I feel like I've hit my stride with the pickle-making. I recently made some pickles out of turnips from Lil' Farm that were really great.
General recipe:
For a quart of pickles, bring to a boil:
- .75 cup white vinegar
- 1.25 cup water,
- 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt
- .5 teaspoon ground spice (e.g. tumeric, chili powder, curry, anything you like)
Allow to cool.
Depending on what vegetable you are pickling, you may also want to blanch your vegetable (e.g. turnips). My sliced turnips required a blanch time of about 1-2 minutes. This gave the turnip the right amount of crunch without being too hard.
Pack the sterilized jar tightly, then pour the brine over the top. Add three or four whole seeds (e.g. coriander, peppercorn, etc.). Optional: Add 2 garlic cloves. Seal the lid tightly, and give it a vigorous shake. Allow the pickles to sit in a dark, cool place for 3-6 days. Then place in refrigerator. Open in one week to three weeks.
Another good pickle recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/dining/272crex.html?ref=dining
Here's my current fav - might work well with turnips but I'm not sure. They come out looking just beautiful. We opened a jar just last week that we canned back in July 2010 and they were great.
ReplyDeleteBREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES
8 lbs. cucumbers
2 lbs. white onions
1/2 cup canning salt
1 quart vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Slice unpeeled cucumbers 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Slice peeled white onions 1/8 inch thick.
In a large stockpot, arrange cucumbers in layers, sprinkling each layer with canning salt. Let stand for 3 hours; rinse in cold water and drain in colander.
Bring vinegar and remaining ingredients to a boil. Add vegetables; bring to a boil again and boil for 5 minutes.
Pack into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes
The rest of the family liked these even better but they have to be stored cold.
ReplyDelete5-6 lbs pickling cucumbers – I use regular cucumbers cut into 1/2 “ slices
1 large onion, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices
1 whole head of garlic (or more to taste) peeled and chopped
Handful of dill head or fronds
¼ C pickling spices
3C white wine vinegar
6 C water
½ C Kosher salt
1. Trim and discard ends of cukes.
2. Pack all ingredients except the vinegar, water and salt in a large mouth jar.
3. Bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour the hot mixture over the cukes until they are covered. Allow to cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate. Allow to stand at least 2 days in the fridge to absorb the flavors of the brine.
4. You can also use the above recipe to make pickled green tomatoes.
5. Add some hot peppers to give a little zing to the pickles
hey, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJust made them... now to wait 3-6 days to taste perfection.
ReplyDeletecool. hope they come out good. don't forget to let them sit in the fridge for a week or two before opening. this finishes off the fermentation and gives them a really good flavor. opening after 3-6 days is good too, depending on the vegetable (e.g. sweet pickling cukes should be fine; a turnip that has more starch to it needs more time). regardless, definitely chill before opening.
ReplyDelete