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Pickles a Plenty A symbol of both thrift and abundance, the pickle jar is a staple in every well-stocked pantry. Putting up your cucumber bounty with Grandma's dill directions maintains an important link with the past--and a promising future. But even if you're not the grow-and-can-your-own type, you're still a pickler if you enjoy mixing up that lively looking relish recipe or that gourmet side dish of spicy pickled mango. Using an array of spices and a variety of produce (think outside the cucumber patch), you can even easily make your own signature pickles. There are many ways to make pickles, but because the basic ingredients and processes are similar, you'll find it easy to experiment. Brined or fermented pickles , like dill pickles, sauerkraut, and sweet gherkins, are dry-salted or brined, and have a taste characteristic of the fermentation process. (Some studies show that fermentation preserves, or even increases, nutrients, too.) Tartly flavored fresh pack, vinegar pickles or quick process pickles , like bread and butter pickles, are not fermented, but usually soaked in a salt solution and then mixed with hot vinegar and spices. Fruit pickles and chutneys , like peaches, pears, and watermelon rind, are simmered in spicy, sweet-sour syrup. And relishes are spiced and cooked fruits and vegetables that bring a medley of flavors and visual interest to any meal. |
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Key Pickling Ingredients and Supplies: Water plays a crucial role in the pickling process. For example, hard water interferes with the curing process and so may cause discoloration, while water that's high in calcium can cause the produce to shrivel. Use soft water when you can, or distilled or bottled water. Various Sweeteners can be used, though you'll find that most recipes call for white granulated sugar. With a little trial and error, you can substitute honey, brown sugar, and other sweeteners, though some may darken the liquid. Salt enhances the flavor and firms the texture of produce by drawing off excess liquid and concentrating flavors. Pickling salt is free of additives that might discolor ingredients or darken or cloud the pickling liquid. Kosher salt can be used in pickling, but table salt that contains iodine or anti-caking agents, and sea salt (which contains trace minerals) are not good substitutes. Vinegar provides the required acidity for pickle making. Most recipes rely on vinegar with 4 to 6 percent acetic acid. Cider vinegar will produce a more mellow taste than the sharper white distilled vinegar, but choose white when you're looking for a lighter-colored result. Other vinegars--like balsamic and malt--are also appropriate (and distinctive). And lemon or lime juice or citric acid can also provide the required acidity in some pickling recipes.
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Pickling Blends
A pickling blend can also add rich flavor to bean and rice dishes, soups, stews, sauces, dressings--even some poultry, fish and meat dishes. The easiest way to use the blend in these recipes is to tie it in cheesecloth (or a muslin teabag) and drop it into the pot. The spices most commonly found in pickling mixtures include: allspice, bay leaf, caraway seed, cardamom, chili peppers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed, cumin seed, dill seed and weed, fennel seed, fenugreek seed, garlic, ginger, mace, mustard seed, nutmeg, and peppercorns. Whole spices are more often included than ground, though both are used. » Pickles A Plenty |
Many Spices find their way to the pickling process. Keep in mind that if a spice or spice blend has been sitting around since last pickling season its flavor will weaken--and adding more to make up for the lack of potency can sometimes make a dish bitter. So re-stock instead. If you have fresh spices in the garden, like stalks of graceful dill, include those for visual interest and fresh taste. But dried spices--whole, ground, and crushed--are really all you need. 
For ease and dependability, you might want to keep a ready-made pickling blend on hand. There are a variety of these--including
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