The first rule of CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW is: DO NOT talk about how your chowchow recipe is the ultimate. There is no “BEST” recipe for chowchow. There are many superb variations of this medley of chopped, vinegar-steeped, garden goodness.
The second rule of CULTIVATE CULLMAN COLESLAW is: DO NOT brag unless your garden bounty is from Alabama’s no. 1 county for agriculture—CULLMAN.
CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW starts with these ingredients from Cullman growers:
CABBAGE is grown and eaten in countries around the world, but this handsome head of leaves has been cultivated in our area since the founding of Colonial Cullman in the 1870s. If you’re adding green cabbage to your chowchow, pick a head that is shiny and lime green. For red cabbage chowchow, choose a deep, maroon hue.
Firm orbs are best when handling cabbage. Soft and spongy to the touch can indicate rotten at the core. Bigger heads generally taste milder, and smaller heads are for those who like their cabbage to taste more—cabbage-y.
GREEN TOMATOES are a near-essential to CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW. Alabama author, Fannie Flagg, cultivated a modern-day appreciation for these emerald beauties in her best-seller, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES at THE WHISTLESTOP CAFÉ, but possibly a tastier, and certainly a healthier way to enjoy these summer garden goodies is in chowchow.
“The Best Green Tomato Varieties” according to Plantura Magazine are:
ARTISAN GREEN TIGER, a green-striped, elongated cherry tomato with a taste that is sweet, sour, fresh and juicy.
AUNT RUBY’S GERMAN GREEN CHERRY, a particularly pretty and aromatic orb that is great for nibbling.
CHEROKEE GREEN, which mature to golden age but remain green inside, sort of squatty looking but tender and soft.
GREEN DOCTORS, a cocktail tomato with a wonderful aroma and delicious taste. This is an easy-to-cultivate tomato for Jr. Master Gardeners and beginners.
GREEN ZEBRA, the most widely cultivated green tomato in the U.S. They are hearty, robust, fresh and fruity.
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”—from THE ONE-LINER DO-GOODER DINER
SWEET ONIONS are often tasty when grown in Vidalia, Georgia, but for those who want to CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW, superb, sweet onions are plentiful at the Festhalle Farmers Market, the Berlin Farmers Market and direct from many growers in Cullman County.
Sweet onions range in color from pure white to almost yellow. However, squattier sweet onions are, hmmm, SWEETER than yellow onions.
CULLMAN CHOWCHOW calls for sweet onions that are firm, dense, heavy for their size and unblemished by bruising. Until you are ready to pickle your chowchow, sweet onions should be wrapped individually in paper towels and stored in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
ONION JOKES from “The One-Liner Do-Gooder Diner”:
- So, what’s the difference in an onion and a bagpipe? Nobody cries when you cut up a bagpipe.
- I tried out for the Olympic onion chopping team—but I didn’t make the cut.
- Chuck Norris chopped an onion and the onion cried.
GREEN BELL PEPPERS are rich in vitamins and other nutrients, promote good gut health, may promote heart and eye health, are tasty and add lovely color to your chowchow. For more health benefits of green bell peppers, go to healthline.com.
RED BELL PEPPERS are simply green bell peppers which have grown up. Having some green bell peppers, some red bell peppers and some sweet white onions remind me of the colors of Mexico which is where bell peppers were originally cultivated.
CARROTS are root vegetables that were first cultivated in Afghanistan about twelve hundred years ago. Early carrots were purple or yellow, but orange is their best-known color. Go for super-colorful carrots with some crunch when you CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW.
4 Ways to Chop Carrots: 1) Julienne—looks like orange toothpicks, 2) Dice—looks like cubes, 3) Batons—looks like little Lincoln Logs, 4) Brunoise—looks like the dog chewed it up and is the most popular cut when one is canning chowchow, especially if your dog is a Chow Chow.
BEANS Both chopped green beans and whole Lima beans are popular in chowchow. Some culinary historians believe the food name “chowchow” came from the French-speaking Acadian settlers in Louisiana. “Chow” is related to the French word for cabbage—“chou.”
Red Beans and Rice is a traditional noonday meal on Mondays in Louisiana. The red beans simmer as the weekly laundry is done. A traditional side dish relish with bland red beans and rice is—chowchow.
PEAS Give peas a chance in your chowchow. There are basically three types in the U.S. for you to consider: English peas, snow peas and sugar snap peas. Each goes by multiple names and all delish in chowchow. Sometime before this summer is history, I want to belly up to some buttered cornbread, fresh sliced tomatoes, fried okra, a big dollop of chowchow and this very Southern recipe:
A MESS OF PEAS
(Source: dallasgardenbuzz.com)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 quart water
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 8 cups fresh field peas
- 6 hot peppers in vinegar, drained
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Bring 1 quart water and smoked ham hock to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes.
- Stir in peas and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer 25-30 minutes or until peas are done.
Yield: 10 servings
CAULIFLOWER is in the same family as cabbage, broccoli, and collard greens—Brassica oleracea. Typically, only the head of cauliflower is eaten. The edible white flesh is called curd because it resembles cheese curd. Cauliflower, like cabbage, was introduced to Alabama by the German settlers who cultivated Cullman County.
CELEBRATING IN THE WUNDERGARTEN This culinary storytelling series imagines recipes Frau Ruehl, the German-born heroine of the folktale, “WUNDERGARTEN,” would have savored in Cullman County of the 1870s. She was a hard-working, widowed farmer who would have planted, nurtured, harvested, chopped, and canned an array of vegetables for homemade chowchow.
Thanks to modern day ease in food storage and changing tastes, you can enjoy the variety of tastes of all the vegetables listed above for traditional chowchow and enjoy even greater nutrition. Simply choose the veggies you desire, chopping them and drizzling with this delicious vinaigrette dressing originally created by Chef Andrew Little at Sheppard Mansion in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
CULTIVATE CULLMAN CHOWCHOW VINAIGRETTE
(Source: washingtonpost.com)
INGREDIENTS
- 16-oz. jar prepared chowchow (available at Publix)
- 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. dry vermouth (available at Cabin Fever)
- 3 ground black peppercorns
DIRECTIONS
- Combine the ingredients in a blender and puree on high speed until smooth.
- Use immediately, or transfer to a resealable plastic storage container, and refrigerate up to one week.
CHOW DOWN and AUF WIEDERSEHEN Y’ALL!
Find all columns in this series at www.cullmantribune.com/tag/celebrating-in-the-wundergarten.
