Bread And Butter Pickled Green Tomatoes

Total Time: 30 hrs Preparation Time: 29 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 7 lbs green tomatoes
• 1 cup pickling lime (can be found in grocery stores where canning supplies are located)
• 5 lbs sugar
• 1 1/2 quarts white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 5 small cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
• 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds

Recipe

• 1 wash tomatoes thoroughly, cut away any blemishes or bad spots, and cut into 1/4" thick slices.
• 2 combine 2 gallons water and pickling lime in a large glass or plastic bowl; not metal.
• 3 add tomatoes, and soak for 24 hours, mixing a couple times.
• 4 drain tomatoes, cover with fresh water, and soak 4 hours longer, changing water every 1/2 hour, then rinse and drain well.
• 5 in a large nonreactive pot, combine vinegar and sugar, and bring to a boil.
• 6 while the mixture is heating, combine all spices in a double layer of rinsed cheesecloth, and tie cheesecloth into a pouch with string.
• 7 place spice-pouch in boiling syrup, and continue to boil for 15 minutes.
• 8 remove from heat, and add sliced tomatoes.
• 9 stir gently, cover with a clean towel, and let stand overnight, stirring gently a couple of times if you think of it.
• 10 in the morning, bring the syrup and tomatoes to a simmer, gently mixing occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until tomatoes are translucent.
• 11 remove and discard spice pouch.
• 12 meanwhile sterilize 6 1-pint canning jars and lids according to manufacturers directions.
• 13 layer hot tomatoes in hot sterilized jars to about 1/2" below the rim.
• 14 pour hot syrup over top, covering tomatoes by 1/4" and leaving 1/4" of head space.
• 15 slide a plastic chopstick or wooden skewer along the insides of the jars to release air , and tap each jar lightly on counter a couple of times to release more.
• 16 wipe the mouth of each jar with a clean damp cloth, place a hot sterilized lid on each jar, and screw on bands firmly.
• 17 process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes, starting timing after water returns to a boil.
• 18 cool, making sure that lids have sealed.
• 19 jars that leak during processing or don’t seal should be stored in the refrigerator and used within a couple of weeks.
• 20 store sealed jars at room temperature if desired.
• 21 pickles can be served after 24 hours but are better if allowed to mellow in a cool, dry place for 2-3 weeks before using.