Pickled Green Tomatoes

When the season ends and you’ve still got green tomatoes on the vine, this is what you do with them. Pack them into hot quart jars with garlic, celery, and hot peppers, then pour a boiled dill and vinegar brine over the top and seal.

The brine is straightforward: water, vinegar, salt, and dill cooked together for five minutes. That brief simmer dissolves the salt completely and infuses the liquid with dill flavor before it goes into the jars. Hot brine into hot jars is the rule for a proper seal.

Green tomatoes hold their firm, tart texture through the pickling process beautifully. They don’t go mushy the way ripe tomatoes would, which is exactly why they’re one of the best vegetables for pickling.

Pro Tips

• Use firm, fully green tomatoes. Any that are starting to blush or soften will break down in the brine.
• Keep jars hot until you’re ready to fill them. A cold jar can crack when you pour in hot brine, and it won’t seal properly.
• Fill to within ½ inch of the top. That headspace is necessary for the vacuum seal to form as the jars cool.
• Tuck a whole hot chili pepper into each jar for heat that builds over time as the pickles cure.

Variations

• Dill and mustard seed: Add a teaspoon of yellow mustard seed to each jar for a classic deli-style pickle flavor.
• Half-sour style: Cut the salt in half and refrigerate instead of canning for a lighter, crunchier pickle that’s ready in a week.