Grandma's Kitchen: Piccalilli & (Almost) Grandma's Sweet Chili Sauce
A story about a grandmother who cooked for a lumber camp, crystal pickle dishes on a dining room table, and the preserves I've spent decades trying to recreate.
When my Dad was growing up, his family lived in an apartment over the family business. They had a summer cottage just outside of town on Lake Ontario, where they lived in the summer months. There are old photos of Dad and his friends playing touch football in the field across from the cottage, on the lakeshore side of the road. That field doesn't exist anymore due to erosion, but the cottage still stands today. The beach was once littered with smooth shale rocks, which, as kids we recklessly smashed open to see the fossils inside and then tossed aside. I still have one of those rocks, safely tucked away.
By the time I was born, my Dad had taken over the family business, and my grandparents had purchased a house in a comfortable neighbourhood, a ½ hour walk from our house. Their house had underfloor heating in the front entrance hall, something I had never experienced anywhere else, and didn't again until well into my adult years. Their kitchen had an old, 1950's style white enamel oven with a warming drawer and a deep well cooker that must have come with them from the apartment. I've never seen another like it.
Looking back, it appears they lived a life that was a mixture of financial caution and a very comfortable retirement involving travel and spending on creature comforts."
Smith's Mill, Campbell's Bay, Quebec — date unknown. Photo courtesy of the Pontiac Archives.
My grandmother grew up in the small town of Campbell's Bay, Quebec. Her father ran a lumber camp in the winter, and as young girls, she and her sister helped their mother cook for the men. My Grandmother was the pie maker, apparently because pies were made later in the morning, and my grandmother's temperament was not to be endured in the early morning hours! Even into her 80s, she would talk about the days she would make pies for the men before noon, a thousand pies in a month as a twelve-year-old! And yet, it's not her pies I remember! She canned. Pickled beets (the only way I like beetroot to this day), bread and butter pickles, cinnamon-spiced crab-apples, piccalilli, and sweet chili sauce. These would appear in crystal pickle dishes on her dining room table at family dinners.
When I first started gardening, I tried my hand at piccalilli, which was my first real canning success. I have searched for a recipe that would duplicate her sweet chili sauce, and while some have come close, nothing quite matches the chili sauce of my memories.
The kind of jar you open at Christmas and remember summer.
⚠️ Pro Tip
Too much extra water will make the pickles runny — drain the vegetables thoroughly after rinsing, and don't rush it.
THE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
5 cups finely chopped cabbage
4 cups chopped, unpeeled green tomatoes
1½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped green pepper
3 tbsp pickling salt
¼ cup pickling spices
4 tbsp peeled, coarsely chopped gingerroot
2 tbsp mustard seed
2 tsp turmeric
1 cup granulated sugar
3 cups white pickling vinegar
1¾ cups water
SUPPLIES
250ml canning jars and lids
Water bath canner
Canning or pasta pot
Canning funnel
Cheesecloth and kitchen string
METHOD
In a large non-plastic bowl, combine cabbage, green tomatoes, onion, red and green pepper with pickling salt; mix well. Cover and let stand overnight somewhere out of reach of curious pets and small children!
The next day, give the vegetables a quick stir, then drain in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Drain them thoroughly. (Too much extra water will make the pickles runny.) Place the vegetables in a large, deep canning or pasta pot.
Tie the pickling spices, gingerroot and mustard seed in a large square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag. Add the spice bag to the vegetables and stir in the sugar, turmeric, vinegar and water.
Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Remove the spice bag and discard.
Ladle the hot relish into prepared 250ml jars, leaving 1cm headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims, centre snap lids and apply bands to fingertip tight. Process in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes.
Remove from the water bath and allow jars to cool undisturbed for 24 hours before cleaning and storing. Once opened, refrigerate.
Almost-Grandma's Sweet Chili Sauce
This is an all-dayer, so make sure you have set aside enough time for this one. Peeling and seeding the tomatoes is time consuming, and there is a long simmer time. But trust me, it's worth it!
INGREDIENTS
16 cups chopped, cored and peeled tomatoes (16–20 medium)
6 onions, chopped
6 green peppers, seeded and chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cups white pickling vinegar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp celery salt
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
SUPPLIES
500ml canning jars and lids
Water bath canner
Canning or pasta pot
Canning funnel
METHOD
Peel the tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then plunging into ice-cold water and slipping off the skins. Under-ripe tomatoes take a tad longer. Chop the peeled tomatoes — I like this sauce chunky, so I aim for 1cm cubes for all the vegetables.
Combine prepared tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, celery salt, mustard seeds and salt in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 1½ hours, until the sauce begins to thicken.
Add the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Continue to boil gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened and sauce begins to mound on a spoon, about 30 minutes. The smell is amazing!
Ladle hot sauce into hot 500ml jars leaving 1cm headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims, centre snap lids and apply bands to fingertip tight. Process in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes.
Remove from the water bath and allow jars to cool undisturbed for 24 hours before cleaning and storing. Once opened, refrigerate.
This sauce is worth every hour it takes.
Ready for the shelf — and worth every step.
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Sue:
Sue tends a kitchen garden in Alberta, growing as much of the family's food as the season allows. She writes about what comes out of the soil and what ends up on the table — honest, unfussy, and rooted in Canada.