pickled with pickling

The tomato plants continued to produce fruit into October even though the temperatures were cooking down. Though the plants had tomatoes, they were green and given the cool temperatures, I doubt they would ripen.

I had read one of my favorite blogs that I follow, Garden Betty, and she wrote about pickling her green tomatoes. I thought it was a great way to make use of the green tomatoes from the balcony garden.

I collected the green tomatoes from the plants and pickled them during the first weekend in October. I used the basic brine recipe from Garden Betty. I also followed her instructions for a curry flavored brine. And I made my version of a garlicky and hopefully spicy brine by using one of the cayenne peppers in each half quart jar. And I also had enough to make a Thai inspired brine using the lemongrass from the balcony garden and the rest of the cayenne peppers.

After a month in the fridge, I tried them. To my delight, my first time pickling was a success. They tasted pretty damn good if I say so myself. The green tomatoes still had a crunch and a snap to it. The brine mellowed out. It wasn't too salty and the flavored vinegar permeated the green tomatoes.

TH also liked them!

I must say that the curry flavored pickled green tomatoes were okay. It has a peculiar taste but I think it has to do with the curry powder I used. I think I will have to use a different or higher quality curry that compliment the green tomato and try pickling again with curry powder.