CHOWCHOW  In my family, chowchow is made by first chopping a combination of lima
beans, string beans, yellow wax beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, onions,
corn, cucumber, red peppers, and green peppers. Whether the chunks should be
large or small is up to the use you have in mind. Will this be a stand-alone side dish? Then
leave then large. Do you like your chowchow as a relish, perhaps in a sandwich?
Then chop them finely. Combine and boil until tender. The vegetables should not
be mushy. In another pot, boil a combination of sugar, apple cider vinegar,
mustard seed, celery seed, water and other spices until the sugar dissolves and
the mixture become syrupy in texture. Again, the exact amounts are left to your
own particular taste. The tender
vegetables are then added to the mixture
and boiled for another five minutes. The final
result is a brightly colored, subtly flavored, and complexly textured relish
which is put into jars and sealed. Among the soldiers of the Roundhead Regiment, of course, It probably would not have lasted long enough to be put into jars. |
