Chow-Chow Recipe

Chow-chow, the sweet and tangy relish of pickled vegetables, is a staple condiment on many Southern tables. While it’s beloved throughout the South, the types of vegetables in it can vary depending on where you find it. Here we stick with one of the most common combinations: green tomatoes, green cabbage, bell peppers, and onions. The pickled vegetable mixture is a great way to make the most of end-of-season green tomatoes and other late summer produce before that first frost hits. 

The chunky relish is tart, sweet, and sure to bring a welcome pucker to your mouth. And it keeps in the fridge for up to four months, so you can pull it out to brighten up almost any meal—hot dogs, hamburgers, coleslaw, stewed beans, and even salads.

Making the relish is fairly simple: The vegetables are simply chopped, salted, and pickled in the fridge with a medley of spices, but it’s important to prepare the vegetables properly for chow-chow that’s flavorful and retains a crisp texture. For the best chow-chow to take you from summer right through the coldest days of fall, we asked our test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar to methodically pickle batch after batch to come up with our foolproof method. Read on for Renu’s tips and the full recipe.

Tips for Making Chow-Chow

Use a food processor. We strongly encourage you to pull out your food processor to chop the cabbage, bell pepper, and onion in this recipe instead of chopping the ingredients by hand. This will save you a lot of time and energy. If you don’t have a food processor, of course go ahead and just chop everything with a chef’s knife—just be sure your knife is good and sharp for the safest, most efficient chopping. One exception to the food processor suggestion: Be sure to still cut the tomatoes by hand. Pulsing them in a food processor will give them a sauce-like consistency, which we do not want for this relish.

Salt the vegetables overnight before pickling. It’s crucial to toss the chopped vegetables with an abundant amount of salt and let them sit for an extended period of time before pickling them. During this hands-off resting time, the vegetables will release excess liquid, which will be later discarded before they are pickled. We’ve previously talked at length about the benefits of brining vegetables, and encourage you to read about it. Essentially, brining drives water out of the cut vegetables, concentrating flavor and firming up their texture slightly for a more delicious, perfectly crunchy relish. 

For best results, start the brining process at room temperature and let the veggies sit for about 20 minutes to jump start the process, then refrigerate the bowl of salted chopped vegetables for at least eight hours or up to 12. You’ll be amazed by how much water seeps out of them in this time frame—almost three full cups water from about four pounds of vegetables! When you’re ready to pickle, drain and discard all of the excess liquid before proceeding with the recipe.

Add robust seasonings. Earthy turmeric, fiery chile flakes, tangy mustard powder, brown mustard seeds, and celery seeds add a pop of flavor to the otherwise simple vegetable mixture. This blend of spices is flavorful enough to add interest to the relish without overwhelming the vegetables, making it perfect to pair with a range of foods.

Tips for Storing and Canning Chow-Chow

The recipe was tested and written using short term refrigeration storage, which will preserve the chow-chow for about four months. But the pickled chow-chow can also be preserved using the hot water bath canning method that we outline in our beginner’s guide to canning. With this method, the chow-chow can be stored for up to a year. Whether you opt for the hot water bath canning method or the easier refrigeration storage, we recommend always using sterilized glass jars.

How to Sterilize Jars for Your Relish

To properly sterilize jars, place clean jars on a rack in a large pot and cover by at least one inch of water. Bring to a boil and sterilize the jars by boiling for 10 minutes. You can then remove the jars with long metal tongs and fill right away, or reduce the heat to a low simmer and hold the jars warm until you’re ready to use them. Make sure to cool the filled jars to room temperature before sealing and refrigerating. This will prevent trapping excessive steam in the jars, which could lead to mold growth.

How to Serve Chow-Chow

One of the best things about chow-chow is its versatility, and how it adds bright, sweet and tangy flavor to everything you pair with it. Spread the Southern relish over a hot dog or a burger, mix it in a one-to-one ratio by volume with good mayonnaise for the perfect coleslaw dressing or sandwich spread, or spunk up a bowl of beans with a spoonful chow-chow and a side of cornbread.