Homemade Chow Chow Relish Recipe [Canning Recipe] - Beyond Flour (2024)

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I’m sure this will end up being a controversial recipe on this blog, but hey... I don’t really have any that are potential feather-rufflers, so why not? 🙂

Today I’m sharing my recipe for homemade chow chow relish - a maritime green tomato relish that is most popular in Nova Scotia, but can also be found in Quebec. (Where it's a bit less sweet, and referred to as "green tomato ketchup" ... despite not really being anything similar to actual ketchup!)

This tangy relish is usually used on Tourtière (Have you tried my Gluten Free Tourtiere?), on french fries, with hamburgers, brats, or hot dogs, basically any way you’d use a normal pickle relish.

It can be used to brighten up almost any basic meat, including chicken, pork, and fish. Adding a bit to hot pork sandwiches is *chef’s kiss*.

Because this recipe is properly canned, it’s shelf stable - and makes a great gift - especially for displaced Nova Scotians!

This recipe was originally published in my 2016 Cookbook, “More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from My Home and Native Land”, as it was a popular request from expats that had come from that corner of our country, after all!

This recipe involves a little work - and starting things out the day before - but it can easily be doubled, if you know you’ll use a lot!

As-is, it makes about 8 cups, or 4 pints.

If you’re not from the southern United States, you may find yourself wondering what controversy there could possibly be in a relish recipe, so let’s get to it!

What is Chow Chow?

As *I* - a Canadian - know it, chow chow is a green tomato relish, flavoured with green peppers, celery, onion and spices. It is VERY much an East Coast thing.

If you’re in the USA, you’re likely to see it as VERY much a Southern US thing - with southern chow chow recipe in no way resembling the recipe you’re about to be presented with!

The southern favorite can be made with a much bigger variety of vegetables. This usually includes green cabbage and red bell peppers, sometimes including cauliflower and/or red tomatoes*.

It’s more of a “use what you have on hand” kind of thing, and less rigid with the guidelines we have up here. The general idea can vary from state to state, and
apple cider vinegar is frequently used instead of the white vinegar I’m used to working with.

Sometimes, chow chow ends up being a spicy relish, with the addition of jalapeno peppers and/or red pepper flakes!

* Note: We DO have a more loosely-defined pickled relish that involves red tomatoes - ketchup aux fruits - but it also involves the inclusion of fruit... shockingly enough 🙂

Anyway, the American version can be used the same way that Nova Scotia chow chow gets used, but also gets used in other ways - served with a side of cornbread, it’s a popular accent for a bowl of pinto beans, etc.

It even gets served over cream cheese with crackers, in the way I serve my Pepper Jelly!

Someday, I’m going to have to try this version with the bowl of beans or with the cream cheese. Sounds interesting!

Where did Chow Chow Come From?

Well, no one really knows for sure.

Given history / migration, the theory that it original traveled to the USA from (what is now) Nova Scotia during the expulsion of the Acadian people makes the most sense to me.

The naming is a point of confusion, though - there’s a theory that it comes from the French word for cabbage (chou) ... but the Canadian version doesn’t involve cabbage.

I suppose it could have at one point, though I’ve never heard of it including red peppers!

Anyway, enough about the history and theories, let’s talk about the actual recipe!

Equipment

This recipe involves actual canning, so you’ll want a few pieces of basic canning equipment:

- Sterilized Canning Jars

- NEW flat lids for those canning jars

- Rings / screw bands for the jars. (You can reuse these!)

- A jar lifter and canning funnel. These are usually available as parts of a canning set, but I usually don't use MOST of the stuff included in those!

- A vessel for your hot water bath. This can be a boiling water canner, a large pot, or a steam canner.

- Cheesecloth and kitchen twine, OR a spice bag.

Chow Chow Relish Ingredients

This recipe uses super basic ingredients, most of which can be found at any grocery store.

You will need:

Green Tomatoes

You’ll want firm tomatoes that have smooth skin and no blemishes, spots, holes, pests, etc.

If you’re not growing your own tomato plants, I usually find it easiest to find them at a local farmer’s market. If they’re not being sold green, I find that vendors are usually cool about taking a pre-order for green ones for the following week.

Notes: 6 lbs of green tomatoes usually works out to about 6 large tomatoes.

The Other Vegetables

Green bell peppers

Large yellow or white onions

Celery

The Pickling Liquid

Granulated sugar (You can use brown sugar, but it’ll taste a bit different - on account of the molasses)

White Vinegar

Pickling salt

Pickling spices

Mustard powder / Dry mustard

Turmeric

Note: I like to use the mix of pickling spices with the extra mustard powder and turmeric, but you can make your own spice mix using whole spices - peppercorns, mustard seeds, celery seed, etc - if you prefer.

Tips for Making Homemade Chow Chow

Sterilizing the Jars

Because this is meant to be shelf stable for a long time, you’ll want to observe proper food safety when canning it.

Everything - jars, lids, rings, ladle, and funnel - should be properly sterilized before you start cooking.

This can be either through boiling them in water for a few minutes, or running them through a dishwasher on a hot cycle.

If you’re using used jars, they should be washed with hot soapy water before going into the dishwasher. Generally speaking, I’ll ONLY run the canning stuff through - no other dishes with them.

Wash your hands thoroughly before touching any of the sterilized items, and avoid touching any area that will touch food.

While you can use previously-used jars for canning, you need new lids for each new batch. Previously-used lids run the risk of not forming a proper seal when re-used.

About the Salt

Pickling salt is usually available with the canning supplies in any grocery store.

You’ll want to use this, rather than regular table salt – the anti-caking additives in table salt can make your pickle brine go murky and ugly.

Alternately, you can use kosher salt - just be sure that it doesn’t contain additives!

Chopped vs Sliced

As-is, this recipe calls for the vegetables to be sliced. That’s the way I first had chow chow, so that became the One True Way to me.

That said, some people prefer to use chopped vegetables in chow chow - you do you! Aim for uniformly sized pieces if you’re chopping them.

More Canadian Recipes!

Looking for more recipes from the ‘great white north’? Look no further!

Gluten-Free Bacon Poutine Pizza
Gluten Free Beaver Tail Recipe
Gluten-Free Butter Tart Bars
Gluten Free Butter Tarts
Gluten-Free Cod Au Gratin

Gluten-Free Chicken Mushroom Tourtiere
Gluten Free Imperial Cookies Recipe
Gluten-Free Nanaimo Bar Brownies
Gluten Free Puffed Rice Bars
Gluten-Free Schmoo Torte
Gluten Free Tourtiere

Looking for even more Canadian recipes? Check out our full Gluten-Free Canadian Recipes list!

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @BeyondFlourBlog - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

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