How-to-Make-Pickles
September 22, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Orlando
• 0 Comments
How to Make Pickles
There are few greater food pleasures than pickling your own fresh produce, either from your own garden or a farmer’s market. You can put up your own jars and eat delicious, fresh produce all winter long. You can also save a lot of money, too, especially if you grow the produce yourself.
Pickled vegetables are an Orlando culinary staple thanks to its large number of Jamaican and other Caribbean immigrants. These spicy varieties are served alongside the popular escovitch of fish.
One of the easiest vegetables to pickle is the cucumber. Even with no experience, you can make a batch of delicious homemade pickles. We’ve put together this quick guide to making homemade pickles.
Quick-Process Homemade Pickles
These are pickles that are made with hot vinegar and canned using traditional canning methods just like those found on grocery store shelves. You may not have them served to you at a Le Cordon Bleu restaurant, but they are delicious nevertheless.
Here is what you’ll need to start:
Ingredients:
- 4 to 5 pounds of pickling cucumbers. These are shorter and wider than traditional slicing cucumbers
- Quick-process pickling mix. You can find many varieties at your local grocery
- 4 cups white distilled vinegar
Equipment:
Before going out to purchase any canning equipment, check with your mom or grandmother to if they have any available. It may be old, but it’ll still work. If you don’t have equipment, consider buying a canning kit from Ball. It includes everything you’ll need to get started:
- Large boiling water canner with canning rack
- 6 pint-sized canning jars with lids and rings
- Jar lifter
- Canning funnel
- Bubble remover
- Ball Blue Book Guide with more than 400 delicious canning and pickling recipes
You will also need a 2-quart or larger saucepan with a non-stick Teflon surface. You can also use glass or enamel. Avoid using uncoated aluminum or stainless steel. The vinegar will react with it and make your solution cloudy.
Preparation:
- Sterilize jars and lids according to Blue Book Guide. You can also use a dishwasher. Be sure they are rinsed well.
- Wash and cut cucumbers. Cut off ends and slice in half length-wise. Cut each half again, making four spears per pickle
- Mix the vinegar and pickling mix in the saucepan and bring to a slow boil
- Pack raw cucumbers into your jars. You can usually get 3-4 pickles per jar
- Fill the jars to within ¼ inch of the top with the pickling liquid
- Put on lids and hand tighten rings
- Place jars in canner and cover the tops with at least 1 inch of water. Boil jars for 10 minutes. Be sure the water is boiling before placing the jars
- Remove jars from the canner and let them cool for at least 24 hours
After 24 hours the pickles are ready to eat, although letting them sit longer will give the spices more time to infuse into the cucumbers. A week or more is best. The unopened jars will last 3 to 4 months on your shelves. Keep opened jars in the refrigerator. But most all, enjoy!
Note: Be sure to check the seals of the lids by pressing down on the center of each lid. If the lid moves up and down while making a slight popping sound, the seal isn’t tight enough, and the pickles shouldn’t be eaten.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Orlando, Florida. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Orlando for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.