Pickled Tomatoes and Cucumbers - Generational Recipe

Growing up I remember my mother always canning vegetables and preserves in the summer time. Pickled tomatoes were my favorite, which was usually a special occasion, like a birthday or a New Year celebration, treat. Now as an adult I would always enjoy pickled tomatoes and cucumbers on my trips back home. This summer I am extra lucky since my mother is visiting me during the harvest time. I asked her to teach me how to pickle tomatoes and cucumbers. Below is the recipe I followed that my mom has been using for decades and it has some folklore elements in it too.

Ingredients per 1 24 oz jar

For tomatoes:

0.5 litter of water
1 lbs (+/- as many as you can fit in a jar) of small round tomatoes (used red delight)
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of vinegar (5%)
2-3 fresh dill umbrellas
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
5 peppercorns
5 allspice
2 thin slices of fresh horseradish root
1 sprig of fresh Italian parsley
2-3 fresh small peeled garlic cloves (if large cut in half)


For cucumbers:


0.5 litter of water
Small to medium size pickling cucumbers, as many as you can fit in a jar, washed and bottoms cut off on both sides
1 tablespoon of salt
0.5 tablespoon of sugar
3 tablespoons of vinegar (5%)
2-3 fresh dill umbrellas
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
5 allspice
10 yellow mustard seeds
2 thin slices of fresh horseradish root
1 sprig of fresh Italian parsley
2-3 fresh small peeled garlic cloves (if large cut in half)

Preparation:

1. Wash the jars as described on a box, dry with a towel. They must be clean. My mom washes them with baking soda or salt. It must be the way they used to do it. Also less unknown ingredients this way. But regular dish soap is fine as well.

2. Add tomatoes to the jars, filling them almost to the top. Then add cloves, peppercorns, allspice, garlic, bay leaf, horseradish, dill umbrellas and parsley. Do the same for cucumbers except omit cloves but add mustard seeds. Follow ingredients list above.

3. In a big pot bring water, salt and sugar to a boil and pour into the jars, filling to the top, cover with the lids and let stand for 20 minutes. Note that ratio of sugar and salt differs for tomatoes and cucumbers. Follow ingredients list above. After 20 minutes pour the liquid from the jars back into the pot and bring to a boil. Pour the hot liquid back into the jars filling them almost to the top, add vinegar and close the jars. Make sure the lid is on tight and turn the jars upside down and cover all the jars with a blanket overnight.

4. The next morning take the jars from under the blanket and store in a cool dark environment until ready to eat. We usually let them marinate for a month or more or until Thanksgiving. If you see bubbles or the liquid gets very cloudy it means something went wrong and you should just get rid of the jars.