How to Make Pickled Vegetables
We’ve never met a pickle we didn’t like. But there’s more option to disappear your teeth into than just delicious cucumber pickles, garlic pickles, or onion pickles — you can pickle anything from onions to carrots to brussels sprouts. Are you ready to make pickled vegetables at home? Read on to find out how to pickle vegetables.
What is pickling?
Pickling is an ancient process for thousands of years to preserve foods like vegetables, fruits, herbs, or meat and extend its shelf life.
You can make pickles in two ways the first one is using acidic brine and the second one is anaerobic fermentation. Vinegar-based pickling is much faster than fermentation; The acetic acid in the vinegar kills the microorganisms that may lead to spoilage, thus preserving the food.
On the other hand, fermentation occurs due to a chemical reaction between food sugars and natural bacteria. If the food is pickled in brine or fermented, it is preserved by naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria.
Vinegar-based brines are fundamentally just a shortcut for acid creation. When you are fermenting any food that allows the food to maintain most of its nutritional benefits, pickling with vinegar causes food to lose much of its nutritional value.
How do I make pickle brine at home?
In general, a pickling solution should consist of two parts vinegar and one part water. You’re free to adapt to your taste, but don’t skimp *too much* on the vinegar and salt, because they are what preserve and pickled vegetables in the first place.
You can use any pale vinegar from white wine to rice to cider. Keep in mind that the variation will affect the intensity of the brine. For example, white vinegar will be harsh and strong, so you may need to add more water. But if you’re a frizz sucker, you may not need to adjust (or include any water) at all. It all comes down to personal preferences and the ingredients you have on hand.
There are lots of herbs, spices, and additional ingredients you can add to customize your homemade pickled vegetables. It’s just like playing with the ingredients and taste!
Here are some common options you might have in your kitchen right now:
- Garlic
- Black pepper
- Dill
- Whole coriander
- Caraway seeds
- Mustard seeds
- Clove
- Bay leaf
- Lemon juice
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Curcuma
- Ginger
- Sriracha
- There are many sweeteners that can be used in place of sugar, such as honey or maple syrup.
Ingredients for pickled vegetables
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 3 small cucumbers, washed and peeled simple
- 6 cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup of small peeled aroma onions
- 6 bay leaves/lory
- Half a cup of hot red pepper
- Half a cup of green chili
- 2 peeled turnips
- Half a cup of cauliflower
- 4 small lemons, sliced 4
- two cups of water
- a cup of vinegar
- Half a cup of coarse salt
- A tablespoon of fenugreek
- 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
How to make pickled vegetables
1. Cut the carrots, turnips, and cucumbers into slices using a serrated knife to give the vegetables an aesthetic shape.
2. Peel the garlic and onion and season the lemon with little dates between the cracks.
3. Sterilize the pickling jar by immersing it in boiling water to get rid of all bacteria.
4. Put the jar in a second bowl to tilt it. In this way, the vegetables are arranged diagonally, and the jar will take a beautiful shape after the pickling is completed. It is optional
5. Boil water, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, nigella, and black pepper.
6. Put the cucumber as the first layer in the jar. Arrange two cloves of garlic, two bay leaves… and a layer of red hot pepper.
7. Pour a little of the boiling mixture.
8. Stack the turnip, then the carrots … and pour a little of the boiling mixture.
9. Put two cloves of garlic, a lemon, and two leaves of laurel – laurel – … then put the hot green pepper.
10. Cover the stack with cauliflower, then a layer of onions… then lemon, garlic, and bay leaves.
11. Pour the rest of the mixture and then pour olive oil.
12. Close the jar well and stir well.
13. Keep it in a dry place … It will usually be ready between two months and two and a half months.
What vegetables can I pickle?
Basically, homemade brine can turn fresh veggies into an acidic and salty snack in a few hours (or better yet, a few days). Let’s introduce some examples to get you started:
Cucumber:
Kirby cucumber is our favorite for pickling, but gherkins or any short cucumber that can be put in a jar works well if you’re pickling them whole. Stay away from the long English option. Sliced cucumbers are grown for fresh consumption rather than canning and can result in pickles that are very mushy rather than strong and crunchy. You may even see a specially named pickling option at the grocery store. Mix it whole or cut it into strips or spears.
Onions:
Red onions and pearls are both popular choices. Red onions go from mild and sweet to tangy, tangy, and crisp (and neon pink) when pickled. Cut them into thin strips or rings so they can be easily removed from the jar later. Pearly onions are tender and sweet raw but turn into a mellow, umami-rich post-pick pickle. Those you can pickle whole.
Radishes:
Another hot pink topping that makes any dish look better. Thinly slice it before pickling it, or put it in the whole jar if it’s small enough.
Carrots:
julienne or thin slices. You can also use a peeler to make thin strips. Pick pickled carrots with daikon and you’ll have banh mi veggies ready to go.
Jalapeños:
Instead of chili peppers tasting like fresh jalapeños, pickled jalapeños are equal parts sour and spicy. Cut them into circles, halves, or mix them whole, depending on how you’re going to use or eat them.
Brussels sprouts:
Cut stem ends, chop any browned leaves, and cut cabbage in half before pickling. You can also tear them up.
Beets:
Cut them into quarters or circles, or leave them whole (as long as they are small enough to pack in the jar). Since they are tough when raw, boil them in a Dutch oven before submerging them in the brine.
Cabbage:
If you bring these leafy pieces ferment in a seasoned brine for three to ten days and bam: you have sauerkraut.
Cauliflower:
Cut into small florets so that they can be packed tightly in the jar.
Green Beans:
There is no need to cook the beans (or even chop them) before pickling. Their crispness will be doubly refreshing once they’re bursting with the delicious flavor of vinegar brine.
Asparagus:
Want to make asparagus season last (almost) forever? Keep the spears with a little extra salt in the brine, so they maintain their firm, crunchy texture.
Peaches:
Yes, you read that correctly. Its natural sweetness is just vinegar flakes. Serve over ice cream, use in sushi, and serve in place of pickle spears with a sandwich or nosh on it on its own.
What are pickled vegetables?
The wrinkle-free homemade pickles are left to marinate in the brine for a few days to maximize their flavor. But if needed you can still pickle and eat certain vegetables at the same hour if you don’t have a lot of soaking time, depending on their size and how you chop them.
Enter the quick pickled vegetables. For example, whole cucumbers need at least 48 hours to turn acidic, but sliced onions can absorb the homemade brine in just 15 minutes if that’s your time. The longer the vegetables are soaked, the more pickles will be.
Also, read
Pickled Whole White Onions Recipes( Quick and long process)