Homemade Tomato Relish

 Is there anything better than a  perfectly ripe, juicy sweet tomato. When the tomatoes are fresh and sun-ripened off the vine, and there are more than we can eat, one of my very favourite things to make is Tomato Relish. Home grown tomatoes have a very different taste and texture to the ones we can now buy at supermarkets, so whether you grow them yourselves or buy them at the farmer's markets, Tomato Relish is a wonderful way to preserve their quality. However, if you can buy them at a good price from the supermarket, this relish will still be delicious. I have done that plenty of times!

 This recipe has been joyfully updated from 24/5/2014

This is my Mum's original recipe for Tomato Relish, which she was never without in her pantry and refrigerator, and I still think it is the best tomato relish I have ever tasted. I have fond memories of eating it around the kitchen table at home with cheese and biscuits. It is now also a staple in our home, and our children love it as well. I have made spicier batches of this relish, which are also really delicious, where I might just have added more curry powder than the recipe indicated. This is the link for my Spicy Tomato Relish, the biggest difference though being the addition of long red chillies or mild chilli powder. I opted out of making this batch spicier, as I think it will be more appealing for our grandchildren when they visit at Christmas time. I am hoping so anyway. It is certainly time that they are introduced to our family Tomato Relish.

Also, I think that our homegrown tomatoes are a lot sweeter than the ones I have used previously. It's important to taste your relish as you add salt to ensure it suits your tastes as the tomatoes will determine the amount of salt needed.

 The photos on the cheese platter show cherry tomatoes from our garden. I only used a few of those in the relish, as they also make delicious sweet eating. I used mostly our large homegrown tomatoes in the relish, which I featured in my last In My Tropical Kitchen Post, along with the Very Hungry Caterpillar. They are a lovely soft red colour.

Ingredients:

Makes 6 jars

1 kg fresh ripe Tomatoes, the riper the better  (skinned)
750g-850 g very fresh onions, finely chopped (I used 850 g this time, because I had the onions and the result was very good.)
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon good quality Curry Powder ( I just used good old Clive of India)
2 teaspoon Mustard Powder or 4 teaspoons mild English mustard from a jar (as the equivalent)

2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 cups White Vinegar
salt to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)
cornflour to thicken (2 tablespoons worked well), mixed with water

Method:

1. Prepare and skin the tomatoes by cutting a small cross on the top of the tomato, blanching them in boiling water, then place them in iced water, remove the skins and chop them into quarters.
2. Chop the onions finely.
3. Place all ingredients except salt and cornflour in the pot and bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked and mixture is reduced by a quarter. Stir occasionally.
4. When cooked, add salt to your taste.
5. Thicken with cornflour and water mixed to a thin paste, and simmer gently for a few more minutes.
6. Allow to cool slightly and fill your warm sterilised bottles

Tomatoes chopped and prepared for cooking

Ingredients beginning to simmer in the saucepan

5 jars of tomato relish, one is opened and in the frig already

Pauline's cooking notes:

1. This is the first time I have used mild English mustard from a jar in place of the conventional Mustard powder, and it gave the relish a gentle mustard flavour without over powering the tomatoes. I was really happy with the result, however powdered mustard has always worked a treat. I had run out of the powdered mustard.
2. I revised this recipe because my Mum's old recipe used dessertspoon measurements, which probably a lot of people don't use now. Although I still have two of Mum's original dessertspoons. Love them. 1 dessertspoon is equivalent to 10ml. and 1 tablespoon measures 20 ml or 2 dessertspoons.
3. Clive of India curry powder is the flavour I know for Tomato Relish so I continue to use it. Any good quality curry powder will do.
4. If you would like a spicier tomato relish, add 2 long red chillies, finely chopped, or use mild chilli powder, beginning with 1/2 teaspoon.
5. One of my favourite ways to eat this tasty relish is with home made quiche. You know how when warm quiche is served to you at a cafe with a side bowl of relish and you say out loud, "wow,  this is delicious ." Well that is what will be said when you serve this relish with quiche in your home.
6. I discovered when I was taking photos for this post, that the flavour of the Red Leicester cheese on the biscuits is a perfect match with my relish. 
7. Red Leicester cheese is a versatile cheese for all kinds of dishes, such as these Very Tasty Cauliflower Steaks. This vegetarian cauliflower dish with melted cheese was absolutely delicious, and I would definitely serve Tomato Relish on the side as a garnish. Cauliflowers are very reasonably priced here at the moment, just saying.

Having a selection of pickles and chutneys in the pantry is a wonderful way to preserve excess produce, add an additional flavour profile to your meals, and also stretch the budget. The cost of tomatoes is escalating all the time, and instead of using fresh sliced tomatoes on cheese and crackers with a coffee for a snack, why not use tomato relish instead as a very tasty alternative.

A decorated jar of Tomato Relish will also make a very popular Christmas gift, or be a suitable hamper item. If you make it now, it will definitely last until Christmas time. 

Warm wishes

Pauline