The FASTEST Way EVER To Chop Vegetables

With canning and processing the harvest comes much chopping of vegetables and fruit. It is the most time consuming part of the entire process. So what are our options?

Well, we can stick to doing it by hand. This is great if you don't have much to do. Why dirty a bunch of equipment for a samll amount of produce? Purchase a good knife (we really like are Rada cutlery), keep it sharp, and your good to go!

If you have larger quantities a food processor is very handy. They are effective and produce   nice even results. The largest capacity food processor I've ever seen was a 12 cup kitchen aid. It sounds like a lot but when you are producing bushels of produce at a time it still takes hours to get everything chopped.

For the canner who processes the largest quantities of food, it's time for the meat processor. Oh boy, does this do the trick! This is definitely the fastest way to chop vegetables. With a meat grinder you can feed the vegetables continually, never stopping to empty one batch and refill. Nope, just keep on feeding the grinder and watch it come out the other end perfectly chopped. We are never going back people. This has changed canning season for good and in such a good way! 

We didn't start using the meat grinder until the season was almost over. That will never happen again now that we know how useful it is. We ended up using to make chunky (small chunks) apple sauce and green tomatoe relish. 

The meat grinder saved us hours and hours of work and also from the burning ewyes you get when chopping up onions. Canning season will never be the same! 

Take a look at the video below to see the fastest way to chop vegetables then check out the recipe for Green Tomato Relish and give your meat grinder a second purpose!
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The FASTEST Way EVER to Chop Vegetables

Green Tomato Relish

Ingredients
Makes approximately 3 pint jars 

• 6 cups finely chopped green tomatoes
• 2 finely chopped onions
• 2 seeded and finely chopped  green bell peppers
• 1 seeded and finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup canning salt
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp celery seeds
• 2. cinnamon sticks at about 2" each
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt

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Instructions

1. Finely chop or use the grinder to mince you tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Place them in a bowl and mix in the salt. Let stand for 12 hours to overnight. This draws out the water otherwise it would come out when heated up and make for very soupy relish. Place tomato mixture in a colander and rinse squeezing out any excess liquid. Set aside.
2. Make a spice bag by tying the cloves, celery seeds, and cinnamon sticks in a piece of cheese cloth.
3. In a stainless steel sauce pan or stock pot, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, salt, ginger, and spice bag and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. 
4. Add the tomato mixture to the vinegar mixture and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for about 1 hour or until the tomatoes become transparent. If you are making a double batch or more, it may take longer for the tomatoes to become transparent. Remove the spice bag.
5. While the mixture is cooking prepare your canning jars and lids. 
6. Fill your prepared canning jars with hot relish leaving 1/2 " headspace. Remove any air bubbles and add more relish if needed. 
7. Wipe the rim of the jar. Add the lid and then screw the band on until finger-tip tight. Over tightening can cause the lid to buckle.
8. Place the jars in the canner and process for 15 minutes, adjusting time for your elevation as needed. Remove canner lid and turn of burner. Wait five minutes, then remove jars.
9. Now enjoy! Some of our favorite ways to eat it is by adding it to hamburgers, chicken salad, or tuna salad.

So what did you think of using a meat grinder for chopping vegetables? Are you going to try it? Have you used your meat grinder for something else? Let me know in the commments below!

Have fun canning!
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