Pickling Fun: Home Made Pickles & Flavor Combos

[Ms Music]

I know we have talked about pickles before, and fermenting vs non fermenting, but I want to get a thread dedicated solely to pickling. I am feeling the pickling urge again.

What is your favorite fruit or vegetable to pickle?

Has anyone had fun playing around with flavor combinations of spices or different vinegars?

I just stumbled on this website http://agardenerstable.com/2012/06/02/rice-vinegar-for-home-canning/ that talks about using Marukan rice vinegar, which sounds interesting. I just may try that soon! Not sure what I will put in, as all vegetables will have to come from the grocery store this year. But in the least I will do green beans and onions.

So let's hear from the rest of you picklers.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Slice a cucumber from the garden and seep for two days in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil.

 

[lisab]

I've lost my recipe, but there are several versions floating around on the innerwebs: Dilly Green Beans :!)!

 

[turbo]

I don't have the recipe, but my wife has been making brined refrigerator pickles this summer They are killer.

 

[Ms Music]

Jimmy, I was toying the idea of putting some soy sauce in,that sounds good! But what is the purpose of the oil? Does it just give it an Asian "feel"? Have you ever put in wasabi?

Lisa- losing recipes is the worst. My brother and I wound up having a pickle competition last year, and I won. And now I don't know what I used! I think it was basically dilly beans, but I had the entire garden thrown in. Green beans, onions, and mushrooms are the best to pickle in my opinion. Well, cukes for when you want normal pickles.

 

[Ms Music]

Heh, speak of the devil...

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cucumbers-with-Wasabi-and-Rice-Vinegar-242292

Guess I didn't think of it first!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Jimmy, I was toying the idea of putting some soy sauce in,that sounds good! But what is the purpose of the oil? Does it just give it an Asian "feel"? Have you ever put in wasabi?

Yes, the sesame oil adds an Asian flavor. No wasabi.

 

[Ms Music]

I should share a new favorite of mine: pickled rhubarb.

http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4305/rhubarb-pickles-chips-off-the-old-stalk

I bought some rhubarb that is waiting for its pickling. My brother was pining for it yesterday, and was tickled when I told him I had some ready to be pickled. Hey, that rhymes.

Best.
Use.
For.
Rhubarb.
period.

 

[lisab]

Heh, speak of the devil...

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cucumbers-with-Wasabi-and-Rice-Vinegar-242292

Guess I didn't think of it first!

For future reference: I've found many recipes at epicurious.com to be *delicious* and unique!

 

[Ms Music]

When I talk about different flavor combinations, THIS is what I am talking about!

http://www.aprilslifestyleshow.com/2011/08/sweet-and-hot-refrigerator-curry.html

OHMYWORDYUM!

This I will try right after I finally get the time to make the rhubarb pickles.

 

[Pkruse]

A friend gave me a quart of pickled Jalapenos, absolutely the best I ever tasted. I'm going to start making them myself. Just white vinegar and much garlic. The liquid make collard greens taste absolutely wonderful.

But this jar was aged 4 years, and he said that makes it much better. Tough to wait that long.

 

[sachinism]

i live in a hostel and savor the pickel that my granny sends via courier every semester

 

[Oldfart]

Please, oh, please can anyone tell me the recipe for Topeka Pickles, a beathtaking horseradish-ey pickle that was sold in the Kansas City Barbeque in San Diego in the 1990's?

OF

 

[Ms Music]

I did a quick google search, and all I found was you asking about them in other forums. So... I will take a stab and post my thoughts based on the description that I gathered from the other forum.

A fermented pickle is more sour than vinegary, so the flavor of the horse radish should shine through much stronger as it would have fermented in the spicy brine. I think a vinegar pickle would compete with the horse radish. So my bet is its a fermented pickle with horse radish added to the brine. Did it have any garlicky flavor? Or your standard dill flavor? Any pepper heat?

Let me know what you HAVE tried in the past, and we will see if we can re create a recipe. I am one of those that hates following recipes and is constantly adding spices or flavorings to customize my own recipes to my own tastes, and this pickle sounds like a tasty challenge that many friends and family would enjoy my attempts. On one website someone had suggested to you to BUY A JAR OF PICKLES and add horse radish. The horrors! Store bought can not compare to home made.

Since I don't know you, I need to ask - do you know how to can?

 

[Oldfart]

Ms Music -- Thanks for your reply and interest!

To try to answer your questions (keep in mind that the memories are at least 13 years old):
Garlicky flavor? No. Standard dill flavor? Yes, after the horseradish hit went away. Pepper heat? No. What did I try in the past? Added grated horseradish to a jar of whole Klausen (sp?) dill pickles, aged in the fridge. Know how to can? No, but my wife does and will help.

I recall that the pickles were served at the Kansas City Barbecue from a big jar with what looked like a lot of grated horseradish laying at the bottom of the jar.

Sic 'em, Ms Music!

OF
--------------------------------

I did a quick google search, and all I found was you asking about them in other forums. So... I will take a stab and post my thoughts based on the description that I gathered from the other forum.

A fermented pickle is more sour than vinegary, so the flavor of the horse radish should shine through much stronger as it would have fermented in the spicy brine. I think a vinegar pickle would compete with the horse radish. So my bet is its a fermented pickle with horse radish added to the brine. Did it have any garlicky flavor? Or your standard dill flavor? Any pepper heat?

Let me know what you HAVE tried in the past, and we will see if we can re create a recipe. I am one of those that hates following recipes and is constantly adding spices or flavorings to customize my own recipes to my own tastes, and this pickle sounds like a tasty challenge that many friends and family would enjoy my attempts. On one website someone had suggested to you to BUY A JAR OF PICKLES and add horse radish. The horrors! Store bought can not compare to home made.

Since I don't know you, I need to ask - do you know how to can?

 

[Ms Music]

So glad to know your wife knows canning! Basic sterilization processes must be followed to avoid contamination of bad bacteria, which will ruin a batch. But don't fret, if she isn't used to fermentation (like I was) it isn't difficult.

This http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...ets-to-crispy-pickles-and-a-lost-recipe-found sounds like a good basic instruction website for a good old fashioned fermented pickle. This is what I will use for my own personal experiment. I am out of pickling cukes now, and will have to go back down to my local Asian store (the only place I could find pickling cukes) to buy more for this experiment. So tell your wife to get a few canning jars out of the cabinet, some pickling salt, cukes, and the below spices, and let's get pickling!

What MY idea (from this website) that would taste good in this?

Peppercorns
Mustard seed
Coriander seed
Allspice berries
Bay leaves
Fresh dill flowerettes (preferable) or dill seed
and (of course) horseradish. whether fresh or bottled from the store is your desire. Or convenience!

And since the pickle didn't have a garlic flavor, ONION. Since they are local for me and a favorite (and in most grocery stores) I will use the sweet Walla Walla onion, but you can use what ever onion you wish. I personally find these onions make AMAZING pickles. But if you wish to throw some in, use your favorite, or any sweet onion. I happen to be in Seattle, where Walla Walla's are easy to find.

Another brief thought/question, do you have access to fresh horseradish? I kind of do at the moment, but it is a very limited supply, so I would rather rely on bottled for now. But if you feel your pickles are perfect, - or at least close to - then maybe you can grow your own horseradish for a wollop of a pickle in the future. I know that is what I intend to do if these go over as well as I think they will!

ready...
set...

 

[Oldfart]

Ms Music --

OK, I'll give it a try, got to round up some supplies first, look in this thread in about two weeks for results.

Thanks again!

OF

 

[OmCheeto]

I eat all the pickles out of the store bought pickle jar over the course of about 3 months and then put slices of garden grown lemon cucumbers in the jar. The next day, I eat them all.

It is very good.

But the recipes here sound very interesting.

 

[Ms Music]

Om- if you grow your own veggies, definitely pickle them! And don't stop at just cukes. You will have fun playing with flavor combinations and new vegetables. Refrigerator pickles can be eaten a day or two later, fermented takes a while. My daughter is getting impatient waiting for hers to sour, although they STILL are disappearing! They have been in the pot since August 25, hopefully will be done this weekend.


Oldfart - Sorry it has taken me so long to get back! I may not be able to make a batch of these pickles side by side with you, but I will definitely try. Even if I can't, maybe we can work the wrinkles out of the recipe until I can find some time to make my own. But for now, I will give you the basics to try. I will post if I make them.

I am using the recipe from here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...ets-to-crispy-pickles-and-a-lost-recipe-found

And if you need to watch sodium like I do, this website explains the salt ratios well. http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sour-pickles-2/

Fresh dill may be hard to find now, so I will buy dill seed next time I am at the store just in case my dill is gone by then. Otherwise, this will be my recipe.

1 quart distilled or filtered water
4 tablespoons pickling salt (or less, my 17 year old finds this too salty - next time I will use 2 tbsp and adjust up if needed)(sea salt and kosher work also, don't use table salt)
1 pound Kirby cucumbers
fresh horseradish if possible, bottled if needed
4-5 peeled garlic cloves (maybe half so the garlic doesn't compete with the horseradish- this is to your own taste preference)
2-3 tablespoons homemade pickling spice:

Homemade Pickling Spice
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons dill seed (or omit if you have fresh dill)
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (or whole fresh or dried hot peppers)
10-12 bay leaves, crumbled
Alum can also be added for crunch

Throw a couple of grape leaves, oak leaves, sour cherry leaves, or horse radish leaves in for tannin to make the pickles stay crispy. Apparently you can also use one black tea bag if you can't find a clean source for fresh leaves. I use my neighbors grape leaves and they work great.

I can only guess on horse radish for now, I would probably grate or very thinly slice at least one inch of horse radish, then taste the brine in 12 hours to see if it needs more kick. I like things hot, so my guess is I would wind up adding more, but we will see!

I will also probably be adding at least a half an onion per bottle, as I love pickled onion, and I think the flavor will go well with these pickles.

Write down any variations that you have to make, and let's compare notes. It should take about two weeks for them to brine.

Happy pickling!

 

[turbo]

Fresh dill may be hard to find now, so I will buy dill seed next time I am at the store just in case my dill is gone by then. Otherwise, this will be my recipe.

My wife and I plant dill in staggered batches, so we have flowering heads for most of the season. The dill florets have a much richer flavor than the weed (leaves) or the seeds. You have to try it to convince yourself.

One of my sisters is absolutely sold on my dill pickles, and I have advised her to pick up a few plastic flower-boxes at yard sales so she can grow herbs on her deck. Fresh dill, rosemary, basil, etc, are so good, and the stuff in the stores is pretty lousy. Plus, if you grow your own dill, you can harvest the flower-heads for pickling. I don't know if you can ever find the flower-heads for sale, except perhaps at a farmers market.

 

[dlgoff]

Not sure what I will put in, as all vegetables will have to come from the grocery store this year

Now that it's cooled off some and we've had a little rain, my jalapeño plants are loaded with stunted (in size) fruit. So I'm thinking about making some http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Soy-Pickled-Jalapenos-351893 from the whole pepper with their tops cut off.

 

[turbo]

Now that it's cooled off some and we've had a little rain, my jalapeño plants are loaded with stunted (in size) fruit. So I'm thinking about making some http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Soy-Pickled-Jalapenos-351893 from the whole pepper with their tops cut off.

Little chilies are fine. When I make kosher dill pickles, I always include some yellow onions, chilies, and fresh hard-neck garlic cloves. I can't get enough of them, and neither can most of my friends. Unfortunately, this year's cucumber crop was very wimpy, so no pickling.

 

[Ms Music]

My wife and I plant dill in staggered batches, so we have flowering heads for most of the season.

Thanks for the tip! I intend to start dill next year, and thought it reseeded on its own. I will save seed to stagger my harvest.

We just got some horseradish, so hopefully (weather depending) I will have my own pickles, my own dill, and my own horseradish next year. This year's crop was miserable, to say the least. I don't even have my own green beans in my pickles.

dlgoff, those pickled jalapenos sound interesting. Last years crop were very hot, and went into all my pickle jars. This years crop was early because I had the plant in my office window, and they were very mild. I dried them... Let me know how the soy sauce jalapenos turn out.

 

[turbo]

Watch out for the horseradish. It takes over and is impossible to eradicate. Plant it far from from your normal garden-spot. Treat it like mint (don't plant mint in your flower-garden) and plan to have it year after year in the same spot.

 

[Oldfart]

Ms Music --

I'm also having a problem with getting this started, but will try to get the horseradish pickle experiment underway this weekend. My recipe is simple, aimed only at achieving a pickle with the sort of mind-blowing horseradish blast that I experienced when eating Topeka pickles in San Diego. Recipe: One jar of cucumbers, fermented with 1/2 jar of grated horseradish, sample at weekly intervals. If this works, next time around I'll liven up the recipe along the lines that you have suggested. Any last thoughts before I press on with this? Thanks!

Oldfart

 

[Ms Music]

The recipe I posted is considered a basic dill, but you are welcome to eliminate any and all spices that you can't easily acquire, or don't want. Dill florets and garlic are the biggest flavors that are in your standard pickle, but maybe when you said after the horseradish you just tasted pickle, maybe you weren't meaning the standard dill pickle flavor? If you mean just the cucumber only was all you could taste, then definitely all you really need is enough salt (minimum 2 tbsp per quart of water) for preservation and the tannin leaves of your choice for crisp, and horseradish.

Let me know how it goes!

 

[Pkruse]

I just opened a jar of pickled Jalapenos. New recipe and aged one month. Excellent taste and the juice makes great dressing when mixed with Italian spices and oil.

Used white vinegar mixed 10% with balsamic, and a quarter cup of chopped garlic. Poured boiling fluid over cold peppers in a cold jar, then processed 5 minutes in a pressure cookery reduced to 5 psi. Pressure reduction prevented over cooking.

 

[Ms Music]

I attempted the horseradish pickles this weekend, plus another jar of regular dill for my daughter. Her dills are on the left, horseradish are on the right. Yes, I put a few green beans from the garden to fill space.

The mound of towels in the foreground is the first batch of dills (still in a crock) that was done at the original 10% salt solution. She loves them, but can only eat a few bites, they are too salty. This new batch is closer to 5%, we will see how she likes them.

 

[Ms Music]

Just going through my post history I noticed I never gave an update on the flavors I tried.

Jimmy's soy sauce pickles were super good! A little on the salty side, even with low salt soy sauce, but still were VERY good. I didn't put in any wasabi, but next time I have a party, I might try that.

I also got adventurous and made a pickle with Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce. (Nuoc cham) This is probably my favorite so far of the quick pickles. But then, I could live off nuoc cham.

I made red curry pickles (veggies, not cukes) and regular veggie pickles before our last party, the curry was the favorite of everyone. Even the 4 year old devoured them. Thankfully I made a BIG jar of those, they will last a while.

Also, something I forgot to mention to OldFart, I also couldn't find any fresh horse radish, so I had to use bottled. That is why the jar is milky. The brine doesn't seem very hot though, so I might have to spare a tiny root from the starts that we just got of horseradish. That should liven it up well if need be. Have you guys had time to make a batch yet?

 

[Ms Music]

Just found an interesting website. I think they are trying to sell their own jars, but I think the information there is very good regarding fermented pickles. For instance, they claim that dill and garlic are antimicrobial and should be added at the end of the pickling process. I knew you couldn't use store bought pickling spice because of the cinnamon being antimicrobial, but I didn't know the dill or garlic did that.

From now on, I will try adding my spice later!

http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/509/kosher-pickling-cukes-made-easy/

 

[Oldfart]

Also, something I forgot to mention to OldFart, I also couldn't find any fresh horse radish, so I had to use bottled. That is why the jar is milky. The brine doesn't seem very hot though, so I might have to spare a tiny root from the starts that we just got of horseradish. That should liven it up well if need be. Have you guys had time to make a batch yet?

Ms Music -- No. not yet. I had a minor operation last Friday, that has set me back a bit. But the good news is I found some Kirby pickles and a sorry bunch of dill at a korean grocery last week, so I just need to rest up a bit more and then will press on with this.

Oldfart

 

[Ms Music]

OldFart,

I hope you guys haven't started yet! I have made a huge mistake. I used the same pickles and brine in the horseradish pickles as my daughters pickles. Her jar is nicely turning transparent, barely any white left, and almost perfectly pickled after one week. The horse radish pickles are still solid white... I think what needs to be done is just brine the pickles in the salt brine until transparent (about a week or so), THEN put the horseradish in when they are ready to go into the fridge and let them absorb the horse radish flavor. If these stay white I may have to toss them.

Frustrating, but lesson learned.

But at least I have perfected what my daughter wants in only the 2nd batch. She is in LOVE with her pickles! 5% brine is the perfect salt level for her.

Edit: I do hope you are healing well!