Cooking with JFL: Getting pickled
Summer’s bounty is at it’s end nearly and folks are out harvesting their gardens. Wouldn’t it be great to make those fruits and veggies not only last, but take on more flavor as well?
Our grandparents new the glory of a good pickle but you don’t need a cellar to make great preserved delights. Just some fridge space and some basic brines.
I made these with a friend after he brought over a sackful of super spicy jalapenos, and the lemon pickles are an experiment using a brine for sweet dessert pickles.
It doesn’t just make interesting lemon pickle for Mediterranean cuisine, it can make excellent apple or pear pickle as well.
JFL’s Lemon Pickles
4-6 lemons sliced, halved, or quartered
2-3 sprigs of mint spanked
1 cinnamon stick, cracked
½ tsp cracked whole nutmeg
1 cup rice wine vinegar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp allspice
In a clean jar place your lemons, mint and cinnamon. Place all the other ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil stirring often to dissolve the solids. Once it begins to boil lower the heat and simmer for three to five minutes. Pour into the jar while hot then place in the fridge. Reserve a little of the liquid and check on them after they have cooled. You will need to top them off with a little of the reserved brine. Leave in the fridge to pickle for a month. They should last around three months afterward.
JFL’s Indian Pepper Pickles
Roughly 1 lb. mixed banana pepper, red peppers and jalapenos
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 ½ tsp garam masala
1 bay leaf cracked in half
1 tsp allspice
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
½ cup salt
Place the garlic and peppers in a jar. Then using the ingredients in this recipe use the same method as in the lemon pickles.
Once you know these brines you can pickle any veggie you desire. Don’t like jalapenos? Try zucchini and cucumbers. Lemons to bitter or sour? Use your favorite fruit. Just make sure whatever you use is well washed and sliced. If you use a whole vegetable make a slight slice inside said pepper or lemon so the brine can seep inside. With these handy pickles you can enjoy summer’s bounty on into winter.