Pickle Report

I tried out a lot of pickle recipes last summer. Most of them I posted here. Now that they've been sitting in my pantry for a few months to develop maximum flavor, and now that I've had a chance to taste them all, here are the results:

Sweet and Sour Pickled Cauliflower - Definitely a YES! But then, I adore pickled cauliflower.

Mississippi Chow-Chow - Oh, YEAH! This is by far the best relish type recipe I have. I eat it plain. Next fall, when the huge heads of sauerkraut cabbage appear in the stores, I'm buying one so I can make several big batches of this chow-chow. Mmmmm... (The other versions of chow-chow I tried were not nearly as tasty. This one has the balance I like.)

Nacho Jalapeño Rings - Yep, although I'm hoping our jalapeños next summer aren't nearly as spicy. These were way too hot for me, but that was the peppers, not the recipe.

Pickled Okra - This was a blech. The vinegar was much too strong. Next summer we shall try again with a tweaked recipe. I'm definitely growing okra again. Much too pretty not to.

Pineapple Hot Sauce - YES! This stuff was amazing. Sweet but spicy with a big tang of vinegar. When I find pineapple on sale for cheap, I'm buying it so I can make more of this deliciousness. One thing I would do different is to chop everything MUCH smaller. I left the pineapple chunks too big last time.

Bottled Bean Salad - I love this stuff. Very much. Nobody else in my family does, though, but that's okay. It means more for me. It turned out sweet and crunchy and so much better than the deli stuff. I'm planting beans so I can make more next summer.

Pepper Relish - My bell pepper plants struggled last summer so I didn't get any of this made, but the stores have been putting peppers on sale for really cheap prices lately, so I may be stirring up a batch of this very soon. It's a wonderful change from the usual relishes. If you like it spicy, throw in spicy peppers with the bells.

84-Hour Pickles - These were amazing! Until I processed them to seal the bottles. They lost their crunch. Next summer, I'm only doing these fresh. Sort of. They'll keep in the fridge about a month after they finish brining. And they are very crispy. So that's how we'll enjoy them.

Pickled Beets (forgot to post the recipe last summer, so it's coming) - Really good, but I'm the only one who eats them. The juice is really fun to add to things like potato salad or pickled eggs. It turns everything bright pink. I think I still have one bottle left...

We still have dill pickles, pickled carrots, pickle relishes, and lots more jam and jelly in my cupboard. But this list of pickles were the best ones so far.