Trying my hand at pickling

[karrie]

Yep... I'm about to start trying pickling.

Any suggestions? Fave tricks? Fave recipes.

I think I'm starting out simple enough... carrots, eggs, and garlic are the three things I'm doing up.

I want to do some of the carrots with garlic and chili pepper, some with dill (I have a huge crop of the stuff in my yard). Maybe some with both, depending on how many jars my carrots make up.

As for the eggs I'm thinking simple dill. Or maybe no flavor at all... I haven't quite decided (and yes, I'm weird, I like pickled eggs... so do my kids... bizarro family).

The garlic is simple enough... one or two jars of pickled garlic. Again, weird me, I actually love the stuff. Pickled garlic as a garnish is delish, and on a skewer in a Ceasar... Yum.

 

[lone wolf]

All I miss the odours of boiling vinegar....

 

[darkbeaver]

I never heard of pickled garlic Karrie. I'll have to look for it though.

 

[mabudon]

it's tasty Beav, there's lots of good recipes for it about, I love the stuff

Another suggestion for ya Karrie- something I LOVE which is pretty cheap (and I like pickled eggs too so I think you have similar tastes in preserved items)

garlic/dill pickeld green beans, they're REALLY good, with LOTS of recipes about as well.

I have a recipe for Iranian pickled cauliflower somewheres too, I should dig it out, it's MUCH less work that regular pickles

 

[karrie]

yes mabudon... if I can talk my girlfriend into giving me some of her harvest I might do some beans. But, mine didn't come up, and fresh beans here are comparatively expensive. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I can get some. :smile:

 

[darkbeaver]

Pickled cauliflower I love, post that recipe will you Mabudon, just this afternoon I traded a chicken for some pickled goods but didn;t have a clue about what I really wanted.

 

[#juan]

We (my wife and I)just layed up a dozen pints of garlic baby dill cukes. We won't be able to open the first jar for about a month.
Next is bread and butter pickles....We're just waiting for the stores to get in some good cucumbers. We also do ordinary sweet pickles and with them we throw in cauliflower and pearl onions. We don't do nearly as much pickling as we used to.

 

[karrie]

Okay, well, I'm getting conflicting views juan. Do you heat process your pickles? The sweet syrupy kind, I can see why you heat process, like bread and butter, etc. But, pickled carrot spears, the vinegar and salt based ones, I like crunchy. I don't want to have to heat process. Some sites say it's safe not to, others say it's dangerous.

Someone, clear this up for me!!

 

[#juan]

Okay, well, I'm getting conflicting views juan. Do you heat process your pickles? The sweet syrupy kind, I can see why you heat process, like bread and butter, etc. But, pickled carrot spears, the vinegar and salt based ones, I like crunchy. I don't want to have to heat process. Some sites say it's safe not to, others say it's dangerous.

Someone, clear this up for me!!

Hi Karrie

For the baby dill cukes we put the dill weed, the garlic, and the washed cukes into the sterilized jars and then we pour the boiling vinegar/water mixture over the dills just enough to cover. We then put the lids on just finger tight. We then process the jars of pickles in boiling water for fifteen minutes....Tighten the lids and wait for the lids to pop in. Come back in a month and enjoy.

For pickled carrot spears, the process is exactly the same. The pickles are not boiling in water, the jars are. You won't get limp carrots.

For bread and butter pickles you put everything, the sliced cukes, the onions, the bell peppers, the sugar and spicess, into the pot and just bring to a boil.....boil for one minute. Divide pickles among jars, put the lids on and process for fifteen minutes....etc....etc....

Hope this helped.......:smile:

 

[karrie]

thanks juan... it's the over processed limp carrots I'm trying to avoid... I hate that feeling. If you say they won't go limp, I trust you. :smile:

 

[quandary121]

Try pickling walnuts they are amazing ,you have to do it when their green i think,and watch your hands when pickling them as they stain,also you could try beetroot ,that too can stain your hands so be careful,

 

[#juan]

Try pickling walnuts they are amazing ,you have to do it when their green i think,and watch your hands when pickling them as they stain,also you could try beetroot ,that too can stain your hands so be careful,

This is something that we first heard about thirty years ago. Find a pickled beet recipe you like and rather than all the peeling and trimming, and purple fingers up to your elbows, use canned whole small beets from your grocery store and the pickle are just as good as if you had cooked fresh beets.

 

[quandary121]

This is something that we first heard about thirty years ago. Find a pickled beet recipe you like and rather than all the peeling and trimming, and purple fingers up to your elbows, use canned whole small beets from your grocery store and the pickle are just as good as if you had cooked fresh beets.

Hi juan have you ever had pickled walnuts, they turn black in the jar, and the longer you leave them the better they taste,i was a new comer to them ,and once i tried them that was it i was hooked, i don't pickle myself ,but where i live there are about 3walnut trees ,and the other residents pickle them ,and i occasionally get the chance to have some yum yum,best results leave for over a year...:lol:

 

[#juan]

Hi juan have you ever had pickled walnuts, they turn black in the jar, and the longer you leave them the better they taste,i was a new comer to them ,and once i tried them that was it i was hooked, i don't pickle myself ,but where i live there are about 3walnut trees ,and the other residents pickle them ,and i occasionally get the chance to have some yum yum,best results leave for over a year...:lol:

I've never had the pleasure. One of the problems is finding a supply of walnuts....read "finding a cheap supply of walnuts". I use walnuts in cooking but at 79 cents per hundred grams, I don't think making walnut pickles has ever come up.

 

[quandary121]

I've never had the pleasure. One of the problems is finding a supply of walnuts....read "finding a cheap supply of walnuts". I use walnuts in cooking but at 79 cents per hundred grams, I don't think making walnut pickles has ever come up.

shame here the recipe

pickling walnuts is a three-week process from picking to preserving, it is dead simple to make a plentiful supply of pickled walnuts
Ingredients
2kg freshly picked black walnuts
225g saltSweet Pickling Syrup

1 litre malt vinegar
500g brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Method

In the UK pick walnuts at the end of June before the hard nut forms inside the green shiny case. Pick a bucketful and, wearing rubber gloves, prick each walnut a couple of times with a fork. Watch out for the clear juice this produces. It is deceptive, as it stains a dark brown.

Cover the walnuts with water and add salt. Leave for a week, then drain and renew with fresh brine solution for another week or so.

Next, lay walnuts out on trays in a dry, airy place. In a couple of days they will turn jet black. Now the walnuts are ready for to be pickled..

For the sweet pickling syrup

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring syrup mix to the boil, then add walnuts and simmer for 15 minutes.

Cool and spoon walnuts into large jars, then cover with syrup. They will last for years. These pickled walnuts are great with cheese or cold meats, and make an interesting colour contrast on a pile of mashed potato. ​

Learn if walnuts are a "super food" and help lower high blood pressure

http://www.davidgregory.org/pickled_walnuts.htm

 

[quandary121]

And another

Ingredients:
green Walnuts
1/2 cup salt for every 5 cups water (for brine)
For spiced vinegar:
For every 5 cups white vinegar, add 2 tablespoons peppercorns, 2 walnut-sized pieces 0f dried gingerroot and 2 tablespoons whole allspice.Directions:
For the Brine:
Boil the water and pour in the salt. Stir well to dissolve and cool before using.
Wearing rubber gloves, prick the walnuts all over with a thin skewer or metal knitting needle. Put them into a bowl and cover with brine. Put a plate on top of the walnuts to keep them under the surface and leave 5-6 days in a cool place. Drain, cover again with fresh brine and leave for another week. Drain well, spread on a tray and leave in a warm room or, better still in the sun. Turn them occasionally and leave for 2-3 days or until they turn black.
For the spiced vinegar:
Cruch the spices lightly to bruise them, tie in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the vinegar. Boil in a covered enamel or stainless steel pan for 10 minutes. Cool and remove the spices.
Pack walnuts in dry jars, then cover with spiced vinegar, seal at once and leave 7-8 weeks before using.
If you have a Walnut tree, or access to one, you may produce this English recipe. Green Walnuts (picked in June and July, before the shell has formed and can harden in the pickle.)are used. If you push a thin skewer or knitting needle into the nut, you will be able to feel when the nut is beginning to form. Be sure to wear rubber gloves as walnuts stain badly.

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/13650/pickled-walnuts.html

 

[eh1eh]

Getting really domestic there Karrie.

Pickling is great and you will enjoy it over and over whenever you pop a jar open knowing it was your hand that made it possible.

As far as heat processing goes, there is a bit of a debate there. We have done pickles, dill and bread & butter but heat processed neither. We are just finishing up the batch from 2005 and they are still fine. Now we do a chutney with tomato and peach etc. and that gets processed. we have also done whole tomatoes and process that. I think anything that goes into the jar with a brine of salt and vinegar does not necessarily need the extra heat but foods that are being preserved as themselves as it were, not pickled that is, need the cooking to fully preserve them.
Good luck. It's going to be good. :smile:

 

[karrie]

The other thing I'll be doing is zucchini relish, since I have 7 or 8 hills of zucchinis. I can't wait!

That's easy enough to heat process without damaging the texture thankfully, so, no worries there. Although, most of the relish recipes I've seen don't call for it.

Chutneys... mmmm... I might have to add that to my list. I love chutneys.

And yeah, I've been very domestic lately. There's something about going out to your yard to pick supper that sparks that. I even took all my laundry out to dry today instead of firing it in the machine, and enjoyed a nice batch of sun tea in the midst of the scorching heat (it's 36 here at my house) and chores. Domestic diva. lol.

 

[#juan]

Getting really domestic there Karrie.

Pickling is great and you will enjoy it over and over whenever you pop a jar open knowing it was your hand that made it possible.

As far as heat processing goes, there is a bit of a debate there. We have done pickles, dill and bread & butter but heat processed neither. We are just finishing up the batch from 2005 and they are still fine. Now we do a chutney with tomato and peach etc. and that gets processed. we have also done whole tomatoes and process that. I think anything that goes into the jar with a brine of salt and vinegar does not necessarily need the extra heat but foods that are being preserved as themselves as it were, not pickled that is, need the cooking to fully preserve them.
Good luck. It's going to be good. :smile:

A few years ago we lost a whole batch of dill pickles to some kind of mold. The whole top of all the jars was covered with green fur. The batch had only been in the jars a couple months. I don't think I would skip the processing......but then I'm a coward.......

 

[eh1eh]

A few years ago we lost a whole batch of dill pickles to some kind of mold. The whole top of all the jars was covered with green fur. The batch had only been in the jars a couple months. I don't think I would skip the processing......but then I'm a coward.......

Maybe we've been lucky. We are particular about cleanliness and boiling everything so that may have saved us so far.