Chef’s Hat: The power of pickles

By Donna Evans, Food Columnist   –   Pine & Lake Echo Journal

It has been a typical gardening year. The growing started slowly and then there was an explosion of ripe vegetables – dozens of cucumbers, hundreds of green beans and scads of tomatoes.

A long time ago I spent quite a bit of time canning so this fresh produce could be enjoyed throughout the year, but I’ve gotten out of that habit. I do freeze green beans and most likely some of the tomatoes will end up in the freezer to be used for soups and stews, but cucumbers are one vegetable that does not freeze very well, and most everyone I know has more cucumbers than they need.

So it was time to do some investigating and find new recipes. Digging through cookbooks and researching online, I stumbled into the world of pickling. Almost any vegetable can be pickled: carrots, beets, green beans and, of course, cucumbers.

A lot of recipes don’t call for extensive equipment or long cooking times. There aren’t a lot of hard rules you have to follow when making refrigerated pickles, but I did run across a few tips that I found quite useful:

• As with a lot of things, water is the key. Avoid using hard water. If you have any doubts at all about the quality of your water, use purified water. You’ll end up with a much better tasting pickle.

• A typical ingredient used in making any type of pickle is vinegar. Make sure to use a vinegar with at least 5 percent acetic acid.

• Use a good quality salt. It is recommended to use pure sea salt without any additives or salt labeled “canning” or “pickling” salt. Additives in table salt may make the brine cloudy and affect the taste.

The process of making refrigerated pickles is actually quite easy. Begin by washing and chopping your vegetables into whatever shape you’d like – spears, chunks or disks. There are certain vegetables, such as beets, that should be partially cooked first, but most vegetables can go right into the brine without being cooked.

Start by using a basic recipe. You can experiment by using different fresh or dry flavorings, such as bay leaves, chile peppers, cumin seed, mustard seed, pickling spice, jalapeno peppers, dill, garlic, turmeric or oregano, and adjust to your taste.

You need a brine for the actual pickling process. A brine is a combination of vinegar, salt and sugar that is boiled and then poured over your vegetables. The vegetables can be placed into any clean jar that has a tight-fitting lid. You place the vegetables in the jar, cover with brine, tighten the lid and place the jar in the fridge. Let the pickles sit at least 24 hours. Then – ta da, homemade pickles!

If you are really strapped for time, you can cheat. Remember that jar of pickles in the fridge with just one tiny piece left in it? Take the piece out and re-use that liquid. Put your freshly cut vegetables into the liquid. Make sure the vegetables are completely covered. If they aren’t, add a bit more vinegar (and sugar to taste) until the vegetables are completely covered.

Again, let things sit a day or two and you will have a fresh batch of pickles.

Refrigerator pickles don’t have as long of a shelf life as pickles that go through an actual cooking process, but they should last at least a month. That is, unless your family gets to them first.

Here’s a great recipe! Happy Eating!