Green Tomato Pickles

1. In a sauce pan, add salt, sugar, vinegar, and water. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat.
2. Wash tomatoes well to remove all debris.
3. Halve cherry tomatoes or leave small ones whole. Slice or halve larger tomatoes.
4. Although you can raw pack these tomatoes, if you blanch them first, they will not float as badly. Blanch for about 4 minutes, until tomatoes turn a pasty olive yellow.
5. Sterilize jars.
6. Add garlic clove, onion slices and spices to each jar.
7. Pack tomatoes into hot jars, within a 1/2 inch of top of jar.
8. Pour hot canning liquid into jar leaving ½" headspace. (If you're quick pickling, there is no need to worry about the headspace.

For Shelf Stable Pickles

1. Remove bubbles with a chopstick or bubble tool.
2. Wipe rim of jar with wet towel. Attach hot lids and tighten bands finger tight. Return to canning pot.
3. Process jars for 15 minutes per pint, adjusting for altitude. Allow to rest in hot water 5 minutes after turning heat off.
4. Remove jars from canning pot and let sit on counter overnight.
5. Check seal in the morning, if lids flex up and down, when pressed in center, jar is not properly sealed. Store any that didn't seal in refrigerator.