Green Tomato Relish

I wanted to try making my own relish because the ones from the store always seem too sweet. When I saw these green tomatoes at the fruit stand, I knew I could find a great relish recipe. And I found this one on Cooks.com. I snuck a bite as I was canning these, and it was amazingly complex and flavorful, not to mention pretty! I look forward to trying this on a hamburger in the near future.

**NOTE: I did not have 11 lbs of green tomatoes. I had just over 2 lbs., so I took this recipe and reduced it down to .20 of the called upon quantities (i.e., 11 lbs of tomatoes, to 2.2 lbs. of tomatoes, 5 apples to 1 apple, etc...)**

**This recipe requires overnight processing of the tomatoes.**

Green Tomato Relish
Ingredients:
11 lb. green tomatoes, chopped (with skins)
4 or 5 green tart apples, chopped
4 or 5 onions, peeled and chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
3 1/2 cups cider vinegar
4 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spice
1 cup water
1/2 cup canning salt

1. Wash tomatoes well. Chop the tomatoes into a large pan or bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Hang the chopped tomatoes in a cheesecloth wrap or cloth bag and allow to drain overnight. Discard juice.

2. The next day, add onions, celery, green pepper, sugars, apples, vinegar and water.

3. Stir in the whole mixed pickling spices.

4. Cook the mixture over low heat in a large pan, stirring often, until vegetables begin to stick on the bottom of the pan and the water is gone. This will take about 2 to 3 hours.

5. Have ready 7 to 9 pint size canning jars (my batch made 2 pints).

6. Ladle hot relish into clean jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.