Putting Food By - Janet Greene [152]
• Adjustment for my altitude _________________.
Pickled Mixed Vegetables
Fine timber for antipasto, the combinations may be freewheeling but the method and handling are not. These are much like Dilly Beans, where seasonings are put in the bottom of each clean jar, the prepared food is packed Raw (and tight), and a half-vinegar half-water canning liquid, heated, is poured over all; processing is a Boiling–Water Bath.
Prepare 1½- to 2-inch pieces of bell peppers, both red and green; cauliflower, celery cut on a slant, small green cherry tomatoes, onions, slices of zucchini and carrots, eggplant strips; perhaps some not-too-savage hot peppers cut small, and some reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes.
As a rough estimate, plan for 8 to 10 cups of the canning liquid to deal with 12 pints of vegetables. Therefore, heat together equal amounts of 5 percent distilled white vinegar and water—4 to 5 cups of each. In each clean jar put ½ clove garlic for (pints), or 1 to 2 in quarts; ½ teaspoon salt in pints, 1 teaspoon in quarts; peppercorns as liked. Pack mixed vegetables tight, leaving a good ½ inch of headroom; cover with hot vinegar-water combination, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Bubble each jar with a plastic spatula to remove trapped air, wipe sealing rim of jar, put on prepared disc lid and screw the band firmly tight. Process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C), 10 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts. Remove jars; cool upright and naturally. Allow several weeks for flavors to develop.
• Adjustment for my altitude _________________.
48-Hour Sour Pickles
8 pints
32 cucumbers, about 4 inches long
1 cup pickling salt
4 quart water
4 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ tablespoon whole cloves
½ tablespoon mustard seed
½ tablespoon celery seed
½ tablespoon black peppercorns
Prepare a large clean crock or enameled or stainless steel kettle. Dissolve the salt in the water. Wash cucumbers, put in the crock/kettle, cover with the salt brine. Place cover over the crock/kettle, let stand 24 hours, then drain.
Hold in cold fresh water 20 minutes, drain. If rinse water is too salty, freshen again. Meanwhile combine vinegar, sugar, spices tied in a bag; bring to boiling, boil 5 minutes; remove from heat. Wash thoroughly the crock/ kettle. Cut cucumbers lengthwise in halves or quarters; put into clean kettle. Bring the vinegar/sugar solution back to a boil. Remove spice bag and pour boiling hot syrup over cucumbers. Cover crock/kettle; let stand 24 hours.
Drain syrup off cucumbers, pack cucumbers upright in clean hot jars. Fill jars with boiling syrup leaving ½ inch of headroom. Process using the low-temperature pasteurization treatment, page 320, or in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/100 C) 10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts. Remove jars. Complete seals if using bailed jars.
Sweet variation: for 48-Hour Sweet Pickles follow the recipe above, but use 3 cups sugar.
Small-batch Freezer Pickles
3 pints
2 rounded quarts of thinly sliced pickling cucumbers, not peeled
2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1½ cups sugar
1 cup distilled white vinegar
Scrub cucumbers, remove stem and blossom ends, slice thin on the broad blade of a grater, or with the slicing disc of a food processor. Peel onions, slice like the cucumbers. Put cucumbers and onions in a large crockery bowl, sprinkle with the salt, let stand for 2 to 3 hours. Meanwhile combine sugar and vinegar, bring to a boil. Drain the vegetables but do not rinse, and pack into 1-pint freezer containers (either plastic or straight-sided can/ freeze jars), leaving ¾ inch of headroom. Pour in the hot syrup, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Seal, cool, freeze.
Use within one week after thawing.
Note that pickling spices are not used here, because freezing reduces the flavor of spices.
These pickles are a fine way to use up cucumbers that aren’t enough for a batch of canned pickles—provided you have a special spot in your freezer