August 6, 2015 – Pickle Power

“Pickle Power”

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IN THIS ISSUE, we’re adding pop to everyday dishes with pickles! Visit nearly any restaurant these days and your salad or entrée may very likely come with a garnish of pickled something. You can choose quick pickling methods – ready in minutes, or traditional preserving methods. We show you the how-to with Red Onions in Vinegar, a classic Jardinière, and Grandma’s Dill Pickles.

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Pickle Anything!

Say the word “pickle” and your mouth responds. The salty-sour taste of a pickle adds plenty of pizzazz to a plate. Pickles come in many forms; nearly any fruit or vegetable can be pickled into your new favorite.

Try pickling garlic scapes, cherries, cauliflower, green beans, wax beans, asparagus, peas, carrots, beets, strawberries, okra, you name it!

There are two approaches to pickling, quick pickling and preserved pickling. It’s worth trying both methods when creating pickle flavors.

Quick Pickling – With this method, fruits or vegetables are soaked in a brine comprised of salt or vinegar, or a combination of the two. Specific spices may be infused in the brine to accentuate the final pickle profile.

The process for quick pickling follows a similar process to preserved pickling up to the point where the jars are closed. The food has been blanched in the brine, or heated by pouring hot brine over the jarred vegetables. Once lids have been applied, quick pickles are allowed to cool, then refrigerated to keep them preserved for several weeks. Refrigeration reduces the chances of spoilage.

Preserved Pickling – Shelf-stable jars of food are produced with preserved pickling methods. The produce is prepared, blanched in the brine, or the hot brine poured over the vegetables in the jar. Lids are placed, and the jars are submerged in a hot water bath (see directions for this below). As the water boils, pressure builds inside the jar forcing air out and creating a vacuum once cooled. Each recipe specifies a “processing time” depending on the food and the size of jar being used. Properly canned food does not require refrigeration, but is stored on the shelf and ideally used within a year.

Very Quick Pickling

Pickling can be as quick as a 15 minute process! Thinly slice a vegetable creating plenty of surface area, then soak in a brine. In a short time, the brine replaces the water in the vegetable’s cells imparting plenty of flavor in the process. The brine may be as simple as salted water, or a light-bodied vinegar. Rice vinegar is a nice mild vinegar with a clear color. Or, apple cider vinegar adds a hint of sweetness in addition to it’s sour, acidic quality. Add very quick pickles to a salad, or simply enjoy when eaten on their own. 

Preserved Pickling is divided into two types of processing:
High-Acid Environment
Some foods are naturally acidic and may be easily canned in a simple water bath. Or by adding acid to the food, as with vinegar during pickling, an inhospitable environment is created. Microorganisms can’t live in an environment with of pH of 4.6 or less.

Low-Acid Environment
In a low-acid setting where the pH is > 4.6, bacterial spores can surviving boiling temperatures. Instead, the jars must be heated to 240° F for a specified time period. At home, this temperature hurdle can only be achieved with the assistance of a pressure canner.

Red Onions in Vinegar
 Three ingredients – that’s it! Gorgeous red onions, red wine vinegar, and a little garlic. They turn a lovely deep pink during the pickling process adding both a pop of color and flavor to any dish. We like to serve them on salads, chopped or whole, or as a side relish for grilled meats. Simply steep the sliced onions in a heated bath of vinegar infused with garlic, place into jars, and cover with the vinegar. During the process, the onions lose their bite and gain a piquant punch. 
Quick Pickled Version
For a quick pickled version, after steeping, simply refrigerate in the vinegar, and use over the next several weeks.

Preserved Pickled Version
For longer storage, process packed jars in a hot water bath for the specified time, and store on the shelf.

Reprinted with permission from Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judy Kingry and Lauren Devine. Copyright 2006. Published by Robert Rose Inc., Toronto, Canada. All rights reserved.

Tips for Success:
(1) Try different sizes -- While this recipe calls for 1/4-inch slices, try cutting the onion in half and slicing crescent shapes instead. Or, use a mandoline or handheld slicer to produce even, paper-thin onion slices. Thinner pieces will pickle faster.  (2) Use smaller jars -- The onions will lose their rigid shape during the steeping process and can be easily packed into 8 oz. size jars. With smaller jars, it’s easier to use up in one or two meals.

(3) Cut the recipe in half – With so few ingredients, exact measurements matter less than other pickling recipes. So, if you’re not into slicing tons of onions, try slicing just one or two, blanch in red wine vinegar, use right away, or jar for later.

Jardinière
 The term “jardinière” means a “garnish of mixed vegetables.” As the name implies, this recipe includes all kinds of produce from the “jardin,” or garden. A collage of August vegetables, the pickled produce makes for a colorful presentation. The prepped vegetables are treated to a sweet-and-sour brine bath that infuses into each piece in two stages: an initial blanching stage, and again as they cure when jarred. You’ll want to add these pickles to the dinner table often!

Quick Pickled Version
For a quick pickled version, simply refrigerate in the brine, and use over the next several weeks.

Preserved Pickled Version
For longer storage, process in a hot water bath for the specified time, cool, and store on the shelf.

Reprinted with permission from Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judy Kingry and Lauren Devine. Copyright 2006. Published by Robert Rose Inc., Toronto, Canada. All rights reserved. 
Tips for Success:
(1) Blanching different vegetables – The goal of blanching vegetables in the vinegar brine is to stop any natural enzymatic activity that would cause the vegetables to deteriorate. In the process, the vegetables become slightly more tender. Stage the addition of the vegetables to the blanching brine according to their character. In this recipe, the tender peppers are added last after some of the more substantial vegetables, such as carrots, have steeped longer.

(2) Go for the color pop – In addition to picking what’s in season, choose a variety of vegetables that create a pleasing array of color. Greens will fade as they are cooked, but many oranges, yellows, and reds will hold their color well.

(3) Use just one vegetable – This brine recipe is versatile and delicious when applied to any number of vegetables. If your garden or market has an abundance of a particular vegetable on any given day, go with just one vegetable and apply this sweet-and-sour brine. 
For Prepping, Pickling & Preserving:

PICKLE FORK
Unique, 2-tined fork spears pickles, olives, cherries and more. Push off with plunger. Stainless steel.

OXO GOOD GRIPS TONGS
A pair of good tongs are always handy, but especially when canning. Manage jars, transfer food, and more!

LE  CREUSET 8 QT. STOCKPOT
This tall stockpot is not only good for soups and stews, but also makes a great pan for hot water processing of jars.

OXO GOOD GRIPS V-BLADE MANDOLINE
Slice desired thicknesses with consistency when using a mandoline. Blades for julienne cuts, too!

KYOCERA VEGETABLE PEELER
Prep vegetables easily with a sharp-bladed peeler. Cutting edge swivels to match the vegetable’s contours.

WIDE MOUTH FUNNEL
Fill jars without creating a mess with this funnel that fits regular and wide jars. Clean edges means a better seal.

PREPWORKS CANNING SET
Features a jar lifter, wide mouth funnel and lid wand – the essential items for canning the season’s produce.

Grandma’s Dill Pickles
 Pickling is for more than just cucumbers, but let’s give credit where credit is due! The humble cucumber is the original pickle to most of us. This version of dill pickles conjurs up pickles of our past; it has just the right amount of spice, salt, and garlic. Cucumbers, with their high water content, are pickled in two steps: (1) several hours are spent soaking in salt water, then (2) several days curing in a spiced vinegar brine. The result is a nice sour, slightly garlicky pickle with some pleasant pucker power!

Quick Pickled Version
For a quick pickled version, simply refrigerate in the spiced brine, and use over the next several weeks.

Preserved Pickled Version
For longer storage, process in a hot water bath for the specified time, cure for one week, and store on the shelf.

Reprinted with permission from Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judy Kingry and Lauren Devine. Copyright 2006. Published by Robert Rose Inc., Toronto, Canada. All rights reserved.

Tips for Success:
(1) Use English cucumbers – The window for finding pickling cucumbers is short. The small cukes possess a tender skin and diminutive seeds -- both necessary characteristics for a good pickle. Alternatively, try using English cucumbers or newly available mini-cucumber varieties. Both have the requisite tender skin and small seeds.

(2) Use fresh dill, or dill seed and dill weed – Fortunately, the window for fresh dill coincides with the peak of the cucumber crop. It’s often available at farmers’ markets in August. However, if the pickling urge strikes at any other time of the year, use dill seed and dill weed as a substitute.

(3) Don’t be daunted by a peck of pickles – A peck of pickles – the standard alliteration that some guy named Peter keeps repeating -- can be daunting. A peck is dry measure equivalent to 8 quarts or 2 gallons. Such quantities can be intimidating! Halve or quarter the recipe to make the process doable. 
How to Process Pickles in a Hot Water Bath
(1) Clean the jars, lids and rings in hot, soapy water.
(2) Heat the clean jars in hot water to sterilize.
(3) Prepare the vegetables and the brine.
(4) Add spices and herbs to the hot jars.
(5) Pack vegetables in the warm jars. Fill the jars, but not too snuggly.
(6) Add liquid brine to each jar. Leave 1/2-inch headspace at the top.
(7) Remove air bubbles with a chopstick or similar utensil.
(8) Clean the rim of the filled jars with a damp paper towel.
(9) Place a lid, heated in hot water, on top of each jar.
(10) Screw on a jar ring tightening just enough – only “fingertip tight.”
(11) Submerge jars into hot water bath and boil Keep water line 1-inch above tops.
(12) Keep the water boiling around the jars for the time specified in the recipe. (13) Remove the jars with a jar lifter, keeping upright, and place on a folded towel.
(14) Allow jars to stand undisturbed for about 12 hours. Check the seal.
(15) Once cooled, store in a cool, dark place for at least one week.

COOKBOOK REVIEW:

Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judy Kingry and Lauren Devine. Published by Robert Rose Inc., Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2006.

This contemporary book brings home preserving to novices and experts alike. The book starts at the beginning and guides the cook through all the canning steps in a logical sequence. There are no assumptions in the instructions; everything is explained without becoming overwhelming. The “Getting Started” directions allow instant action, confidence, and success. Beyond these “quick start” directions, the 400 pages that follow present spreads, fruits, pickles, condiments, and more. Both hot water bath processing and pressure processing are covered in the book. For the curious reader, a more in-depth discussion of the “whys” behind the “how” is available. If you’re looking to join the renaissance of home preserving, this book will get you started and inspire you in discovering the culinary art form of preserving.