Quick Pickled Green Tomatoes

I used to love, love pickled green tomatoes, but I had never made any.  I think I was always a little afraid to, and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice future red tomatoes.  A few days ago, one of my caged tomato plants fell over and it knocked off two green tomatoes.  Ah, so I could now experiment without guilt!  Here’s what I did to make refrigerator pickled green tomatoes.  

I used one quart jar.  I put in:

1 cup of white vinegar

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of pickling salt  (don’t use iodized table salt)

1 clove of garlic that I smashed a bit

hot pepper flakes or fresh hot pepper - a dab or a lot - your choice

some dill weed from the garden that I chopped just a little bit

(If you have dill seed, use that.   I used just the leaves because it’s what I have in the garden right now. )

*I also used some crushed coriander seed because I had it, but I don’t know if it really made any difference in flavor. 

Stir the salt in the mixture until it is dissolved.  Stick your finger in and taste to see if you think you need more salt.  You won’t be able to tell about the garlic of the hotness yet.  Just do it by feel.  

Core the green tomatoes and cut them into big chunks and put in the jar.  Stick the whole thing in the fridge for at least a day.  Two days would be better.  There’s nothing left to do now but eat ‘em!   

Don’t throw this mixture out!  You can keep adding vegetables to it as you go.  If you think you would like more garlic or more salt or more heat, just add to the jar.  You don’t have to start over.  Just always keep the jar in the refrigerator.  I would use each batch within a few weeks for the best quality.  

If you think it’s too sour, you can add a bit more water. Since they are refrigerator pickles, you don’t have to have as much acid for safety.  

I have heard of some people using pickled tomatoes for their fried green tomatoes.  That sounds interesting.  Let me know how yours turn out!  

Eat well, Y’all!!!