If you want a continuous supply of pickles then keep two or three jars, staggering the start of the process every week or ten days.
To make sauerkraut, get a mandolin slicer and make thin slices. Then use your favorite pickling recipe minus the dill. Cabbage gets much less dense once sliced so choose the smallest head in the bin unless you really adore sauerkraut. Red cabbage can also be pickled, then braised in wine and served with roasts and sausages; this is a version of what Germans call either rotkraut or rotkohl (the name of the dish varies regionally).
Pretty much any type of root vegetable, tuber, or bulb can be pickled. I find this useful to speed up everyday cooking because a pickled shallot, for instance, is ready to serve after five minutes on the stove. Pickling also speeds preparation of potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. Since these ingredients would otherwise be the slowest parts to cook in many dishes, a pickling hobby can mean a net savings in kitchen time.
Pickling also reduces waste by preserving vegetables that would be difficult to consume before they go bad. If you can only realistically eat half a bunch of fresh asparagus, then divide it the day you bring it home and pickle the other half. The same goes for mushrooms, pearl onions, and other veggies that grocery stores like to sell in premeasured units. Gourmet aisles charge an arm and a leg for pickled versions of these vegetables; when you pickle at home it costs less and tastes better. Most people are intimidated against trying because they don't know how to pickle things and they overestimate how much effort this takes, but if you have a gallon of vinegar lying around and an extra pint jar with the usual spices the preparation is done in a jiffy. Porous mushrooms will be pickled in five days. Bell peppers are ready in ten days. Asparagus takes about two weeks depending on how thick the stalks are.
Garlic pickles wonderfully but it startles North Americans with its tendency to turn a glossy deep bluish green. This is safe to eat and is prized as a delicacy in northern China. The effect results from a few traits specific to this particular vegetable. I don't mind the color shift but if you want to minimize that effect then use distilled water, kosher salt, and store in a dark place.
Oak chips become their own particular rabbit hole among wine makers. If a supplier's selections bewilder you then copy my choice: medium toast French oak. I'll use a teaspoon per gallon--which is no more than a pinch in an average batch of pickles. Spent $2 on a small bag of oak chips six years ago and it's still half full; one of the best home brewing and pickling decisions I ever made.
Sometimes a pickling solution that is ready to retire smells too good to discard. Strain the liquid and give it one last hurrah as a marinade or as an addition to a soup, or else turn it into a sauce by simmering five minutes with a little flour or corn starch, stirring frequently.
-------------
Sources
Books:
The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz, Chapter 5.
The Lost Art of Real Cooking by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger, Chapter 1.
The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger, pp. 28-33.
The Human Microbiota and Microbiome, ed. Julian R. Marchesi, p. 127.
Online:
http://www.cooksinfo.com/pickling
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/testing-acidity-strength-vinegar
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/preserving-gourmet-garlic-pickling-zbcz1401.aspx
Suppliers:
(A spice supplier trusted by people with severe allergies) http://m.vitacost.com/categories/food-grocery-2?ISRC=mobile:home:foodandbeveragesicon
(A reasonably priced oak chip sold online--cannot guarantee against cross-contamination)
http://www.homebrewing.org/French-Oak-Chips-medium-Toast-4-oz_p_403.html
No comments:
Post a Comment