Pickling

What do we mean by the word pickling ?

Pickling usually means the preserving of fruit or vegetables using an acid, usually vinegar to prevent any of the harmful bacterial growth which would cause the food to spoil. Pickling is one of the oldest means of preserving food. In the days before refrigeration and electricity pickling was one of the few ways of making the fruit harvest last into the winter.

Typically vegetables are pickled and fruits are preserved, but this is not always the case. The foods are typically first salted with either brine ( salted water) or salt to draw out any moisture in them which might dilute the acid when it is added. Some fruits or vegetables are actualy pickled in brine rather than vinegar, one may think that these may not be true pickles, however the brine solution reacts with the foods to form an acidic solution thus preserving the food.

Pointers for sucessful pickling

• Use crisp, blemish-free, fresh produce, if possible, within 24 hours of harvest. Wash thoroughly in running water.
• Refrigerate unused produce immediately.
• Use fresh spices, whole, crushed, or ground. Avoid spices stored in your pantry for more than a year.
• Powdered spices can turn pickling liquid dark and cloudy.
• Tie whole spices in a spice bag, made from a large square of cheesecloth. Avoid using colored cloth.
• While premixed pickling spices are available at the supermarket, you may want to make your own mix. Just a few possibilities include cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, chili peppers, black peppercorns, yellow mustard seeds, fennel seeds, whole allspice, whole cloves, whole coriander, fenugreek, dill seeds, turmeric, celery seeds, dill leaves, fresh or dried ginger, horseradish, garlic, and hot peppers.