Vegetable Pickles
To make the perfect pickle you need to follow a few basic but vital steps. The success of your pickle will depend on these basic requirements.
Ingredients: For the perfect pickle you must use absolutely fresh ingredients - soggy vegetables that has gone limp is enough to never eat a pickle again.
Pickling liquid: Here you will have to experiment with different ratios of vinegar and sugar. Vinegar must also be either grape or wine vinegar - spirit vinegar is just to rough around the edges. Whether white or red depends on your personal preference, the vegetables you are using and the look you want. A good basic ratio to start you first pickling project is one I used when confronted with a sudden supply of veggies from my veggie patch. The recipe I used turned out pretty good.
Ingredients: For the perfect pickle you must use absolutely fresh ingredients - soggy vegetables that has gone limp is enough to never eat a pickle again.
Pickling liquid: Here you will have to experiment with different ratios of vinegar and sugar. Vinegar must also be either grape or wine vinegar - spirit vinegar is just to rough around the edges. Whether white or red depends on your personal preference, the vegetables you are using and the look you want. A good basic ratio to start you first pickling project is one I used when confronted with a sudden supply of veggies from my veggie patch. The recipe I used turned out pretty good.
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Ingredients:
6 kg of vegetables consisting of: 1 kg green beans (cut to lengths you like) 1 kg baby marrows (mine were large outgrown marrows cut into cubes) 1 kg small onions, quartered 1 kg carrots, cut into 2 cm batons 1 kg peppers, red green and parpika 1 kg aubergines, cubed Pickling Liquid: 4 cups white wine vinegar (or grape vinegar) 1 cup water 4 cups sugar 2 teaspoons of pickling spice 3 bay leaves 1 sprig of rosemary (15 cm) 2 sprigs of origanum (10 cm) 4 tsp salt |
Sterilized Jars:
6 large jars suitable for preserving (I use large mayonnaise jars, or new jars) Wash your jars well and make sure the lids are very clean. Place the jars in an oven at 150°C and leave for about ten minutes. The lids can be sterilized by pouring boiling water over them and kept at boiling point on the hob. Method: Combine all the pickling liquid ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for ten minutes to infuse all the flavour. Remove the bay leaves, rosemary an origanum. Cut and cube the vegetables to your liking. Add the carrots first and cook for a few minutes (3-5) then add the beans and onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes, add the marrow, aubergine and peppers and cook till the marrows are just translucent. Get your sterilized jars out of the oven and pack them tightly with the vegetables. Make sure to fill them to the top with the pickling liquid and that all the air bubbles have escaped. Place caps on lightly and leave for a few seconds before tightening the lids. Leave to cool at room temperature. Wash jars thoroughly and dry before labeling them. Store in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator if you have the space. Once opened they should be kept in the fridge and eaten within a week to ten days. Enjoy as a side dish to any braai, light lunch or use them as part of a mixed salad. |