Last weekend we helped the Chastain family make pickles! They’ve been making them for 36 years.
Gerald Chastain is the ring leader. He organizes each year’s pickling and makes sure every thing needed is ready for the two day event.
The first step is getting enough small green tomatoes for everyone. Gerald buys them from a farm not too far away. Several folks go along to help pick them. We were planning to go this year until my sinus infection knocked that in the head as Granny would say.
Late of an evening on the day the tomatoes are picked folks gather at the community center to make the first part of the brine. Gerald said way back there he tried doing it on the same day, but just like the woman who shared the recipe with him said, the tomatoes turned out mushy.
The salt water mixture is allowed to cool over night and early the next day starts the race to the fill the jars.
This year the total jars filled was 272. There have been years the count was almost 500!
Most of the jars are filled with a mixture of green tomatoes and peppers, but there’s also a few jars of okra and just peppers.
The perfect size green tomato for pickling is about the size of a golf ball. The small tomatoes are quartered before putting them in a jar.
Any tomatoes that are a larger size are sliced before putting in the jar.
Peppers can be added whole if small or sliced to better fit. Hot, sweet, or a mixture of both can be used.
A lot of the peppers and okra came from various gardens here in Cherokee County including Gerald’s.
In case you want to try it here’s the recipe Gerald uses.
Pickled Green Tomatoes, Okra, and Peppers
Put 1 and 1/4 cups canning/pickling salt in one gallon water. Bring it to a hard boil then cover and let it sit overnight.
The next day, cut your tomatoes and peppers (or okra) and pack them in jars.
Add 1/2 gallon white vinegar (5% acidity) to the salt water and bring to a hard boil again.
Heat your seals in a pot of water while the vinegar and water are heating.
When the mixture comes to a hard boil dip it out and fill jars. Put seal and ring on and tighten.
This recipe makes approximately 10 quarts or 20 pints.
They are ready to eat in a couple of days but are better after a week.
If the tomatoes or peppers have been in the refrigerator, take them out and let them come to room temperature before packing in jars.
—Recipe from Gerald Chastain
Gerald told me he was at a get together and a lady from Hiwassee Dam offered him a green tomato pickle. He told her “No thank you I don’t eat pickles.” She insisted he try one even telling him he could spit it out if he didn’t like it. He liked it so much he got the recipe from her and shared it with the rest of his family.
This is my second year getting to be part of the Chastain pickle day and I enjoyed it just as much as the first go round. Matt tagged along and he thoroughly enjoyed it too! Such a wonderful feeling to be with friends and loved ones and work together towards a common goal. There’s always laughter, good fellowship and food, and at the end of the day the feeling of a job well done and a load of pickles to enjoy in the coming year.
Last night’s video: Ground Cherry Salsa & The Sweetest Watermelon We’ve Ever Grown!
Tipper
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