Something else my grandmother canned -- or "put up," as she called it -- was chow-chow. My parents and I'd drive down to my grandparents' house on a Sunday and chow-chow was always on the table. We'd scoop big portions of the stuff onto the pinto or mixed beans my grandmother always served when she cooked a big meal.
For the uninitiated, chow-chow is a Southern relish made out of chopped cabbage, onions, peppers, mustard, vinegar and sugar. It's used to give a sweet-and-sour kick to soups, stews, or slow-cooked beans. Some folks, my self included, don't need to be eating soup, stew, or slow-cooked beans to enjoy chow-chow; indeed, I often spoon it on meat, or just put a big pile of it on my plate to enjoy alongside whatever else I'm eating.
Now, some chow-chow recipes throw in additional vegetables, like tomatoes, and some even throw in spices like thyme and rosemary. I can live with tomatoes and sich in chow-chow, but don't even get me started on chow-chow that's made with a bunch of unnecessary crap like thyme and rosemary. (That's so much Yankee-tinkering, if you ask me.)
All that said, there's an article 'bout chow-chow in today's Tennessean (check it out here.) It's more than a little serendipitous that the article ran today because, well, the chow-chow intro you just read was going to be published tomorrow along with this pic ...
... and I was going to tell you this:
I've been a big fan of Mrs. Renfro's jalapeño peppers for a long, long time. Indeed, if you search this blog's archives, you'll see that I've name-checked Renfro's peppers at least a dozen times.
Until recently, Monday to be exact, I had no idea that Mrs. Renfro's produced hot chow-chow. I ran into a local independent grocery store -- Apple Market on Nolensville Road -- for a loaf of bread, and I walked out of the place with my loaf of bread ... and three jars of Mrs. Renfro's Hot Chow Chow (which was on sale for $2.00 a jar).
Verdict: Mrs. Renfro's is pretty spicy, and it has a great green-vegetable flavor. It is, however, a bit too sweet for my taste. The sugar in chow-chow should always just temper the sour from the vinegar and the heat from the peppers. Sweeteness should never be the first thing you notice in a quality chow-chow.
"Pretty good, but" ... that's what you need to know about Mrs. Renfro's hot chow-chow.
3 comments:
Isn't that the same thing as piccalilli?
"Isn't that the same thing as piccalilli?"
No, piccalilli is a cauliflower-based condiment native to the U.K. One can buy little jars of the yellow stuff in Publix's "British" aisle.
You ain't talkin' 'bout chow-chow, my friend.
My aunt used to make chow chow in both hot and mild. Hot went into beans and greens, especially peas and pintos. The mild was more of a side relish.
BTW, have you tried Wickles Pickles? Hot and sweet, the relish will really add pop to a devilled egg.
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