Thursday Recipe - Ice Pickles

No, that isn't pickled ice. That would be difficult to manage. Ice tends to melt into water which makes the brine to dilute. These are called ice pickles because they are soaked in ice water to keep them crisp. It works, too. These slices stayed nice and crisp even after processing. They've got a nice mild sweet flavor, too.

This one is also from my awesome pickle cookbook.

Ice Pickles

1 quart cucumber slices
1 small onion, sliced
1 T. mustard seed
1 t. celery seed
1 c. vinegar
1 T. pickling salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. turmeric

Place cucumber slices and onions in a large ceramic bowl. Cover with ice and cold water. Place a plate over the slices to keep them submerged. Let them sit for 2-4 hours.

Drain the slices. Pack into pint jars, it should make two. Divide the mustard seed and celery seed between the two jars.

Heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, and turmeric to boiling, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the pickle slices until jars are full.

Seal and process according to your altitude. I processed my jars about 10 minutes, I'm at 400 ft above sea level.

Let them sit in a cool, dark place for at least a month before enjoying.

Thursday Recipe - Watermelon Pickles

No, it isn't the season for pickle making. It's the season for pickle eating. I'm finally getting around to tasting the pickles I made last summer. I'm posting the recipes here so I know the good ones to use next summer when it is pickle making time again.

These are incredible. No, I didn't use watermelon rind, although that's what the recipe calls for - the white part of the watermelon rind. I used giant cucumbers that were somehow missed for a couple of weeks. They were huge, bright yellow, but still good. They make really good watermelon pickles.

These are technically a sweet pickle, but with a different flavor from most sweet pickles. They hold their crunch beautifully. I took a jar to a family party and had many requests to please give them jars of these pickles next Christmas.

The hard part will be ignoring the cucumbers long enough to let them get huge and yellow.

The recipe came from my old pickle making cookbook.

Watermelon Pickles

2-3 very large, ripe cucumbers (they turn bright yellow when ripe)
ice
cold water
2 T. pickling salt
5 c. sugar
2 c. vinegar
1 T. whole cloves
1 t. ground allspice
1 T. whole peppercorns
1 large stick cinnamon, broken into small pieces
1 lemon, sliced

In the afternoon or evening, peel the cucumbers. Slice lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and discard. Slice the cucumbers into 1/4" slices. You should have about 9 c. of slices.

Place the slices in a large ceramic bowl. You could use plastic or metal, but it might discolor or add a funky taste to the pickles. I use a large ceramic mixing bowl for pickles and it works great.

Sprinkle the salt over the slices. Add a layer of ice cubes. Add just enough cold water to cover the slices. Let them sit overnight on the counter.

In the morning, drain the slices. Rinse well with cold water. Set aside.

Prep five pint jars by washing if needed, then rinsing in very hot water. Divide the whole cloves, allspice, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick pieces between the jars.

In a large saucepan, mix the sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Add the cucumber slices. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Divide the slices between the jars. Push down if needed. Pour the hot syrup over the slices to fill the jars. If you need more liquid, use plain vinegar to finish filling the jars.

Wipe the rims and seal in a hot water bath according to your altitude. I processed my jars for about 10 minutes but I'm almost at sea level.

Let them sit in a cool, dark place for a month before enjoying.

Thursday Recipe - 84-Hour Pickles

I have an old pickle recipe book. This summer, for the first time in my life, I successfully grew cucumbers. So, of course, I made pickles. Lots of pickles. I pickled not just cucumbers, but beans and okra and jalapeños and relishes. My kids keep looking in the cupboard and asking me if we have enough pickles yet.

I have some really great recipes, definite keepers for future reference. This is one of those. Yes, it really does take five days, but most of that time is sitting on the counter in brine. It only takes about ten minutes a day except for the first and last day.

If you like these crispy, make a small batch and don't bottle them. Pack them in a jar, stick them in the fridge, let them sit for a week, then enjoy the crispy deliciousness. Just eat them within a month or two. They still taste good if you process them and seal them, they just won't be as crispy.

And be warned - they are a powerful brined sweet pickle. Loads of good flavor. A little goes a long way with these pickles.

A word about cucumbers - pickling cucumbers are a different variety from the ones you buy in the grocery store. They are lighter green, smaller, and have lots more bumps. They are also not treated with a wax spray. Grow them yourself or buy them from a farmer's market if you can. If not, make sure you are getting untreated pickling cucumbers. They make much better pickles.

84-Hour Pickles (more or less)

6-12 pickling cucumbers, washed and scrubbed really well (enough to make one quart of thick slices)
6 T pickling salt (kosher or uniodized also work, regular table salt will make your pickles turn dark)
1 quart water
2 1/4 c. vinegar
1 c. sugar
2 t. mixed pickling spice*
3/4 c. water

First Day, Morning - Slice off the stem end and blossom end of the cucumbers, discard. Slice the rest of the cucumber into thick slices. You should have about one quart of slices. Dump them into a large ceramic bowl. Plastic or metal bowls might react with the vinegar brine later. I have the best luck using a large ceramic mixing bowl for this. Next, mix the salt and the quart of water. Pour over the cucumber slices. Use a small stoneware plate or glass pie pan to weigh them down so they stay submerged in the salt water. Push the bowl to the back of the counter and let it sit for 36 hours.

Second Day, Evening - Drain the cucumber slices and discard salt water. Place cucumber slices in a large saucepan. Pour in one cup of the vinegar. Add just enough water to cover cucumbers. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, just simmering, DO NOT BOIL. Drain and discard the cooking liquid. Dump the cucumbers back into the ceramic bowl.
In the saucepan, mix 1 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. sugar, pickling spice, and 3/4 c. water. Bring to a boil. Pour over the cucumber slices. Let stand for 24 hours.

Third Day, Evening - Drain syrup into a saucepan. Add 1/2 c. sugar. Heat to a boil. Pour over cucumbers. Let stand for 24 hours.

Fourth Day, Evening - Drain syrup into a saucepan. Heat to boiling. You can remove the whole spices if you want, I like to leave them in the brine.
Pack pickles into jars. Pour boiling syrup over the pickles just until covered. If not enough syrup, use vinegar to finish filling the jars.
Process to seal or refrigerate as soon as the jars cool down.

Makes about one quart of pickles.

Whole Pickling Spice is a blend of spices. I like to make my own and keep it in the cupboard. If you don't want do buy the mix or want to try your own, this is what I use for just this recipe:
1/2 of one bay leaf
10 whole peppercorns
8 whole cloves

1/8 t. celery seed

1/8 t. mustard seed (about 20)

small piece of cinnamon stick OR dash of ground cinnamon

few flakes of red pepper

dash of ground ginger

dash of ground turmeric

And, if I've got it:

dash of mace, allspice or nutmeg

dash of cardamom

All mixed, it should be less than one tablespoon.

Thursday Recipe - Pickled Okra

from WikiMedia Commons: User Manojk

My kids fell in love with this when I bought a jar as a joke. This summer, we grew our own okra. Not very much, but enough for a jar of pickled okra and a pan of fried okra. Okra has the reputation of being slimy and nasty.  If you handle it right, it isn't. It's crisp and tender and very tasty. It's also easy to grow, plus the flowers are really pretty. They look like little hibiscus flowers. I'm planning on growing a lot more okra in my front yard next summer. I can't wait to harvest more!

Pickled Okra
makes one pint

7-9 medium size okra
3-4 black peppercorns
1/4 t. dill seed
1/2 t. pickling salt
1/2 t. sugar
white vinegar

Wash the okra. Trim the stems to 1/2 inch long. I cut them in half so they would fit in the bottle better, but you can leave yours whole if you want. Stuff the okra into a pint canning jar. Add the spices, salt, and sugar. Add vinegar to fill the bottle about 2/3 of the way to the top. Add water to fill it the rest of the way.

Wipe the rim, screw on the lid, then process in a boiling water bath for 12 minutes, more if you live at a higher elevation. This seals the jar and it cooks the okra. Let the jar sit in a cool dark place for at least a week before eating the okra. If you can let it sit for a couple of months, it's even better.

Enjoy!

Thursday Recipe - Pickle Testing Time

It's been five months since I went on a pickling frenzy. Time to test the recipes to see how they really turned out.

Mustard Pickles - Not quite what I remembered but still very tasty. For some reason, the mustard sauce was thin and not quite as mustardy as I wanted. The recipe is good but needs some tweaking. Maybe pickled mustard cauliflower next summer?

Curry Pickles - These had a mild curry taste to them. I may make them again if I've got extra cucumbers. Not my favorite but a nice change.

Zucchini Bread and Butter - I made these with zucchini and with those big old cucumbers that you usually don't use for pickling. I think I need to rinse them better after soaking them in brine. They turned out much too salty and not as sweet-n-sour as I remember. Maybe I'm losing my pickle mojo...

Quick Dill Pickles - Quick as in "quick to bottle" not quick to pickle. They need to sit for a couple of weeks minimum, several months is better. These made a nice strong vinegary pickle with a good load of dill taste. It's another good recipe to use with larger cucumbers, not the giant ones but the medium sized ones.

Spicy Dill Pickles - (See the bottom of the Quick Dill post for the recipe) - These are so good. They really have a great kick to them but it takes a couple months to develop. Definitely on my "make it again" list.

Jalapeño Nacho Rings - These are by far my kids' favorite pickles from last summer. We tried a couple of different recipes but the plain old pickled peppers were the best.

Pickled Cauliflower - I can't believe I didn't post this recipe. I tried two versions. The plain old pickled cauliflower was just kind of meh, but the sweet-and-sour version was absolutely delicious. My kids fight over the jar when I let them open one. Next year, if I get cauliflower for a good price, I'm making this by the quart.

Sweet-n-Sour Pickled Cauliflower

Cauliflower, washed and cut into small pieces (2 or 3 heads will make several pints)
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into slices
4 c. vinegar
2 T. mustard seed
1 c. sugar
2 t. celery seed

Stuff pint jars with carrot slices and cauliflower. Set aside.
Mix vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, and celery seed in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over vegetables in jars. If you run out of syrup, you can make more as needed. One batch of syrup will make 4-6 pints, depending on how tightly you pack the vegetables.
Process in a boiling water bath for 10-20 minutes, depending on your altitude, to seal. Let sit in a cool, dark place for at least a month.
Open and enjoy.

You can try adding sliced celery or sweet peppers or pearl onions to the mix if you want more of a garden mix.