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Pennsylvania Chow-Chow was a mainstay in my family.

My grandfather used to jar his own and about 15 years ago, I went in search of the Official Family Recipe.

And it turned out, no one ever wrote it down.

So I ended up questioning my mother, aunts, uncles how it was done. Pieced together what I could and whipped up a large batch.

Designed some homespun labels and sent a bunch of jars out to the family.

In my version of the recipe, I keep the veggies crisp – which I define as A California Thing. I never understood the need to make cooked vegetables come out mushy.

My grandfather’s reaction was, ‘Oh, you’ll get it right next time.’

steve’s chow-chow
a variation on the polchin family recipe

ingredients

4 cups Celery, sliced
1 large White Onion, diced
1 small Red Onion, diced
4 cups Green and Wax beans, trimmed
3 cups Cauliflower, cut into small pieces
3 cups Green, Yellow and Red Bell Peppers, cut into pieces
12 ears Corn, removed from cob
5 cups Carrots, sliced

the sauce

Kosher salt
1 heaping tbs Dried Yellow Mustard
1 heaping tbs Prepared Mustard, any variety
1 tsp Turmeric (for color)
1 tsp Ground Coriander Seed
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

12 tablets Vitamin C, ground into a powder (using a food processor or mortar)
1/4 cup Rice bran (as a natural pickling preservative)

to make

Keeping the carrots and corn separate, cover all the vegetables with water and ice. Let stand in refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain.

Keep carrots separate. Cover the veggies with Kosher salt and bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes.

Do not cook the corn. Keep separate.

In an extremely large pot, put equal amounts prepared and dried mustard. Add turmeric, coriander, black pepper, vinegar, sugar, honey and (if using) dry white wine.

Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch. And add all the vegetables – except the carrots and corn. Taste. Add distilled water if the flavors are too powerful. Adjust sauce measurements if necessary. Bring entire mix to a rolling boil and then remove from heat.

Add the carrots and corn to the rest of the vegetables. Pack hot in sterilized canning jars, leaving at least a half inch headspace. Add to each jar, 1/4 teaspoon each of vitamin C powder and rice bran.

Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. After bath, let cool. Shake bottles to mix veggies and sauce.

Yields: 12 pints

tags: cool finds, culinary, design, recipe // 1 comment  . . .