvanised metal).
- Add the vegetables, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Tip everything into a colander, drain well and pour the liquid away.
- Return the vegetables to the pan and add the sugar, vinegar, mustard and cornflour. Stir to mix.
- Bring back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Lift out one hot jar at a time, drain it and fill it with hot relish, leaving about 1.25cm 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 the lids and screw bands.
- Stand the jars upright on the rack in the canner water, kept hot but not boiling (about 82°C). If the water needs topping up, pour boiling water around the jars, not onto them, until it is at least 2.5cm above the lids.
- Cover the pan and bring it to a vigorous boil on high heat.
- Once it is boiling, time 5 minutes (10 minutes above about 300m). 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 the lid off the pan and wait 5 minutes.
- Lift the jars out upright, without tilting, and set them on a towel, at least 2.5cm apart and away from cold draughts. Don't tighten the lids.
- Leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals (see below), label with the date and store.
Picking the tomatoes
Use only fresh, firm fruit with no soft, rotten or damaged patches. Anything already softening is better ripened indoors; the tomato growing guide covers which fruit is worth bringing in.
Pick while the plants are still alive: fruit from dead or frost-killed vines shouldn't be preserved. For outdoor plants, first frosts arrive at very different times across Scotland, so check the frost dates for your area rather than waiting for the first cold night to decide for you. You'll be clearing the plants in October anyway. Home-grown sweet peppers and onions can go in too, as long as the weights stay the same.
Relish or chutney?
Relishes and chutneys are both chopped fruit and vegetables cooked with vinegar, sugar and seasonings, and chutney is really a kind of relish. The difference is in the cooking: a chutney simmers for an hour or so until it is thick and dark. Each recipe below has its own way of filling and keeping the jars, so don't borrow one recipe's method for another. Without its bath, this relish keeps only in the fridge.
| Recipe | Tomatoes | Cooking | Jars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato relish | Green | About 10 minutes | 5-minute bath in sterilised jars |
| End-of-season relish | Green and ripe, with cabbage, celery and cucumber | About 40 minutes | 15-minute bath |
| Red tomato chutney | Ripe, skinned, with apple | About 1 hour | 10-minute bath |
| Green tomato chutney | Green, with apple and sultanas | About 1 hour 10 minutes | Hot-filled, following its own recipe's method |
The quick relish suits burgers, sausages and cheese.
Full batch or half batch
A full batch takes 4.5kg of green tomatoes; the recipe above is half that. Scale every ingredient together, never just the tomatoes.
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch |
|---|---|---|
| Green tomatoes | 4.5kg | 2.25kg |
| Red peppers | 680g | 340g |
| Green peppers | 680g | 340g |
| Onions | 900g | 450g |
| Pickling salt | 120ml | 60ml |
| Water | 950ml | 475ml |
| White sugar | 800g (about 950ml) | 400g (about 475ml) |
| Vinegar, 5% | 950ml | 475ml |
| Yellow mustard | 80ml | 40ml |
| Cornflour | 2 tbsp | 1 tbsp |
| Makes (470ml jars) | 7 to 9 | about 4 |
The processing time depends on the jar size and your height above sea level, so it stays the same for either batch.
Keep the recipe as written
The vinegar is what keeps this relish safe in the cupboard. The acid has to reach a minimum, even level right through the jar to stop botulism bacteria growing, so the balance of vinegar to vegetables matters as much as the processing. Don't reduce the vinegar or sugar, don't add extra vegetables such as chillies, don't add extra cornflour or another thickener, and weigh or measure everything carefully rather than estimating. Use white distilled or cider vinegar labelled 5% acidity, never one whose strength isn't stated. The same rule applies to any mix of fruit and veg in a preserve.
Pickling salt is best. Ordinary table salt, iodised or not, is safe, but its anti-caking agent can cloud the liquid. Avoid flaky sea salt: it varies in density, so a measured amount isn't reliable.
Jars, lids and the short bath
Use pint (about 470ml) canning jars with two-piece lids (a flat lid and a screw band): that is the only jar the 5-minute time was worked out for. Use a new flat lid every time. A bath this short doesn't sterilise the jars itself, so they must be sterilised before filling, and the same pan of hot water then does the processing. The guide to water-bath canning basics walks through the bath in more detail.
If you only have ordinary jam jars with twist-off lids, or you skip the bath, the relish won't keep in the cupboard. Store it in the fridge and eat it within a few days. There's more on closures in jars for preserving.
Parts of Scotland, from upland Aberdeenshire to the Southern Uplands, lie above 300m, where water boils at a lower temperature and both times go up:
| Height above sea level | Sterilise empty jars | Process filled jars |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 300m | 10 minutes | 5 minutes |
| 300m to 600m | 11 minutes | 10 minutes |
| 600m to 900m | 12 minutes | 10 minutes |
Checking the seal
When the jars have cooled, take off the screw bands and test each lid:
| Test | Sealed | Not sealed |
|---|---|---|
| Press the centre of the lid | Stays down | Springs back up |
| Tap it with a teaspoon | Clear, ringing note | Dull sound |
| Look across it at eye level | Curves slightly downwards | Flat or bulging |
Put a jar that hasn't sealed in the fridge and eat it within a few days. Or reprocess it within 24 hours: bring the relish back to the boil, check the rim for tiny nicks, use a freshly sterilised jar if that one is damaged, fit a new lid and process for the full time again.
Storing and opening
| Stage | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed | Clean, cool, dark, dry place (10–21°C) | Best used within a year |
| Opened | Fridge | Within a few weeks to a month or two |
| Unsealed or hot-filled only | Fridge | Eat soon, within a few days |
Store the jars without their screw bands, so the lids stay dry and a broken seal shows straight away. Keep them away from damp, which corrodes metal lids, and from a cooker, hot pipes or sunlight. Freezing can soften the relish and break a seal, so an unheated shed or garage is a poor store in a Scottish winter. Don't taste relish from a jar with a swollen lid, liquid that spurts out, mould or an odd smell. More on spoilage signs is in how long preserves keep.
Common questions
Can I make this with ripe red tomatoes?
No. The proportions are for small, hard green tomatoes only. Set aside any fruit that has started to colour and ripen it indoors instead.
Can I use English mustard or wholegrain mustard?
Keep to mild American mustard. English mustard is far hotter, and any swap changes a recipe whose balance has been tested.
Can I add chilli?
Keep to the listed vegetables and weights. Extra vegetables change the balance of vinegar to veg that keeps the relish safe.
Why is the brine drained away?
The salted water is only for the first 5-minute simmer. It is poured off before the vinegar, sugar, mustard and cornflour go in, so it doesn't dilute the vinegar.
Can I use less sugar or vinegar?
No. The vinegar is what keeps the relish safe to store, and the sugar is part of the same tested balance.
Can I just use jam jars and skip the bath?
Only if the jars go in the fridge and the relish is eaten within a few days.
Sources
Show the 14 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Pickled Green Tomato Relish (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): all ingredient quantities (small, hard green tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, onions, canning or pickling salt, water, sugar, 5% vinegar, prepared yellow mustard, cornstarch), yield (7 to 9 pints), grating or finely chopping, salt dissolved in water and poured over, boil and simmer 5 minutes, drain in colander, add sugar, vinegar, mustard and cornstarch, boil and simmer 5 minutes, sterile pint jars, ½ inch headspace, processing times (5 min at 0–1,000 ft, 10 min at 1,001–6,000 ft)
- Canning Tomatoes: Introduction (National Center for Home Food Preservation): don't use tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines
- Sterilization of Empty Jars (National Center for Home Food Preservation): sterilising needed for pickled products processed less than 10 minutes; jars upright on the rack, hot (not boiling) water 1 inch above the tops, boil 10 minutes below 1,000 ft plus 1 minute per extra 1,000 ft; remove and drain jars one at a time; save the hot water for processing
- Using Boiling Water Canners (National Center for Home Food Preservation): rack; 180°F (82°C) for hot-packed jars; pour water around, not onto, jars; at least 1 inch of water over jars; cover and heat to a vigorous boil; time from the boil; restart timing if the boil stops; heat off, lid off, wait 5 minutes; lift without tilting onto a towel, 1 inch apart; avoid cold surfaces and draughts; don't tighten bands; cool 12 to 24 hours
- Tomato-Apple Chutney (National Center for Home Food Preservation): removing air bubbles, adjusting headspace, wiping rims with a damp clean paper towel, two-piece metal canning lids
- Cooling Jars and Testing Jar Seals (National Center for Home Food Preservation): removing screw bands; press, tap and eye-level seal tests; checking for nicks and reprocessing within 24 hours with a new lid and the same time; unsealed jars refrigerated and eaten within several days
- Storing Home-Canned Foods (National Center for Home Food Preservation): clean, cool, dark, dry place at 50–70°F (10–21°C); best used within a year; storing without ring bands; damp corrodes lids; avoiding heat and sunlight; freezing can soften contents and break seals; spoilage signs; not tasting from unsealed or spoiled jars
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): relishes as chopped fruit and vegetables cooked with seasonings and vinegar; white distilled or cider vinegar of 5% acidity; 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; measure or weigh carefully
- 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
- Testing Jelly Without Added Pectin (National Center for Home Food Preservation): boiling point of water falls with altitude
- Chutney (Penn State Extension): chutney as a relish-type condiment; never reduce the vinegar
- Home Canning Equipment for Making Pickles (University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension): unchipped enamel or stainless steel pans; no copper, brass, iron or galvanised utensils
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation): lower bound of the opened-jar range (about 1 month in the fridge)
- 25 dirt-cheap ways to garden organically and save (Garden Organic): upper bound of the opened-jar range (opened chutney kept in the fridge)