Chow Chow aka Cha Cha aka Green Relish

Whatever you choose to call it, and whatever choice of ingredients and spices you use, this relish is delicious and just delightful with burgers or brats (among other things). The first time I heard of this relish was in a recipe from my mother-in-law, now deceased. She called it Green Tomato Relish, and I never knew it had another name, or more than one other name. I assumed at the time that it was called "Green" Relish because it used green tomatoes, green cabbage and  green peppers, ergo "green relish."

Chow Chow

Earlier this year, when our friend Rich arrived with a couple of fishing buddies to stay for 5 days, one of the buddies had been here once before, a few years back. When he returned home both that time years ago and this time, he sent a gift in thanks for our hospitality. This time, based on a recipe we were talking about, it was a jar of Chow Chow, made by his wife from an old family recipe. They are from Mississippi, originally. The jar of Chow Chow arrived along with the recipe, and the suggestion that it is wonderful eaten with Black-Eyed Peas, for New Years. While I have yet to ever eat black eyed peas, much less for New Years, I was interested in the Chow Chow recipe. 

Chow Chow just canned

When reading the recipe through, I was struck by the thought that this sounded a LOT like my mother-in-law's Green Relish! I got the recipe out to check, side by side. There were definitely similarities; parallels. There were a few differences. Then, shortly after that, I received my issue of Saveur magazine, and in an article on Blacks in Nova Scotia was a recipe for Chow Chow, a recipe that came to Nova Scotia via the Blacks in the Caribbean, via the deep South and slavery and on up to freedom in Nova Scotia. This recipe also had a lot of similarities to the other two, and again, some differences. Okay, then! Apparently with this recipe came just one too many coincidences.

I first sat down to compare the three recipes in three columns, to see who used what and how much. I did not place amounts in this table, because the amounts were for different sizes of recipe. My mother-in-law used green tomatoes and cabbage in large amounts, and onion and green peppers only in small amount. She used pickling spice, probably to cover some of the other spices in a bulk application. She seemed partial to cider vinegar in general and used very small amounts of celery and mustard seeds. The recipe from the fishing buddy's wife used no green tomatoes at all, and large amounts of celery seeds and mustard seeds, as well as a large amount of mustard powder. The recipe from Saveur magazine used green tomatoes, onion and green and red bell pepper, but no cabbage. They used brown mustard seeds instead of yellow, and a lot of other spices not called for in the first two recipes. 
 

Comparison of three recipes

True to form, I also went online and perused a multitude of recipes for Chow Chow, noting similarities and differences. Some used cucumbers and some used corn as either additions or substitutions for some other vegetables. The few ingredients that seemed ubiquitous to all recipes in some form were:

• onions
• bell peppers
• mustard seeds
• sugar
• vinegar

Beyond those, there was a whole lot of variation!  

So, what is Chow Chow? 

Chow Chow is a relish; a sweet, spiced pickled relish, sometimes with addition of hot peppers and/or cayenne for spice. What to use it for is totally up to you. Most often online, it was pictured served over hot dogs or hamburgers, but obviously, from the fishing buddy's recipe's advice to use it with black eyed peas, there are far more uses for it than are immediately apparent. 

Prepping the vegetables for making Chow Chow is a snap using a food processor. My mother-in-law's recipe called for grinding all the vegetables in an old-fashioned meat grinder. Since I happen to have one, I used it the first time around, when making her Green Tomato Relish. This time around, I used my food processor. While the grind is more coarse than when using the meat grinder, it is perfectly acceptable. However you choose to prep the vegetables, they will need to be mixed with salt and placed in the fridge overnight. Next day, before proceeding with the recipe, the vegetables will need to be well drained in a colander before proceeding with the recipe.

When I finally sat down to decide on what ingredients I wanted to use to make my own Chow Chow, I was certain I wanted to use green tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, some Anaheim peppers and onions. I wanted to use brown mustard seeds because they are supposedly hotter, and I wanted a tiny bit of heat. I used a good amount of mustard powder also, and celery seed in larger amount rather than smaller. I used turmeric, as I wanted the yellow color, and some sweet spices. Here is what I did:

Chow Chow

Chow Chow

Makes 8½ pints

(Takes 2 days)

DAY 1:
3¼ pounds green Roma tomatoes (22 - 24 tomatoes / 8 cups chopped)
2 pounds assorted peppers (I used 2 green and 2 red bell peppers plus 3 Anaheim chilies / 4 cups chopped in total)
3½ pounds sweet onions (4 large / 10 cups ground)
¼ cup Canning Salt or Kosher Salt
------------

DAY 2:
1 quart cider vinegar
3 cups granulated sugar
2 cinnamon sticks (4-inches each)
3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon ground mustard powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves

DAY 1: Have a large nonreactive bowl ready. Cut vegetables into like-sized chunks and process, pulsing, until they are of a relatively uniform, small size, but not too fine. Add them to the bowl as they are ready. Once all the vegetables are chopped, add in the salt and with clean hands, mix the vegetables well, to evenly distribute the salt all through. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the next day.

DAY 2: Have a large canning pot ready with already simmering water to cover 8 or 9 pint canning jars. Drain the vegetables in one or two large colanders. While the vegetables are draining, set a large pot on the stove with the vinegar and sugar, stirring to mix and dissolve sugar. Add in all the spices and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Gently press out any liquid from the vegetables, then add them to the simmering vinegar, sugar and spice mixture. Raise heat and bring to boil, then reduce to maintain a strong simmer and time for 30 minutes.

When done, have ready to hand:

• tongs (for lifting hot jars from the water bath)
• a clean wet cloth (for wiping down rims and threads of the jars),
• a wide mouth funnel (for filling the jars),
• a ladle (for ladling the mixture into the jars),
• a butter knife (to run through the jars, removing air bubbles before sealing),
• a jar lifter (for lifting jars without disturbing the seals)
• and hot pads.

Using the tongs, lift one hot jar from its simmering water, draining well. Place near the pot of Chow Chow and set the funnel into the jar mouth. Fill the jar to within ¼ to ½-inch from the top, making sure there is enough liquid to cover the vegetables to that level. Lift another jar from the boiling water and set it near the first. Remove the funnel from jar 1 and set onto jar 2. Wipe the rim and thread of jar 1 with the wet cloth. Using the tongs, lift one lid and run it through the hot water briefly, then set it in place on jar 1. Screw a ring over the lid just gently snug. Set that jar aside, then repeat this process with all the remaining jars and Chow Chow mixture.

Once all jars are removed from the canning pot, insert the canning rack, ensuring there is still plenty of simmering water in the pot. Set the sealed jars into the rack and lower the rack into the pot. The water should come to between 1 to 2 inches above the tops of the jars. If not, have a pot of water at a simmer and add the hot water until it reaches this level. Bring to a boil. Once it reaches boiling, cover and reduce heat slightly, just enough so that it maintains boiling point. Time the jars according to this table:

1 - 1,000 feet above sea level - 10 minutes
1,001 - 6,000 feet above sea level - 15 minutes
Above 6,001 feet above sea level - 20 minutes

Once this time has elapsed, lift the canning rack up to the edges of the pot and using a jar lifter, lift the jars to a towel covered and draft-free counter. They should seal with a hearteningly loud POP. Sometimes this occurs almost immediately upon lifting the jar out of its boiling water. 


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