Chowchow

[Forty Rod]

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The relish, not the dog.

Who has a couple of good recipes?

[Delmonico]

I know I've got several in my old cookbooks, I'll do some digging.  It was a popular menu item in the time period.

[Forty Rod]

When I was in 'Nam, my roommate's wife used to send a couple of quart jars of chowchow packed in black eyed peas.  My wife send canned Swedish pork loin and cornmeal. 

We ate everything but the jars and the boxes.

Haven't seen any worth having since then.

[Hell-Er High Water]

Here is a recipe that I found in my great-grandmother's cookbook; the "Presidential Cook Book" published in 1896.  This book is an original, not a reprint.

                                                  CHOW CHOW

1 quart of young, tiny cucumbers, not over two inches long
2 quarts of very small white onions
2 quarts of tender string beans, each one cut in half
3 quarts of green tomatoes, sliced and chopped very coarsely
2 fresh heads of cauliflower. cut into small pieces, or 2 heads of white, hard cabbage

After preparing these articles, put them in a stone jar, mix them together, sprinkling salt between them sparingly.  Let them stand 24 hours, then drain off all the brine that has accumulated.  Now put these vegetables in a preserving kettle over the fire, sprinkling through them 1 ounce of turmeric for coloring, 6 red peppers chopped coarsely, 4 tablespoons of mustard seed, 2 of celery seed, 2 of whole allspice, 2 of whole cloves, a coffee cup of sugar and 2/3 of a teacup of best ground mixed mustard.  Pour on enough of the best cider vinegar to cover the whole well;  cover tightly and simmer all well until it is cooked all through and seems tender, watching and stirring it often.  Put in bottles or glass jars.  It grows better as it grows older, especially if sealed when hot.

Not having tried this, I can't vouch for it, but here it is, from the right era, and the instructions are just as they were printed in 1896.  If you try it let us know how it turns out.

This cook book has hundreds of recipes from the time period on almost every type food you can think of.

HHW

[Forty Rod]

I have a White House Cookbook from about the same period, but I didn't find chowchow.

Great reading just to learn things, though.

[Hell-Er High Water]

My recipe is in the chapter titled "Sauces and Dressings - Pickles" and is on page 163 in this particular edition.  If you have a similar chapter, it might be there.

HHW

[Camille Eonich]

First Arcey and his hot dogs now you with the chow chow.  Y'all are really making me want a hot dog.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Heck ... when I saw the title of "Chowchow", I thought it'd be some Oriental recipe for dog!

After reading the recipe, however, it sounds pretty good!

[LazyK Pejay]

Forty Rod,

When were in Nam, with who and where? Thx. I'm a Nam-Vet myself and was wondering.

LazyK Pejay

[Arcey]

First Arcey and his hot dogs now you with the chow chow.  Y'all are really making me want a hot dog.

Sorry, Cammy.

DAMN they wuz good!  Et three, just chilli......

..

[Forty Rod]

All the recipes I found had peppers ot hot sauce.  Yours sound betterer.

For them amongst you that think chowchow is a relish to be used in small amounts on hot dogs and the like (it can be, of course), be informed:  chowchow is a relish that is eaten in the south as a side dish.  More like chutney in that respect.

[Delmonico]

I found 2 in an 1875 cook book that use green tomaters.  I'll get them posted but I might have to do a little translation, old recipes are that way.

[Delmonico]

Ok Forty Rod, I did some research, and the true defination of Chow Chow is a chopped pickle relish in a mustard sauce and it dates from England and the 1770's.

For this first one you might want to cut it down a bit, The Mothers of St. Louis must of really liked Chow Chow.

Weak vineagar would be a ratio of about 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar, I'd use cider vinegar.  The amouunt of spices is up to you.   A preserving kettle would most likely be an enamel type water bath canner. I write is as it appears in my book, Copyright 1875.

Chow Chow #1

Slice thin two pecks of green tomatoes, half a peck of white onions, two dozen green peppers, and four dozen cucumbers;  salt them twenty-four hours, then drainin a bag all night; in the morning boil in weak vinegar and let them remain until the next morning; pour that off and in a large preserving kettle or pan put a layer of sliced vegetables and a layer of brown sugar, turmeric, all spice, cloves, cinnamon, mace and white mustard seed; fill up with alternate layers, then cover with the best cider vinegar and boil until tender.


English mustard would be Colemans ground mustard.  You might want to cut this one back a bit also.

Chow Chow #2

Half a peck of green tomatoes, two large heads of cabbage, fifteen large oinions, twenty five cucumbers, twelve green peppers, one pint grated horseradish, half a pound of white mustard seed, one ounce of celary seed, some small white onions, half a teacup of ground pepper, half a cu of turmeric, half a cup of cinnamon; cut the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and salt them down overnight; in the morning drain off the brine, and put them to soak in vinegar and water or thin vinegar; let themremain a day or two, then drain again, and mix the spices, boil one and a half gallons of wineagar, and five pounds of brown sugar together and pour hot over the ingredients; do this three mornings; the third morning mix one pound of English mustard with a half pint of salad oil, and then put away in glass jars.  A nice rich pickle.

The semi-colons are as the original recipe and the commas before the ands are also as in the original recipes

[McMate]

Forty Rod,

I'm from the south,

I have a great ChowChow recipe that you might like to try.  It is great to use in beans and things like that.  Let me know if you want me to find it and pass it on to you.

McMate

[Forty Rod]

You bet your sweet bippy, I do.

Thanks, McMate.