A Pretty Pickle

I found the original recipe for this pickle somewhere on the Internet, and for whatever reason, the original source is lost in the mists of time. That said, I have now adapted it to suit my own purposes, so it’s actually now quite different, especially the brine. I first made it a few years ago when I decided to take a stand at the McGregor Food and Wine festival. My offering was a “McGregorised” take on a ploughman’s platter and consisted of a local artisan 18-month mature gouda, chicken liver pate, olives and, of course, this pickle. 

The pickle was such a hit that I know make it regularly to sell at the market. So it was, the other Friday which, for those who follow me know, is kitchen day. Anyhow, last Friday, I posted a picture of the key ingredients for this pickle. 

 As with most pickles, there are two sets of ingredients, i.e. the vegetables and the brine. 

Words to the wise:  

• don’t start with the brine – it needs to be hot when you pour it over the pickles, especially if you want to store them for a while 
• If you make a small batch, using the quantities below, and plan to eat them quickly you can skip the bottling stage and keep them in the fridge – in a ceramic or glass container (because vinegar and plastic or metal are not really friends). I make big batches and adjust the quantities accordingly. The ratio of vegetables is a matter of availability and choice.   

Vegetables 

One-half head cauliflower, cut into 2 to 2,5 cm florets (about 4 cups) 

5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick on the diagonal (about 2 cups) 

One-half red bell pepper, cut into large dice (about 1 cup)   

For the brine 

1 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp each, black/brown and yellow mustard seeds  
½ tsp. cumin seeds
½ fennel seeds
2 cups white wine vinegar
5 medium cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled – adjust the quantities if the cloves are large and then julienne them so that you can distribute them among the jars
2,5cm-thick piece of ginger, julienned
1 small/pickling onion or ½ an onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
½ cup sugar – I use 1/3 to half the quantity to reduce the sugar content (no-one has noticed or complained…)
1 tablespooon salt
1 tsp. black peppercorns
½ tsp turmeric powder

Chop and combine the vegetables in a large receptacle. Then make the brine and while it is coming to the boil, pack the vegetables into clean, hot jars. 

Pour the hot brine over the vegetables, leaving 1 cm at the top. Remove any air bubbles by slowly raising and lowering a kebab stick or plastic blade around the inside of the jars (a trapped air bubble may shatter a jar as it heats when you sterilise the pickles). 

If you have extra brine, strain it and distribute the solids among the jars.  You can also keep the left over brine for a future pickling expedition. Now put the lids on the jars, close but tighten only by hand.  To sterilise the pickles which enables you to store the pickles for longer, and not in the fridge:

1. Put the jars in a large (stock) pot and fill with water (do this on the stove – don’t try to lug the full pot and the jars from the sink to the stove and give yourself a hernia or worse...) 
2. Put a tea towel at the bottom of the pot so that the jars don’t rattle around. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  
3. Remove from the waterbath and allow to cool.

Best eaten after a few days, these pickles keep their crunch and can be stored for a good few months. 

In closing: 

This is a very pretty pickle and I tried to make it even prettier – once. I used heirloom carrots – the lovely red ones. Well, that was a total disaster because they lost their colour over night. Clearly the acid in the vinegar leached the colour out!   So, there you are, the promised recipe, @roselifecoach, and the final product. Sorry, @reonlouw, that it's not melktert - I'll to that another day, I promise!

  Finally, this is a partial (because I’m not sure it ticks all the boxes) contribution to @janie’s What’s cooking challenge, and it’s taken an awful long time… 😊 And because I have taken so long to rise to this challenge, I’m not going to put anyone under pressure, but if entering rocks your socks, please do, and please tag me!  

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Animation By @zord189