What takes soup beans to another level? Chow Chow.

As promised, here is the chow chow relish recipe my mom uses, which apparently came from my mammaw.  My mom said she thinks it is probably a Ball recipe.  She uses green tomatoes and green peppers, yellow onions.  My mom also informed me that this can be used on sandwiches/hot dogs.

This is a hot pack canning recipe, so you'll need canning jars, canning lids, and the canning lid bands.  Make sure your lids and bands fit the jars.

Other equipment: large cutting board, chef knife, large sauce pan or stock pot, a sachet, small pan to heat canning lids

Chow Chow Relish

Ingredients:

1 gallon cabbage, chopped
12 onions, finely chopped
18 green peppers, chopped
2 qts. green tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. canning/pickling salt
2-3 qts. vinegar
5 c. sugar
4 Tbsp ground mustard
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 Tbsp ground ginger
4 Tbsp mustard seed
3 Tbsp celery seed
2 Tbsp whole pickling spices (put these in a sachet)

(beans and cornbread)

Process:

1)  Chop onion, pepper, cabbage, and tomatoes and mix with the 1/2 cup of canning salt.  Let stand overnight.
2)  Drain the vegetables.
3)  Stir vinegar, sugar and spices all together in a large sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook 20 minutes.
5)  Add the drained vegetables, bring to a boil, and simmer until hot and well seasoned. 
6)  While that is simmering start warming jars and boil water in small pan to heat up your lids.  Once lids are in boiling water, turn temperature down to where it will keep the lids warm and seal supple.
7)  Remove sachet of pickling spices.
8)  When ready pack hot chow chow into clean hot jars and run table knife in and through chow chow to help remove air bubbles.  Shake down and fill up to 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.  Run a clean cloth around top of the jar making sure it is clear of any debris.  Put lid on jar, and hand tighten bands over lids. 

Notes:
1) Keep chow chow simmering so it is hot when you pack it into the jar.  Do one jar at a time so it stays nice and hot to aid sealing. 
2) With the size of the cabbage heads in the stores, you may need 3 heads of cabbage to get a gallon of chopped cabbage.  It depends on the size and density of the cabbage heads.
3) My mom also uses yellow onions.
4) You want it chunky, so if you use a food processor to speed it up, don't overdo it.
5) Keep jars warm (in the oven or with warm water in the sink with the hottest water you have).