Tomatoes, along with cucumbers, are one of the most beloved vegetables in Russia, and many different methods are used to preserve them for the winter. But perhaps not everyone knows that not only ripe red, yellow, orange and other colorful tomatoes can be preserved for the winter, but also unripe, green ones.
Unlike their mature counterparts, they cannot be eaten immediately, since they still contain a high content of a toxic substance - solanine. But they are ideal for various preparations for the winter. After all, to neutralize solanine, there are two main ways: either soak green tomatoes for several hours in salt water, or subject them to heat treatment, for example, blanching. Therefore, both the method of pouring hot brine and cold pickling green tomatoes are equally suitable to ensure that the preparation for the winter no longer contains toxic substances at all, but, on the contrary, would delight with its taste and content of useful elements.
Many people prefer to prepare vegetables, and, in particular, green tomatoes without vinegar, rightly believing that vinegar does not always improve the taste of finished products, and besides, it may not be beneficial for every stomach. And there are many similar recipes, so there is always plenty to choose from.
Standard cold pickling recipe
If you seriously decide to start preparing green tomatoes for the winter, then the simplest and most attractive way to make them involves using the so-called cold pickling.
Well, the taste of such a dish is in no way inferior to the famous pickled cucumbers, and you can crunch them to your heart’s content, unlike their soft, ripe counterparts.
Since green tomatoes themselves have a fairly neutral, only slightly sour taste, they readily absorb all the aromas and taste characteristics of the accompanying spices. That is why it is so important to use as many different herbs and spices as possible, remembering that in this case there cannot be too many spices.
Below is a list of spices that are highly desirable to use when cold pickling green tomatoes. The quantity indicated is approximately 10 kg of tomatoes. If some spices disgust you, you can safely do without them.
- Dill (herb and inflorescences) – 200 g;
- Parsley – 50 g;
- Basil – 50 g;
- Celery – 50 g;
- Cilantro – 50 g;
- Marjoram -25 g;
- Tarragon (Tarragon) – 25 g;
- Savory – 25 g;
- Horseradish leaves – 4-5 pieces;
- Horseradish rhizomes – 100 g;
- Cherry leaves – 15-20 pieces;
- Black currant leaves -15-20 pieces;
- Oak leaves – 5-6 pieces;
- Laurel leaves – 5-6 pieces;
- Black peppercorns – 10-12;
- Allspice peas – 12-15;
- Garlic – 1-2 heads;
- Hot pepper – 2 pods;
- Cloves – 5-8 pieces;
- Mustard seeds – 10 g;
- Coriander seeds – 6-8 g.
The cold salting process itself is completely simple. You just need to choose a container of a suitable size, focusing on the number of green tomatoes that you have available.
The prepared dishes must be thoroughly washed and disinfected by scalding with boiling water.
The tomatoes themselves are also well washed in several waters and dried. If you want to try the first pickled tomatoes within a few weeks, then prick the tomatoes in several places with a fork or needle, or even cut them. In this case, they will be salted much faster, but will be stored for a maximum of several months.
If, on the contrary, it is in your interests that the tomatoes be stored as long as possible until spring, then you should not damage their shell. In this case, it makes sense to try cooked tomatoes no earlier than 1.5-2 months from the moment of pickling.
Line the bottom of the prepared dish with a mixture of spices and place green tomatoes tightly, sprinkling and arranging them with spices. When the dishes are almost completely filled, you can fill everything with brine. According to the recipe, the water for the brine must be boiled along with salt, unless you have access to clean spring or well water. For a liter of water used, take 70 g of salt. After boiling the brine, it must be cooled and strained.
If you use spring water, you can sprinkle the tomatoes themselves with salt and pour clean cold water over them. Now the tomatoes are covered with a clean cloth, and a flat vessel with a load is placed on top.
Pickled green tomatoes can be kept in the room for no more than 5 days. Then they must be moved to a cold place - to a cellar or basement.
New Year's Salad
This recipe is quite easy to make green tomato salad for the winter without vinegar. The dish turns out so beautiful and delicious that it is quite worthy to be a decoration on your New Year's table.
Prepare:
- Green tomatoes – 6 kg;
- Green apples – 2 kg;
- Onions – 1 kg;
- Sweet bell pepper, preferably red and orange - 1 kg;
- Carrots – 2 kg;
- Salt – 100 grams.
All vegetables with apples are washed and cleared of seeds. Tomatoes are cut into thin slices - they will retain their shape due to the density of the unripe fruits.
Peppers and carrots are cut into strips, and apples into thin half-slices. All components are mixed well with salt in a separate bowl. Then cover them with a towel and leave them for about 6-8 hours in a warm room. You can leave it overnight.
During this time, a brine from vegetable juice is formed in the vessel. You will use it last when seaming. The next step is to prepare a large deep frying pan and a cauldron. Pour two glasses of any vegetable oil into it, heat it up and add green tomatoes, peppers, apples and carrots without brine to the oil with a slotted spoon. Pour one glass of granulated sugar on top of everything and mix. Bring to a boil.
During this time, prepare sterile jars, preferably small, about one liter. Place the mixture of vegetables and apples in jars and fill with brine. Finally, jars of salad must be sterilized for about 20 minutes and only then rolled up.
You can store this tomato preparation in a normal room, not necessarily in the cold.
Spicy tomatoes
Cold-salted tomatoes acquire a very bright and interesting taste when they are cut in various ways and stuffed with all sorts of delicious fillings.
When the tomatoes are tightly packed in a suitable container, they are filled with ordinary brine and a weight is placed on top of the plate or on the lid. In the future, everything happens approximately as in the case of the first recipe. The readiness of tomatoes can be checked within a couple of weeks after salting, so this method can safely be called accelerated.
If the previous recipe was intended mainly for women and even children, then these tomatoes with garlic should appeal to the taste of the stronger half of humanity.
So, to prepare a spicy green tomato appetizer, look for:
- 3 kg of green tomatoes;
- 2 heads of garlic;
- 3 pods of hot pepper, preferably red;
- 100 grams each of celery and parsley;
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds;
- 100 grams of horseradish rhizome and several of its leaves;
- 50 grams of sugar.
To begin with, garlic, pepper, herbs, and horseradish rhizome are crushed using a meat grinder. Of course, you can just finely chop all the vegetables and herbs with a knife. Mustard seeds and granulated sugar are added to them and everything is thoroughly mixed.
Tomatoes, as mentioned above, can be cut into halves not completely, or you can simply cut them into several parts. Next, the entire herbal-vegetable mixture is added to the tomatoes, and they are coated with it on all sides.In this form, green tomatoes should stand for about an hour while the brine is prepared. This recipe uses a fairly standard brine concentration - 50-60 grams of salt are added per 1 liter. Pour cold brine over the tomatoes in vegetable seasoning and put everything under pressure as usual.
Using the above recipes, you are unlikely to let unripe tomatoes go to waste, which you may not have previously been able to find a use for. And your supply of preparations for the winter will be replenished with delicious and vitamin-rich snacks.
