OK, so I signed up at my local county fair to enter jam, jelly and salsa.
Fair rules allow only one of each category.

Last night I tried making jelly for the first time. It came out really
yummy, but a bit cloudy. Linda Amendt's book says jelly for competition
should be clear, so I'm going to try her recipe for raspberry jelly with the
triple filtering.

Or am I better off doing a jelly that's a combination of fruit? My original
intent was to make some peach-raspberry jelly, but I don't think the
farmer's market peaches will be available in time -- the fair starts July
21. At any rate, how big a deal is the "perfectly clear" business for
jelly?

For jam, I'm planning on making plum/cherry jam this weekend. If it comes
good, I'll probably enter it. Again, are fruit combos in general more or
less prize-winning than single fruit spreads? (I'll be honest here -- I'd
like to win something, even an honorable mention, for my efforts.)

For salsa, I'm trying the roasted chipotle/tomatillo recipe from the BBB.
The local Mexican grocery didn't have any dried chipotles so I'm subbing
another pepper. Also, instead of pureeing all the tomatoes/tomatillos* as
the recipe directs, I think I'll leave a couple of each in chunks to give
the salsa a bit of textural interest. What do you seasoned fair competition
folks think?

Anny

* That doesn't look right. Maybe it's supposed to be "tomatilloes" to match
"tomatoes"? But that doesn't look right either.

In article om, "Anny
Middon" wrote:

OK, so I signed up at my local county fair to enter jam, jelly and
salsa. Fair rules allow only one of each category.

Last night I tried making jelly for the first time. It came out
really yummy, but a bit cloudy. Linda Amendt's book says jelly for
competition should be clear, so I'm going to try her recipe for
raspberry jelly with the triple filtering.

Anny:
I made raspberry jelly last night and you can read "Kerr" backwards
through the jar and jelly. :-) Sometimes I think Linda Amendt is
quite extreme in her stuff -- but that's probbly just me and I'm not
quite that anal about it all.

My raspberry jelly won first place at the MN State Fair last year and I
don't use coffee filters for straining it. I do, however, use about 4-6
thicknesses of cheesecloth (available in a fabric store if you can't
find it in your supermarket).

Last night's jelly (I haven't taken and posted pictures yet) was made
from frozen berries (last summer's crop from Sister Julie's patch on the
home territory) that I thawed in a colander over a catch bowl. I nuked
them for about 3-5 minutes to give them a start, then let them sit for
several hours. After completely thawing and draining the berries, I
strained the accumulated juice through the cheesecloth. Had enough for
one batch of jelly using Ball Fruit Jell powder (4 cups juice, 1/4 cup
lemon juice I subbed 1 tsp citric acid for the lemon juice, and 5-1/2
cups sugar) plus some to add to the thawed berries from which I made
jam. (I think I described my raspberry jammin' in a separate thread.).
I have 7 FAByoolus half-pint jars of ruby red jelly from which I'll
select to to dazzle the judges at this year's Fair. And a smidge left
over in a four ounce jar that won't see Sunday morning.

Or am I better off doing a jelly that's a combination of fruit?

Not if the category is for a single fruit. :-)

My original intent was to make some peach-raspberry jelly, but I don't
think the farmer's market peaches will be available in time -- the
fair starts July 21. At any rate, how big a deal is the "perfectly
clear" business for jelly?

Very big. Muy importante. Except that some fruits just don't yield a
juice that makes a clear jelly -- chokecherry comes to mind. At least
my blue ribbon (3 times) chokecherry stuff wasn't clear 11-18 years ago
when it won a few times.

Don't be squeezing your dripping fruit to get a little more out of it.
If you have to make up a small amount (less than half a cup), add some
commercially made apple juice -- it's considered to be a fairly neutral
taste.

For jam, I'm planning on making plum/cherry jam this weekend. If it
comes good, I'll probably enter it. Again, are fruit combos in
general more or less prize-winning than single fruit spreads?

Only if they're entered in a lot for a combination of fruits.

(I'll be honest here -- I'd like to win something, even an honorable
mention, for my efforts.)

Don't we all! Absolutely you want to win something!! Nothing wrong in
admitting that. Make sure you adhere to their rules -- jar size,
labeling, processing, etc. It'd be a shame to be disqualified because
you entered the wrong size jar (happened to me the first year I competed
at our Fair, in 1981 -- who in sam hill puts up dill pickles in PINT
jars???? Make sure you enter the right category.

For salsa, I'm trying the roasted chipotle/tomatillo recipe from the
BBB. The local Mexican grocery didn't have any dried chipotles so I'm
subbing another pepper. Also, instead of pureeing all the
tomatoes/tomatillos* as the recipe directs, I think I'll leave a
couple of each in chunks to give the salsa a bit of textural
interest. What do you seasoned fair competition folks think?

Anny

* That doesn't look right. Maybe it's supposed to be "tomatilloes"
to match "tomatoes"? But that doesn't look right either.

Usted está correcto cuando escribe "tomatillos". Muy bien, Señora.
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com Sam I Am updated 6/20/04.

"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message
...
In article om, "Anny
Middon" wrote:


Anny:
I made raspberry jelly last night and you can read "Kerr" backwards
through the jar and jelly. :-) Sometimes I think Linda Amendt is
quite extreme in her stuff -- but that's probbly just me and I'm not
quite that anal about it all.

My raspberry jelly won first place at the MN State Fair last year and I
don't use coffee filters for straining it. I do, however, use about 4-6
thicknesses of cheesecloth (available in a fabric store if you can't
find it in your supermarket).

I bought a jelly stand that came with a bag. Not sure what the bag is made
out of. Really convenient, even if the juice was cloudy.

I'm going to filter the raspberry juice through a coffee filter, though --
mostly because I *have* coffee filters and don't have cheesecloth.


Last night's jelly (I haven't taken and posted pictures yet) was made
from frozen berries (last summer's crop from Sister Julie's patch on the
home territory) that I thawed in a colander over a catch bowl. I nuked
them for about 3-5 minutes to give them a start, then let them sit for
several hours. After completely thawing and draining the berries, I
strained the accumulated juice through the cheesecloth. Had enough for
one batch of jelly using Ball Fruit Jell powder (4 cups juice, 1/4 cup
lemon juice I subbed 1 tsp citric acid for the lemon juice, and 5-1/2
cups sugar) plus some to add to the thawed berries from which I made
jam. (I think I described my raspberry jammin' in a separate thread.).
I have 7 FAByoolus half-pint jars of ruby red jelly from which I'll
select to to dazzle the judges at this year's Fair. And a smidge left
over in a four ounce jar that won't see Sunday morning.

My strawberry jelly came absolutely delish, even if a bit cloudy. I used
the Surejel Reduced Sugar pectin which I prefer since I think the spreads
come out tasting more like the fruit if they're a bit less sugary.


Or am I better off doing a jelly that's a combination of fruit?

Not if the category is for a single fruit. :-)

Now, see, you must enter your preserves in fairs with big competitions. I
don't know how many entries my local county fair gets, but here are *all* of
the adult classes for canned goods:

Any fruit
Any vegetable
Applesauce
Any relish
Any pickle
Salsa
Marmalade, preserves, jam, fruit butter
Jelly
Any other canned item not listed above

That's it -- ten classes. You can enter only one item in each class.

So despite the fact that I'll definitely try the recipe for Cherry Marmalade
in the BBB, I won't enter it. I know a lot of people don't like the citrus
peel taste and I wouldn't pit a marmalade against jams for that reason.


My original intent was to make some peach-raspberry jelly, but I don't
think the farmer's market peaches will be available in time -- the
fair starts July 21. At any rate, how big a deal is the "perfectly
clear" business for jelly?

Very big. Muy importante. Except that some fruits just don't yield a
juice that makes a clear jelly -- chokecherry comes to mind. At least
my blue ribbon (3 times) chokecherry stuff wasn't clear 11-18 years ago
when it won a few times.

Don't be squeezing your dripping fruit to get a little more out of it.
If you have to make up a small amount (less than half a cup), add some
commercially made apple juice -- it's considered to be a fairly neutral
taste.

Good advice. Thanks!

For jam, I'm planning on making plum/cherry jam this weekend. If it
comes good, I'll probably enter it. Again, are fruit combos in
general more or less prize-winning than single fruit spreads?

Only if they're entered in a lot for a combination of fruits.

Given I can enter only one jam, is it better it be a combination or a single
fruit type? I know, I know -- depends on the preferences of the judges.
But given your extensive experience, do you have any idea of what normally
does better?


(I'll be honest here -- I'd like to win something, even an honorable
mention, for my efforts.)

Don't we all! Absolutely you want to win something!! Nothing wrong in
admitting that. Make sure you adhere to their rules -- jar size,
labeling, processing, etc. It'd be a shame to be disqualified because
you entered the wrong size jar (happened to me the first year I competed
at our Fair, in 1981 -- who in sam hill puts up dill pickles in PINT
jars???? Make sure you enter the right category.

Not much chance of entering the wrong category, given the sparsity of
categories. Although having said that, I realized that I decided not to
enter Bruschetta in a Jar because I couldn't figure out if it was considered
a "vegetable" or an "other". If I do this next year I'll have a better
handle on what to expect from the competition, but the last time I went to
the local county fair I was in high school which was mumblety-mumblety years
ago. Hint: I was a hippie in high school.

For salsa, I'm trying the roasted chipotle/tomatillo recipe from the
BBB. The local Mexican grocery didn't have any dried chipotles so I'm
subbing another pepper. Also, instead of pureeing all the
tomatoes/tomatillos* as the recipe directs, I think I'll leave a
couple of each in chunks to give the salsa a bit of textural
interest. What do you seasoned fair competition folks think?

Anny

* That doesn't look right. Maybe it's supposed to be "tomatilloes"
to match "tomatoes"? But that doesn't look right either.

Usted está correcto cuando escribe "tomatillos". Muy bien, Señora.

Tres bien, Madame.

Anny

Anny Middon wrote:

I bought a jelly stand that came with a bag. Not sure what the bag
is made out of. Really convenient, even if the juice was cloudy.

I'm going to filter the raspberry juice through a coffee filter,
though -- mostly because I *have* coffee filters and don't have
cheesecloth.

Coffee filters will take *forever* to drip. You can get cheesecloth at
any hardware store. (It's by the painting supplies for some reason.)
Use several thicknesses of cheesecloth, or just use some worn-out muslin
(new muslin might have sizing in it that will make it drip too slow like
a coffee filter)

Clarity is the most important judging criteria for jelly. More
important than taste. Don't use low-sugar pectin; all that sugar is
what makes the jelly sparkle even if the juice was a little cloudy.

If you just hate to waste the little bit of juice left in the fruit pulp
after it drips, go ahead and squeeze it, but catch the squeezed juice
separately and use it in the next batch after you have a couple of
perfect jars for judging. Or use the squeezed juice in your jam.

Jelly is the category I'm most intimidated by, even though I've done
pretty well with my few entries.

Good luck, and best regards,
Bob

In article , "Anny Middon"
wrote:

"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message
...
In article om,
"Anny Middon" wrote:

I bought a jelly stand that came with a bag. Not sure what the bag
is made out of. Really convenient, even if the juice was cloudy.

Probably muslin. That's commonly used for jelly bags.
I'm going to filter the raspberry juice through a coffee filter,
though -- mostly because I *have* coffee filters and don't have
cheesecloth.

Heating it *slightly* will at least start it off dripping faster.
Expect it to take time. More time than I'd do! :-)

My strawberry jelly came absolutely delish, even if a bit cloudy. I
used the Surejel Reduced Sugar pectin which I prefer since I think
the spreads come out tasting more like the fruit if they're a bit
less sugary.

Aha! You didn't mention that first time 'round. The reduced sugar
pectins produce a product that's not as clear. You trade looks for
taste.

Or am I better off doing a jelly that's a combination of fruit?

Now, see, you must enter your preserves in fairs with big
competitions. I don't know how many entries my local county fair
gets, but here are *all* of the adult classes for canned goods:

Any fruit Any vegetable Applesauce Any relish Any pickle Salsa
Marmalade, preserves, jam, fruit butter Jelly Any other canned item
not listed above

Aha! Yeah, my State Fair has 14 Jelly lots and 15 Jam lots; 13 Pickle
lots, 11 Relishes, 9 Vegetable lots, and 12 Fruit lots. And 2 Fruit
Butter lots.

That's it -- ten classes. You can enter only one item in each class.

So despite the fact that I'll definitely try the recipe for Cherry
Marmalade in the BBB, I won't enter it. I know a lot of people don't
like the citrus peel taste and I wouldn't pit a marmalade against
jams for that reason.

For jam, I'm planning on making plum/cherry jam this weekend. If
it comes good, I'll probably enter it. Again, are fruit combos
in general more or less prize-winning than single fruit spreads?

Only if they're entered in a lot for a combination of fruits.

Given I can enter only one jam, is it better it be a combination or a
single fruit type? I know, I know -- depends on the preferences of
the judges. But given your extensive experience, do you have any idea
of what normally does better?

I don't, because we have a lot for a combination product so both are
judged equally. I'd stick with only two fruits, though, if you do the
combo thang, because more than that and they hard to differentiate.

Not much chance of entering the wrong category, given the sparsity of
categories. Although having said that, I realized that I decided not
to enter Bruschetta in a Jar because I couldn't figure out if it was
considered a "vegetable" or an "other".

Other. A Relish Class, if you ask me. Oh, you didn't ask. . . .
Is your Bruschetta in a Jar a safe recipe for canning?

If I do this next year I'll have a better handle on what to expect
from the competition, but the last time I went to the local county
fair I was in high school which was mumblety-mumblety years ago.
Hint: I was a hippie in high school.

A kid. George was a from the Zoot Suit generation. Today's my birthday
-- we were hippies in college years. Me and Carly Simon, born on the
same day ezzackly! She's in good company!

Also, instead of pureeing all the tomatoes/tomatillos* as the
recipe directs, I think I'll leave a couple of each in chunks to
give the salsa a bit of textural interest. What do you seasoned
fair competition folks think?
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com Sam I Am updated 6/20/04.

In article , zxcvbob
wrote:

Anny Middon wrote:

I bought a jelly stand that came with a bag. Not sure what the bag
is made out of. Really convenient, even if the juice was cloudy.

I'm going to filter the raspberry juice through a coffee filter,
though -- mostly because I *have* coffee filters and don't have
cheesecloth.

Coffee filters will take *forever* to drip.

You said that *so* much better than I did, Bob!

You can get cheesecloth at any hardware store. (It's by the painting
supplies for some reason.) Use several thicknesses of cheesecloth, or
just use some worn-out muslin (new muslin might have sizing in it that
will make it drip too slow like a coffee filter)

And if you do use cheesecloth, be sure to wet it first before pouring
the juice through.


Clarity is the most important judging criteria for jelly. More
important than taste.

Not at the State Fair, Fella. Taste always gets the most points -- 35
for flavor, 10 for clarity and sparkle.
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com Sam I Am updated 6/20/04.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

Aha! Yeah, my State Fair has 14 Jelly lots and 15 Jam lots; 13 Pickle
lots, 11 Relishes, 9 Vegetable lots, and 12 Fruit lots. And 2 Fruit
Butter lots.

If I do this next year I'll have a better handle on what to expect
from the competition, but the last time I went to the local county
fair I was in high school which was mumblety-mumblety years ago.
Hint: I was a hippie in high school.

A kid. George was a from the Zoot Suit generation. Today's my birthday
-- we were hippies in college years. Me and Carly Simon, born on the
same day ezzackly! She's in good company!

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday babes,
happy birthday to us. I don't look 49 do I?
Pickled some tomatillos by theirselfs this week using a green tomato pickle
recipe from JOP & horseradish, etc. Pretty nice, but waiting for them to
age. I'll have a lot of tomatillos this year. In between all the batches of
beets & mixed pickles, I've been making a special couple of jars for the
fair this year. I'm gonna be ready! Thinking to change the labels all round
so they won't notice its me winning all the prizes.
Edrena. (went in entire year after high school with no underwear, jeans
decorated everywhere. Protesting just saps yer strength don't it?)

In article , The Joneses
wrote:


Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday babes,
happy birthday to us.

Oy, I forGOT!! I've got raspberry jelly all over my face! I hope you
had as much fun as I did, 'drena. I told everyone I'm 65 -- then they
say, "Gosh, you must be kidding! You sure don't look like it!" And I
revel.

don't look 49 do I?
Nope. I'da pegged you at 38 at the most!

Pickled some tomatillos
by theirselfs this week using a green tomato pickle recipe from JOP &
horseradish, etc. Pretty nice, but waiting for them to age. I'll have
a lot of tomatillos this year.

Why do you have to cook them before you use them?

In between all the batches of beets & mixed pickles, I've been making
a special couple of jars for the fair this year. I'm gonna be ready!
Thinking to change the labels all round so they won't notice its me
winning all the prizes. Edrena. (went in entire year after high school
with no underwear,


TMI!!! TMI!!

jeans decorated everywhere. Protesting just saps yer strength don't
it?)

You absolutely crack me up!
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com Sam I Am updated 6/20/04.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:
Pickled some tomatillos
by theirselfs this week using a green tomato pickle recipe from JOP &
horseradish, etc. Pretty nice, but waiting for them to age. I'll have
a lot of tomatillos this year.

Why do you have to cook them before you use them?

??
I don't. Just cut up, pour pickle stuff on, refrigerate. Tomatillos are
kinda like okra y'know. Or eggplant or squash. They keep going and
going... Another vegetable I discovered last year.
Edrena

"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message
...
wrote:

I bought a jelly stand that came with a bag. Not sure what the bag
is made out of. Really convenient, even if the juice was cloudy.

Probably muslin. That's commonly used for jelly bags.

Possibly, but seems more polyesterish. Rinsed almost clean after using it
for strawberries.

I'm going to filter the raspberry juice through a coffee filter,
though -- mostly because I *have* coffee filters and don't have
cheesecloth.

Heating it *slightly* will at least start it off dripping faster.
Expect it to take time. More time than I'd do! :-)

If they have cheesecloth at my local Walmart I'll get some. Otherwise I'll
do the coffee filter thing and report back on how long it took.


My strawberry jelly came absolutely delish, even if a bit cloudy. I
used the Surejel Reduced Sugar pectin which I prefer since I think
the spreads come out tasting more like the fruit if they're a bit
less sugary.

Aha! You didn't mention that first time 'round. The reduced sugar
pectins produce a product that's not as clear. You trade looks for
taste.

The taste was wonderful -- but I won't enter it at the fair (just give it to
a few lucky friends). I'm gonna buy some liquid pectin for my raspberry
jelly which %^$#* better come out good enough to enter.



Aha! Yeah, my State Fair has 14 Jelly lots and 15 Jam lots; 13 Pickle
lots, 11 Relishes, 9 Vegetable lots, and 12 Fruit lots. And 2 Fruit
Butter lots.

I suspect the Illinois State Fair has a lot more classes than our little
DuPage County Fair. I'm not getting down to Springfield this year, though.

OK, gotta ask -- when you're getting your entries ready for the fiar, do you
sing, "Our state fair is the best state fair/Don't miss it, don't even be
late!"?
Given I can enter only one jam, is it better it be a combination or a
single fruit type? I know, I know -- depends on the preferences of
the judges. But given your extensive experience, do you have any idea
of what normally does better?

I don't, because we have a lot for a combination product so both are
judged equally. I'd stick with only two fruits, though, if you do the
combo thang, because more than that and they hard to differentiate.

I made the plum cherry jam last night and it was kickass delicious! Not
going to enter it though -- despite the fact that I waited five minutes to
put in jars and stirred every minute, there was still some separation. Plus
I used reduced sugar pectin and I think the flavor may be too robust for the
judges. I'm going to make up some peachj/raspberry jam with regular pectin
and hope that comes out entry-worthy.

How do you keep your jams from the dread floating fruit syndrome? Before
this year I never worried about it, considering layers to be one of the
charms of the homemade product.


Not much chance of entering the wrong category, given the sparsity of
categories. Although having said that, I realized that I decided not
to enter Bruschetta in a Jar because I couldn't figure out if it was
considered a "vegetable" or an "other".

Other. A Relish Class, if you ask me. Oh, you didn't ask. . . .

Actually I thought about that class, too. But the recipe is mostly
tomatoes, somewhat like an Italian salsa.

Is your Bruschetta in a Jar a safe recipe for canning?

I assume so -- I got the recipe off this newsgroup and it has white wine
vinegar in it. Here are the ingredients:

9 cups chopped plum tomatoes (about 20 med)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. each: granulated sugar, dried basil, dried oregano .

Take the vinegar plus the wine and it's gotta be safe, right?


If I do this next year I'll have a better handle on what to expect
from the competition, but the last time I went to the local county
fair I was in high school which was mumblety-mumblety years ago.
Hint: I was a hippie in high school.

A kid. George was a from the Zoot Suit generation. Today's my birthday
-- we were hippies in college years. Me and Carly Simon, born on the
same day ezzackly! She's in good company!


Happy Birthday! Were gin and chocolate gifted you in prodigious quantities?

Anny

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
Anny Middon wrote:

Coffee filters will take *forever* to drip. You can get cheesecloth at
any hardware store. (It's by the painting supplies for some reason.)
Use several thicknesses of cheesecloth, or just use some worn-out muslin
(new muslin might have sizing in it that will make it drip too slow like
a coffee filter)

Clarity is the most important judging criteria for jelly. More
important than taste. Don't use low-sugar pectin; all that sugar is
what makes the jelly sparkle even if the juice was a little cloudy.

If you just hate to waste the little bit of juice left in the fruit pulp
after it drips, go ahead and squeeze it, but catch the squeezed juice
separately and use it in the next batch after you have a couple of
perfect jars for judging. Or use the squeezed juice in your jam.

Jelly is the category I'm most intimidated by, even though I've done
pretty well with my few entries.

Thanks for the advice. Tonight I make raspberry jelly, full sugar. It had
better come out entry-quality!

Anny

In article , The Joneses
wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:
Pickled some tomatillos by theirselfs this week using a green
tomato pickle recipe from JOP & horseradish, etc. Pretty nice,
but waiting for them to age. I'll have a lot of tomatillos this
year.


Why do you have to cook them before you use them?

??
I don't. Just cut up, pour pickle stuff on, refrigerate. Tomatillos are
kinda like okra y'know. Or eggplant or squash. They keep going and
going... Another vegetable I discovered last year.
Edrena

Hmmm. I bought some at the downtown St. Paul Farmers Market a couple
years ago and the guy said they had to be par-boiled or something before
using in salsa. I wondered why.
--
-Barb, www.jamlady.eboard.com Sam I Am updated 6/20/04.

"The Joneses" wrote in message
...

Edrena. (went in entire year after high school with no underwear, jeans
decorated everywhere. Protesting just saps yer strength don't it?)

Yeppers. Hey, hey, LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?

I almost took to the streets again when GW decided to go to war in Iraq. I
wonder what they chanted at those marches.

Anny

Melba's Jammin' wrote in
:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:
Pickled some tomatillos by theirselfs this week using a green
tomato pickle recipe from JOP & horseradish, etc. Pretty nice,
but waiting for them to age. I'll have a lot of tomatillos this
year.


Why do you have to cook them before you use them?

??
I don't. Just cut up, pour pickle stuff on, refrigerate. Tomatillos
are kinda like okra y'know. Or eggplant or squash. They keep going
and going... Another vegetable I discovered last year.
Edrena

Hmmm. I bought some at the downtown St. Paul Farmers Market a couple
years ago and the guy said they had to be par-boiled or something
before using in salsa. I wondered why.

Tomatillos are also rather hard when raw.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.

Wayne wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote in
:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

In article , The Joneses
wrote:
Pickled some tomatillos by theirselfs this week using a green
tomato pickle recipe from JOP & horseradish, etc. Pretty nice,
but waiting for them to age. I'll have a lot of tomatillos this
year.

Why do you have to cook them before you use them?

??
I don't. Just cut up, pour pickle stuff on, refrigerate. Tomatillos
are kinda like okra y'know. Or eggplant or squash. They keep going
and going... Another vegetable I discovered last year.
Edrena

Hmmm. I bought some at the downtown St. Paul Farmers Market a couple
years ago and the guy said they had to be par-boiled or something
before using in salsa. I wondered why.

Tomatillos are also rather hard when raw.
Wayne in Phoenix

Crispy, Wayno, crispy.
Edrena, also crispy