Tomato Pickles

[Zuul]

Yes, you read that thread title right.

I seriously grossed out a friend when he asked me what I was doing yesterday. "Oh, just pickling a bunch of tomatoes."

They're simple refrigerator pickles mostly with some firm little yellow pear tomatoes and sprinklings of various other varieties, including some gorgeous orange heritage tomatoes and a few unripened cherries. It was getting cold and while I was drying as many of the ripe red ones as I could, there was no way I was going to be able to dry them all before they started going bad.

So. Pickles!

I boiled white vinegar with kosher salt. In each jar I laid down a slice of onion, a clove of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, some whole peppercorns, and a dash each of ground mustard, allspice, and paprika. One jar--dubbed the spicy jar--got a jalapeno from the garden. Then in went the tomatoes, topped with one more slice of onion. Once the vinegar was cool enough, I poured it in on top and, sealed them up, dated them, and stuck them in the back of the fridge. They should be ready for eating in about a week and will keep for months.

Anybody else ever pickle tomatoes, or something even weirder?

[Sarahfeena]

I've never made them, but I love pickled tomatoes. There's a drive-in hot dog stand her in Chicago called Superdawg which always includes a pickled green tomato with your order. Yum.

I don't think I have enough good tomatoes to make them this year, but I'm going to talk to my husband about planting some different kinds next year. What varieties do you most recommend?

[Zuul]

I've always had fantastic luck with the yellow pear cultivar. They can be slow to start, but once they start producing I've got to pick every day. They're small, firm, sweet and work wonderfully for pickling. However, I've never tried drying them, since they're too good in other things to save them for that!

For other cultivars, I'm not so sure what to recommend. I seem to have better luck with smaller ones, though. They don't weigh the plant down as much and ripen faster, so that there's less time for critters to get to them. We have a few beefsteak in there, but definitely end up being able to use more of the smaller ones.

This year, we've got them all planted on a sunny, eastern facing slope. They've been mulched with hay and have been watered by hand since we had a dry summer. They were absolutely babied and they've responded wonderfully to it.

[D. Fenestrator]

Those sound really good - I haven't had pickled tomatoes, but I like pickles in general. Hmm. They sound relatively simple to make, as well. I guess I will have to plant more tomatoes next year so I can experiment!

[Sarahfeena]

Thanks for a great idea, Zuul!

[Exy]

I didn't even know that was a thing, that sounds fucking great. I'm too lazy to pickle, can I buy them anywhere?

[Zuul]

I'm not sure where you might be able to get them in your area, but it looks like you can order them online. It's really not hard at all, though. If you've already got a brine--such as the leftover juice from a jar of pickles--you can pretty much just drop them in there and let them go. We did that our first year of pickling and they turned out great.

[Hatshepsut]

I love pickled green tomatoes! But I've never made them. I have, however, made pickled jalepeno and Hungarian peppers many times, as we used to have pepper plants that produced obscene amounts of them.

[Oliveloaf]

I've never made them, but I love pickled tomatoes. There's a drive-in hot dog stand her in Chicago called Superdawg which always includes a pickled green tomato with your order. Yum.

I don't think I have enough good tomatoes to make them this year, but I'm going to talk to my husband about planting some different kinds next year. What varieties do you most recommend?

I always get my daughter's and wife's because they wont eat them. Crunchy, zesty yum.

[Zenster]

I didn't even know that was a thing, that sounds fucking great. I'm too lazy to pickle, can I buy them anywhere?

Look for Tomolives at any well-stocked liquor store or gourmet grocer.

Another delicious preparation is pickled okra. This product is especially tasty for people who dislike the gooey texture of overcooked okra.

[Roxy Rouge]

Anybody else ever pickle tomatoes, or something even weirder?

I pickle okra (mentioned above), green beans, tomatoes, beets, peppers, quail eggs...the list is endless! I usually quick pickle, so no canning required. This is something anyone can do--I started the way someone mentioned above: Add some washed veggies to store bought pickle brine and wait a few days.

I advanced to making my own brines with varying spices and flavors. The thing to remember with quick pickling is to keep your ingredients submerged in the brine.