Iceberg Tomato Pickles

This is old-time Southern pickle making. Five pounds of green tomatoes get sliced and soaked in lime water for a full 24 hours, which firms the flesh and gives these pickles their signature crisp, almost icy crunch. That’s where the “iceberg” name comes from.

The lime soak is the whole secret. It changes the texture of the tomato slices so they stay snappy even after canning, instead of going soft and mushy like untreated green tomatoes do in hot brine. After soaking, you rinse them in fresh water for four hours, changing the water every hour to wash away excess lime.

The pickling syrup is seriously sweet (five pounds of sugar to five pounds of tomatoes) with warm spices running through it: whole cloves, allspice, celery seed, ginger, and cinnamon. That syrup boils for a full hour to concentrate the flavors and thicken it before it goes over the packed jars.

This is a two-day project. Tomatoes soak the first day, sit overnight in the spiced syrup, then get jarred and sealed the next morning. Plan ahead and the actual hands-on time is minimal.

Pro Tips

• Use pickling lime (calcium hydroxide), not citrus limes. Look for it in the canning section of your grocery store
• Slice tomatoes evenly, about ¼-inch thick, so they absorb the lime water uniformly
• Rinse thoroughly during the 4-hour fresh water soak. Leftover lime can make pickles bitter
• Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a proper shelf-stable seal

Variations

• Add a sliced jalapeño to each jar before sealing for a sweet-hot kick
• Reduce sugar by a pound for a less sweet, more tangy pickle
• Toss in a few strips of bell pepper for color and crunch