Peck of Pickled... Pickles

I would venture to say, if you start pickling, you won't be able to stop. It is easy. It is inexpensive. It is good!

You can pickle just about anything, but some foods work better than others. The less watery, the better. Carrots, radishes, daikon radish, beets, cauliflower, peppers, onions, beans - all good pickling vegetables. You can pickle meat as well - though I don't have any experience with it. Corned beef is pickled beef. My dad used to make it  - and I remember that flavor fondly!

We are all familiar with The Pickle, of course. For pickles you use pickling cucumbers. They don't taste so great raw, unlike "real" cucumbers. They're slightly bitter and have a difficult texture. But once you pickle them - oh yum! They are fibrous and sturdy enough to hold up to the pickling process. With acid and salt you are basically breaking down the structure of whatever you are pickling and allowing flavors to infuse. The pickling process also creates good and vital enzymes - great for your digestive tract, great for balancing the pH level in your body, and great for ensuring sufficient electrolytes for your system. So pickle away!

Let me share something here - make only as many pickles as you are going to be able to eat and/or give away. It is easy to get overly enthusiastic and end up with jars and jars of pickled things that take up room in your refrigerator and never get eaten. I would recommend going for pickling diversity rather than pickling quantity.

That said - here's a guide for making good ol' pickles:

4 large, or 6-8 smaller pickling cucumbers - about 2 pounds total
2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (for this you don't have to use raw vinegar - you'll be heating the pickling liquid and any enzymes in the vinegar would be killed)
1 cup of water
3-4 Tbsp kosher salt (don't use regular table salt or your pickles will taste awful)
Several twigs of dill weed (might be difficult to get if you don't grow it, or have a farmer who supplies it. You can use a twig of dill if you must, but it won't be quite the same)
1 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp black pepper corns
1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 Palm full of whole allspice
2 bay leaves
As many peeled (and halved garlic cloves that you want - I'd recommend 2-3 cloves per jar)

Now you can use all of these spiced or a combination of fewer of them. Up to you. This is just what I used. 

Depending on what kind of jars you have and how big your pickles are, cut them in spears, chunks, slices, or any other way you want. The thinner and smaller you cut them, the stronger the pickle taste will be - so take that into consideration.

Pack the pickles, garlic, dill weed into your (very clean) jars. This might take a bit of time - but worth it.

Put the vinegar, water, salt, spices in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Off the heat, while the liquid is still really hot, ladle the pickling liquid - whole spices and all (minus the bay leaves) - over the pickles in the jars. Fill 'er up! Place on the lid of each filled jar immediately and screw it tight. Make sure you get the spices evenly in all the jars. Turn the jars this way and that to make sure the spices get everywhere.

And here's a trick so your jars won't crack or explode from the hot liquid: Wet a dishtowel - ring it out, and place over a cutting board. Put your jars on the wet towel to fill them with hot liquid. This applies to the filling of anything with hot stuff - like jam, chutney, etc.

Generally, I'll turn my filled and closed jars upside down and let them cool that way. The heat of the liquid will create a vacuum, which prolongs the  life of the pickles. Once they are cooled, put them in the fridge and let them live there until they are consumed.

You'll have to wait a week before you can eat the pickles. Worth the wait!

Shelf life? Since these are not actually canned, their life is a bit limited. But pickles are going to last longer than a lot of other things. Rule of thumb: unopened - 3 months. Once opened, consume within two weeks.

Pickled Peppers!

Are you excited about pickling? I hope so! Using all the information above, you can pickle sweet peppers, too! Leave out the dill weed and add some thinly sliced onion instead.

Sweet peppers come in three colors - red, orange, yellow. They have no or very little heat and are darling to look at. They can be eaten just like the pickle up there - with or on a sandwich, as an hors d'oeuvre with cheese and crackers. You can slice them up and use them in salad or create a fun relish with a few of your pickled things.

Start with about 2 pounds of small sweet peppers. Wash them well, clip their stems close to the pepper. Score each pepper with three slits. Pack them into clean jars with garlic and thin onion slices. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the peppers and shake the jar a little. The scored peppers will actually absorb some liquid and the shaking will expedite the process. Top off with more pickling liquid and close tightly with the lid.

Again - wait a week before cracking open your first jar. 

Not only are these beautiful, they are really good, too!

Pickle on! Try the same method with jalapenos, mixed vegetables, and more!