Since Ilya and I moved from a downtown apartment to our house in Wedgwood, we’ve been growing tomatoes every year. We don’t have much space for planting, but Ilya built a long, deep raised bed along the southern side of the house and tomatoes are very happy there.
Since Seattle summer is quite short and not very hot, we prefer to plant cherry and grape tomatoes. As a rule, the seedlings grow fast and huge and produce lots of little “sugar bombs” as our neighbor calls them. In addition we plant one or two medium sized tomatoes, but, unfortunately, because of the Seattle weather specifics larger kinds are not that sweet and flavorful, though quite meaty.
Since the yield is large and the tomatoes tend to ripen all at once, we eat as much as we can raw, in salads, in sauces, roasted and such and I pickle the rest.
My pickled tomatoes taste so great that in late fall and winter, when the last of our pickled homegrown tomatoes are gone, I pickle store-bought cherry or medium sized on the vine tomatoes.
There are two ways to pickle tomatoes - with or without vinegar. In first case, you prepare a marinade with vinegar; in the second, you make a simple salt solution with herbs and spices and then wait until natural fermentation occurs.
I love tomatoes made by both methods and cannot tell which one is the best. The vinegar marinade works faster and you can enjoy pickled tomatoes sooner. On the other hand, the no-vinegar pickles tend to have deeper and “brinier” flavor.
I recommend making both and then comparing the results. And here are the recipes.
Pickled Tomatoes with Vinegar:
You will need:
- 2 lb cherry, grape or slightly larger tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup table vinegar
- 3 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar or more if tomatoes are on a tart side
- ½ tsp dried dill seeds
- 1 small bay leaf
- 2 small dried hot chilies
- 2 large fresh dill sprigs
- 3-4 currant leaves (optional)
- 3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
In a pot, combine water, vinegar, salt, sugar, bay leaf, and dill seeds and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add dill and currant leaves. When the water cools down a bit, add the sliced garlic. Let cool to room temperature.
If using larger tomatoes, you may want to pierce each with a thin narrow knife through the stem end to speed up the pickling process. Put the rinsed tomatoes into a container and pour the marinade over them. Cover and let sit on a counter for several hours; then transfers to the refrigerator. The tomatoes will be ready in about 3-4 days, sooner or later depending on their size. Also, split tomatoes get pickled faster since the marinade can easily penetrate inside.
Vinegar-Free Pickled Tomatoes:
You will need:
- About 2 lb tomatoes, cherry, grape or slightly larger kinds
- 5 cups water
- 2-3 Tbsp salt
- 1 heaping Tbsp sugar
- 2-3 dried hot chilies (like Thai chilies)
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves, cut in slivers
- 1-2 sprigs of dill
Put water and dried chilies into a pot and bring to a boil. Add salt and sugar and stir until they are completely dissolved. Cool to a room temperature.
Meanwhile, wash tomatoes. If using larger tomatoes, you may want to pierce each with a thin narrow knife through the stem end to speed up the pickling process. In a bowl or a jar, put dill, garlic and tomatoes. Pour over the salt and sugar solution. If you pickle tomatoes in a bowl, put a light weight plate or a lid from a plastic container on top of the tomatoes so that they all stay submerged in the liquid. If you use a jar, make sure that the brine fills it to the top. This is not exactly necessary, but ensures even pickling.
Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and leave at room temperature (between 65-80 F) for 3-4 days to start fermentation and then transfer to a refrigerator.
Sometimes, mold can start forming on top of the tomatoes. First of all, make sure that the brine doesn't have unpleasant smell. If it's OK, skim off the mold. Then, strain the tomatoes and bring the brine to a boil. When it cools down to room temperature, pour it back over the tomatoes. You can also make new brine.
You can start tasting these tomatoes about 3-4 days after transferring them to the fridge. Pickling can take longer with larger tomatoes.
As for me, I love half-pickled tomatoes, when they are briny on the sides and still somewhat fresh and sweet at the very core.
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