National Pickle Appreciation Day

November 14

Chow Chow

It's Whatever You Want It To Be

Here's the recipe: 

[Makes about 2 Quarts, tightly packed.]

Ingredients ...

Medium sized Cabbage 

2 Red Bell Peppers

1 Large Onion, 

2 Green Tomatoes or 4 large Tomatillos

Kosher Salt 2 tbsp.

Brine ... 

Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Cup

Pure Water 2 Cups

Sugar 1 Cup (Brown, White, in combination)

Yellow Mustard Seeds, 1+ tbsp.

Celery Seeds, 1 tsp.

Mustard Powder, 2 tsp.

Turmeric, 1 tsp.

Ground Black Pepper, 1tsp.

Preparation ...

Thin slice vegetables, then coarse chop. (Small enough to be a garnish on a hot dog.)

Toss with 2 tbsp. Kosher Salt.

Let stand overnight, refrigerated. (Room temperature seems to be acceptable as well; maybe starts a little fermentation.)

Drain and rinse. (Some recipes don't specify the rinse, but it does tone down the saltiness if you do.)

Combine Brine ingredients, bring to boil.

Low cook Vegetables in Brine until just tender (10-15 minutes)

Options ... 

Go and search around other Chow Chow recipes. Some only have a minimum amount of Cabbage proportionally. Slivered Carrot, Green Bell Peppers would be obvious options. Our brine ratio 1 Vinegar : 2 Water* is sour enough for us. Adjust yours to taste.

Cook to your own taste. Seems Chow Chow is what ever you want it to be.

* Brine Ratio: Vinegar:Water — 1:2 
This has proved to be an ideal ratio for anything you might want to brine for "Refrigerator Pickles". Careful, a lot of recipes call for vinegar full strength. Pucker up if you do.

Pickles 101

Being raised in a Polish family, naturally pickles are a part of this Kitty's culinary vocabulary. This is not unique to the Poles, but there is such a thing as "Polish Dill Pickles". So let's not quibble. The home you are born into is your world, and my world was distinctly Polish; in a Polish neighborhood. So Polish, my part of town was called Poletown. Alas, no more. They paved paradise and put up — in this case — a Cadillac car plant. 

Anyhow, pickle-wise (which I unashamedly am) you could say pickles of all types were part of my vaccination regimen. It's in my blood. Vampires seem to stay away. Too sour. Now, don't you wish you were Polish too?

So I know from pickles ...

There are two types of pickles: 1. Fermented. 2. Refrigerator.

Please learn the distinction and you will forever sing my praises. Not the least of which is the pure fact that you will be enjoying some really good and tasty homemade pickles.

This is an overview. At the bottom of each section is a link to the full spiel to get you going on the road to Pickledom. 

1. Fermented Pickles are fermented. Raw vegetables in a saline brine left to ferment and sour. Easy as pie once you crack your pickle cherry and just go ahead and do it. 

The secret is in the brine. The proportion of salt to water. 2 Tablespoons per quart of water. That's around 3.5% salinity by weight. And — CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT — the kind of salt and the kind of water. Salt with no Iodine. Pickling salt, or Kosher. Water without Chlorine. Spring water, or boiled tap water (removes the chlorine.) Those two elements will retard/fail the fermentation process. 

Remember too, fermentation is an anaerobic process. Pickles (any vegetable) being processed with fermentation must be kept under the brine liquid.

Memorize that. Then CLICK to go ahead and ferment some pickles.

2. Refrigerator Pickles are made in a vinegar-based brine. If you search the Internet you'll see lots of recipes. And, the use of lots of vinegar. Too much for even this Kitten's taste. Here's all's you ever be needing to know about vinegar brine: Brine Ratio ... 1 Parts Vinegar : 2 Parts water. 

Memorize that.

Refrigerator pickles are just about any vegetable or hard fruit processed in a hot brine flavored to your liking. Boil brine, pour over vegetables, let cool. And/or ... blanch vegetables/fruits to take the raw edge off and tenderize. Put in the fridge. Next day or two or three ... enjoy. Again, depending on the type of vegetable being processed you may want to par boil in the brine to tenderize. 

CLICK for  all's there is to know about Refrigerator Pickles.

Our Favorite Pickles:

Chinese Mustard Greens

How to prepare ...

Trim away the leafy portions (save for other uses). Cut fleshy parts into bite size pieces.

Prepare brine of White Vinegar : Water (1 : 2). Boil with some salt, a good measure of sugar, and some Yellow Mustard Seeds.

Add cut pieces to boiling brine, keep on heat a short time to tenderized. Remove from heat. Let cool. Jar. Refrigerate. 

Ready to eat almost immediately.

Homemade Sauerkraut for Dummies

If you have found yourself here, consider yourself a Dummy. Now, don't take umbrage. In fact, if you don't know you're a Dummy, stop reading this right now. It's not for you!

We've posted a Sauerkraut recipe before, but it occurs to us that for the uninitiated that version — as wonderfully simple as Cooky Cat can make it — may still be too complicated.

We understand the intimidation of the unknown. Fondly remembering our first attempt at the Omelet. Kimchi. Sex. (That last one: Baby, really, I had no idea.)

Also, if you are venturing into this fermented food territory for the first time, you don't want to make — what we say in the feline world — "a litter box full".

So now that you are sufficiently amused, here's something to amuse your bouche.

1 Quart Sauerkraut Recipe

— 5 Cups tightly packed thinly shredded Cabbage. (The salted shredded Cabbage shrinks, so 5 Cups slims down to 4 Cups.) 

— 2-3 small cabbage leaves/pieces 

— 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt (No Iodized!*)

— 2 Cups clean water (No Tap Water!*)

* Iodine and Chlorine inhibit/retard fermentation. We use Spring Water. If you do use tap water, boil it first to get rid of the Chlorine.

Toss the shredded cabbage with the Tablespoon Kosher Salt. Tamp down. Let stand for a few hours. Then, add 2 Cups pure water and mix. Tightly pack shredded Cabbage into a clean Quart jar. Place cabbage leaf pieces on top to hold down shredded mass under brine. Fill to top with brine. Place lid on jar loosely. Wait a few days. Taste. Refrigerate when sourness is to your taste. The Sauerkraut will continue to slowly ferment in the refrigerator; but slowly. Keeps a long time.

Check in every day. As gas forms in the jar, the cabbage mass will expand. Tamp down. Fermentation is anaerobic; so it happens under water, away from air. Be sure to place a plate under jar during fermentation to catch any brine spill over. Top with a little salt and water as needed.

The last word on "BRINE": Brine is the what you ferment with. First, no Chlorine* water [use clean spring water, or boil tap water first], no Iodized* salt [Kosher salt works fine]. Those elements* retard/inhibit fermentation. 

DO THIS ... Water to salt ratio: For the recommended around 3% saline solution for fermentation it's 2 Tablespoons salt per quart of water. 

Here's the tricky part. You've salted the Cabbage with a known quantity of salt. Proportion the amount of added water to yield that 1 Water:2 Tblsp. Salt ratio. If you need more brine, then make some up to add to your batch. Not so tricky after all.

 

Here are the other fermented foods recipes for when you want to go to the next level. 

Sauerkraut

Kimchi

Dill Pickles

A link to another take on the subject.

Fermented Vegetables

Here are the most basic elements for fermenting vegetables. 

Your Kitty does not hold hands, or pussyfoot around. There are lots of resources on the Internet for the step by steps. Even some links here to some Cooky Cat recipes.

Basic Points

1. We ferment vegetables to preserve them. And, more importantly now, because they taste good. And, they're good for you. 

2. Fermentation is ... during fermentation beneficial bacteria in the vegetables convert sugars to lactic acid. This is a natural preservation that prevents the growth of harmful bacteria.

3. Fermentation is ... an anaerobic process. In other words, the veggies have to be submerged under brine. 

3. Salt initiates fermentation. Most important to use non-Iodized salt. Kosher salt works great. Pickling salt also. Never Iodized table salt; you will not get fermentation.

4. Water. Some vegetables after being salted give up liquid. This is a natural brine. In order to be sure the vegetables are submerged under the brining liquid, add more brine to cover. 

Brine Recipe: 2 Tablespoons salt* : 1 Quart of water**. 

*    Kosher or Pickling salt. No Iodine!
**  Pure water. No tap water, unless boiled to remove chlorine. Spring water has no chlorine. Chlorine inhibits/prevents fermentation.

Here are links to Cooky Cat entries for things fermented...

Sauerkraut

Kimchi

Dill Pickles

Homemade Sauerkraut

Fall time is for making Sauerkraut. If you are Korean, then it's Kimchi. If your Italian, forgedaboutit. 

This about two things. Making Homemade Sauerkraut. And a nice recipe from Polish mother Wronski, Sauteed Sauerkraut. 

Homemade Sauerkraut

Please search to get the specific ins and out on preparing Sauerkraut at home. Here are some overview comments. It may seem intimidating at first look. It's not. Just you don't know from nothing yet on fermenting vegetables. Once you get into it, it's a snap. A whole world opens.

The crock. Really, you don't need a crock. Any non-reactive vessel will do. Here's something similar to what we use. Yields about 3 quarts. 

You can even make small batches in quart jars. But, if you like Sauerkraut, you'll probably want to make a good amount. And, if you really like it, invest. Then crock it!

For the basic preparation you will use 3 Tablespoons of Kosher or Pickling Salt per 5 pounds of cabbage. Do not use any salt which is iodized. Fermentation will not occur.

Shred the cabbage finely and place in layers into a large container, salting each layer and tamping down as you go with a large spoon or potato masher. 

Let sit overnight. The shredded cabbage will have wilted and reduced in volume, releasing a good deal of liquid. Fermentation is an anaerobic process, so we want to keep the cabbage submerged under the liquid. A plate with something to weight the cabbage down. If necessary add brine (2 T Kosher/Pickling Salt: 1 Quart pure water) to cover. We make our ferments in a large 2 gallon glass jar, so a sealed plastic storage bag with brine water goes in and keeps the vegetable in its place under the brine. If you need more liquid, make a brine with pure water and kosher/pickling salt. Ratio 2 Tablespoons salt : 1 quart water. If using tap water, be sure to boil first to remove chlorine, which prevents fermentation.

You can add flavorings such as juniper berries and caraway. Other vegetables, slivered carrots are nice for color. Plain, however, is just fine. Try that first. Fermentation of vegetables is a broad subject. You can try Kimchi next. Brine cured pickles are a fave.

A week or so at a cool room temperature (60-65°F) should do it. Periodically check and skim any white scum that may form.The longer it stays, the more sour. Pack tightly into sterile jars, filling to cover with brine. Refrigerate. Should keep until Spring.

So now you have all that Sauerkraut. Try it straight, as a salad. But, unless you like it to taste like human tears, do rinse thoroughly before serving to remove excess saltiness. Plain, or with whatever mix ins you like. 

Sauerkraut is an ancient food. There are plenty of recipes out there to try. Here's what Mama Wronski prepared:

Sauteed Sauerkraut 

Thoroughly rinse and drain Sauerkraut. Sauté thin onion slices in butter, maybe with some garlic. Add a bay leaf and pepper. Since the Sauerkraut has been rinsed, it should be salty enough. Adjust for taste. Add the rinsed/ thoroughly drained Sauerkraut with more butter and sauté turning mixture frequently to prevent scorching. 

Optionals: Add some reconstituted Dried Mushrooms for flavor. Finely grated Apple. Prepared white Horseradish.

The dish is ready to serve when the Sauerkraut is heated through and excess moisture has evaporated. You may also leave it longer to get a little browning. But, a little. This is simple stuff.

Serve with potatoes and whatever smoked type meat you like. 

Beer would be nice.

KIMCHI

Round Eyed Dave’s Special Recipe Extraordinaire and Delicious Too

IMPORTANT: We're redirecting you to the latest Kimchi 2.0 recipe. We're using less Salt in the updated version.

Kimchi is good for you! So make some soon and stop being so sour yourself. It is sour enough!

This recipe has been pared down to the essentials. There are some optional items plus room for you to do your own thing. There's also a traditional preparation video at the bottom. 

Ingredients 

-1 Napa cabbage medium sized / 2-3 lbs

          Cut lengthwise into 6-8 sections, depending on the size of the cabbage.

Remove root core, then cut into 2" pieces. Traditionally the cabbage is only cut lengthwise; but, what's traditional about a cat who makes kimchi?

-1 Daikon radish, large enough to make you nervous (better, Korean radish if you can find this variety).

          Peeled and cut into 1/4" thick half or quarter rounds (depending on diameter of the whole radish).

-2" piece of ginger slivered into fine julienne or made into a paste.

-1 T fresh garlic slivered or made into a paste (optional, but traditionally a must). This cat leaves the garlic out, only a little: per taste.

- 6 Tablespoons Kosher*** salt (for salting the vegetables)

- 6  scallions sliced thin on the bias. Or, in 1" lengths.

- Half bunch Korean/Chinese garlic chives cut into 1" lengths.

-1/4 Cup sugar

-1/4 Cup Korean dried chili flakes, or to taste

-1/4 Cup Korean dried chili powder, or to taste

***Use Kosher or other non-iodized salt. Iodized salt will inhibit fermentation.

ATTENTION: Regarding water . . . Use non-chlorinated (not tap) water. Chlorinated water inhibits fermentation.

The dried chili flakes / powder amounts are to taste. Very Important: the Korean dried chilis are medium to hot, hot. Use cayenne powder or red pepper flakes, only if you must (and, if so, go easy.). Paprika might be good to add some color. If you go into a Korean market you will see mass quantities of various chili flakes/powders, some in industrial size packages. Some hotter than others. (I have heard that kimchi is becoming very popular with the Koreans.) Do what I did and ask someone from the store for a recommendation. Or ask some friendly Korean shopper. But don't stop thinking for yourself. Just because folks are Oriental doesn't mean that they are all imbued with the wisdom of the East. Let alone that all Koreans know how to make a good kimchi.

Also, do not confuse with store brand "chili powders". Them's for Chili Con Carne type dishes. And, if that's your bag, dig Chuckwagon Dave's most wonderful recipe.

Preparation

- Place the cut cabbage and radish pieces in a large bowl and toss with the salt. 

- Let stand to wilt 2-4 hours, or overnight.

- Rinse thoroughly.

- Combine chili flakes/powder, ginger, garlic, sugar, scallions, chives, then add to cabbage and radish pieces.

- Add salted brine water to cover. Brine is 2 Tbls. Kosher or other non-iodized salt per 1 Quart clean Water (not chlorinated/tap). If using tap water, boil to remove Chlorine.

- Let stand for 2-3 days in quiet cool place.

- Check progress. Bubbles will appear to indicate fermentation.

- Place in sterile jars and refrigerate when Kimchi is to your taste: i.e., sourness/sharpness.

- Kimchi will continue to sour with time.

For a demonstration of a more traditional recipe click here.

Nukazuke

Pickles 102

NUKAZUKE

Japanese Rice Bran Pickles

"When life hands you nuka, zuke it. Okay, doko?"
 

Our beloved and fearless editor, David D. Wronski writes . . .

As an enthusiatic home cook I am always on the lookout for something new. The world is my oyster, don't you know. But, I am not the sort of foodie looking for the unusual in unusual places. Our good friend Baron Ambrosia is our patron saint in that category; and then there's that Andrew Zimmern guy too. No, I am after what is usual in the unusual. (If you are feeling confused by that construction, stop and take deep slow breaths.) The usual in the unusual are those foods and recipes that are everyday to the various world cuisines, but still new and unfamiliar to us here in the good old US of A.

Case in point. We are very fortunate to live near the magnificent Mitsuwa (NJ branch),  a showplace of a supermarket catering to Japanese cooks. It is immaculately clean, well lit, not a trace of that dried fishy who-knows-what-else aroma that wafts through too many Asian markets. Near the fresh fish display it smells of the sea. Fresh!

The produce section there looks like a jewelry store. Sufficient quantities — not excessive mountains — of all sorts of usual and traditional Japanese foodstuffs. A huge variety of fresh mushrooms. You want the miso. What kind? Dozens of brands/types. Fresh wasabi. Packaged items have mostly Japanese language labelling, and I would say that easily half of what's on the shelves I have no idea what it is or what it's for. Baron Ambrosia, go nuts.

This is not about Mitsuwa per se, so go there and feast your virtual eyes. Oh yes, a good thirty percent of the huge space is devoted to a food court serving only well made and tasty traditional Japanese foods. Seating is on par with a very decent sit down restaurant. Huge windows at the New Jersey store eating area, overlooking the Hudson River with the Riverside Baptist Church right there on the New York side.

Well, almost only Japanese cuisine. For some reason Italian pasta with tomato sauce is a fave. The food vendor's name is Italian Tomato. Inscrutable to us.

And, there are a lot of other shops under the main roof and close by the main building. Auto Freak for one is a must see. Not to forget the sweet shops with very fancy, painstakingly crafted delicacies packaged like jewels; prices to match.

Lastly, at various times throughout the year there are special events and festivals. One of memory, demonstrations of competitive mochi pounding (see below)*.

Alright, Pickles 102 . . .

Don't be alarmed at what follows, it is not yet another digression. Well, it is. But, a necessary one.

On a recent trip there to restock our sushi supplies, just in from the main entrance to Mitsuwa we stopped at a display of beautifully labelled sturdy plastic bags of rice. There were bags of brown rice and white, with others of varying shades in between brown and white. Now in our world there's brown rice and white rice. Yes, of course, long to short grain; Arborio/Carnaroli (risotto), Basmati, Bomba (paella), Thai Jasmine, sticky rice, sushi rice, Bhutanese red rice, and the so many kinds of wild rice. If we missed something, go ahead and be a wise guy and bring it to our attention in the comments. But, if you really want to look into rice, dig the The Rice Book. 

So, all of a sudden we discover that there is a range of brown you can have on your rice. Who knew? Perhaps we'll leave it to her nibs, Ms. Martha, to parse those distinctions; and That Bittman to let us in on the variant recipes and permutations, etcetera.

Directly next to this Pantone color chart of a rice display is a refrigerator size vending machine. Think the Japanese equivalent of the A&P in store coffee grinder. It turns out that the gizmo will take your brown rice and mill it to whatever level of not-so-brown you prefer. The deal is that as a result of all that milling, you get rice bran as a byproduct; say nuka in Japanese.

And . . . nuka is a basis for nukazuke, the traditional Japanese fermented style pickle. The display also had the rice bran for sale with a short description of how to prepare it as a fermenting bed — say nuka doko — for pickles. We took some home. Usual in the unusual, get it? We don't need to recreate the recipe, here's a good one from which we've started our own nuka doko.

As this is a first time venture for us, we recognize the fear and trepidation that comes with venturing into new territory. If you should go there too, just keep in mind all those mouth watering tasty pickles. As they say, "keep your eye on the donut and not the hole."

If you get into the nuka doko recipe above you will see that an important procedure is to mix the paste with your hands. Now, we along with Cooky Cat are very fussy about making sure that we keep direct handling of any food to the very minimum. Don't even get us started about all that finger fussing that seems to go in so called high end joints in the process of the fussyfying in the plating of prepared foods. Ugh. Employees must wash hands before leaving the loo. Right? Even so, ugh!

Anyhow, it seems the microbes contributed by direct hand contact in mixing are important to the development of a good ferment in the pickling base. But, as Cooky Cat would certainly say, wash those hands first. And, not just in the loo. In the kitchen, just before digging in.

* Pounding Mochi. (Don't try this at home.)


Refrigerator Pickles 101

By refrigerator pickles we are talking about any of a variety of vegetables that can be quickly processed in a vinegar based brine to be stored in the ice box. And, it's not called an ice box because it makes ice for you. Why, son, when I was a mere kitten, the ice was brought "to" the ice box. Literally. Put down your smart[ass]phone and look it up. Or, look it up on it, you smart-ass.

I kid. Moving on ...

You can make refrigerator pickles using cucumbers whole or sliced, cauliflower florets, beets, zucchini, turnip bits, peppers, watermelon rind, even tomatoes and okra. These things can also be put up for long term shelf storage, but that's another topic; there you have the considerations that need to be taken into account owing to the extra heating/cooking step in the canning process.

Hey! This is really importando!:

If you search around you will no doubt see that there are several different treatments on the amount of vinegar. Without further (or any) ado, here is Cooky Cat's unfailingly excellent and superior vinegar brine formula:

Vinegar Brine Preparation

1 part water [or, slightly more water to taste]
1 part vinegar
1 tsp. salt per quart

That ratio gives enough vinegar to do the pickling and enough spark on the palate. Of course, tastes vary, so adjust to your liking.

Type of Vinegar

There's white wine vinegar which will do the trick almost always. Then, apple cider vinegar. It brings an extra flavor dimension, and you just have to decide when it fits. Pickled beets and pickled watermelon rinds take cider vinegar well.

Then there's the quality of the vinegar itself. That's up to you. If you get into this thing big time you can experiment with different sources and types. Bragg makes an excellent organic raw apple cider vinegar, but it might be too expensive for large and frequent batches. Let's not become vinegar snobs. (As we have with olive oils, coffees, chocolates, and salts. How many types of tamari do you have on hand? Miso?) Keep your eye on the pickle is Cooky Cat's advice.

Let's Get To It

Brine Cooking #1 . . .

The thing about refrigerator pickles is that you bring the brine solution to a boil combined with whatever spicings and flavorings you will incorporate. Then you add the vegetable(s) of your choosing to that boiling liquid and bring it back to a boil, simmer to done tender/crisp. How long you leave it to cook in the brine depends on the vegetable itself. Cauliflower, carrots, beets, turnips and watermelon rind need more time than such like cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, okra, or tomatoes.

Brine Cooking #2 . . .

Alternatively, you could par-boil the vegetables in salted water to get them to the level of doneness. Then, add the boiled brine to the vegetables. On reflection this seems to be the more foolproof way to do it. But, Cooky Cat cooks to please himself. So should you. (On the theory that what pleases the cook will please the others.)

How Much Brine? . . .

The Cooky Cat method is to prepack the vegetables into the selected container(s), fill with water, then measure the volume of liquid. There you have the amount of brine you should prepare. And, a little extra more since the veggies will shrink a bit when heated/cooked.

Further on the foregoing point, regarding amount of cut vegetable. You fill the quart jar with vegetables to determine the volume of brine. But ... make sure you prep more than a quart's worth of vegetables since they will shrink in the blanching process.

BTW We're talking quart jar size pickles just to illustrate. You decide for yourself how much you want. Make a zillion quarts for all I care. Knock yourself out.

Preparing the Vegetables . . .

The general rule: cut into bite sized pieces. With zucchini we like a thinnish slice. Cucumbers, the world is your oyster on those: whole; halved; spears; plain slices; crinkle cut slices; dices large, medium, small; and a fine dice for a relish. Beets: sliced, halved, quartered, diced, julienne. Peppers: whole, halved, slivered, sliced.

Spicing/Flavoring . . .

Rule #1: Taste the brine and adjust as you want. Let your own taste preferences guide you.

Here are some of the basics:

In general it seems to up the flavor if you add a teaspoon or so of salt per quart of water.

If you want it sweet, sugar, at least 2 tablespoons per quart of brine; or more to taste, or for something that you want to be "sweet", like watermelon rinds or some recipes for cucumbers (e.g., "Bread and Butter Pickles" and sweet Asian recipes).

Alternates to plain sugar (we only use cane sugar, beet sugar has an off taste to us) give them a try. Maybe it's from driving past a sugar beet processing plant in Nebraska once upon a time. Pheww! But branch out if you are going to be putting yourself in a pickle frequently. Just don't experiment in the beginning. K-I-S-S: Keep-It-Simple-Stupid*. Get some facility with the process, then consider options. *(Not that you're stupid; it's an expression.)

With Cauliflower you can make it plain with vinegar or sweet with some sugar. You can add turmeric for a nice yellow color. Also, yellow mustard seeds and/or mustard powder. On all those extras, though, easy does it. The cauliflower is a great pickle all by itself. Turmeric goes a long way. You don't want folks to take a bite and say "Turmeric!" Or, "Mustard!"

Beets: Cider vinegar seems to be called for here. Spice with whole cloves and cinnamon. Some Star anise might be nice to try. Black peppercorns and allspice berries. Sliced onions too.

Pickled Turnips (the tender white kind) are great. In the Mid-East the name is Lift; we say "lif-it". Add a few slices of raw red beet root to give your turnip pickle a vibrant pink color. De rigueur.

Cucumber Pickles: Not recommended, but if you are going to use the usual supermarket variety be sure to peel the skin. That type has appeal, but not the peel; please. Be sure to get as small and firm as you can find; Kirby's for instance. [Kirby's don't need to be peeled.] Also, best to cut them up into smaller pieces. Spice as you would for brine cured pickles: yellow mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, whole allspice berries. A little whole clove, fresh garlic, or hot pepper seeds if you want.

"Bread and Butter" them up, sweetened with sugar, adding turmeric for a nice yellow color.

If you get small Gherkins, Kirby's, or Cornichons you can also go really sweet with a whole bunch of sugar. Again, the level is to your taste.

Zucchini: Thin slice zucchini along with a small portion of sweet onion. Pickle sour style or sweeten as for bread and butter pickles. Optionals: yellow mustard seeds and/or mustard, turmeric. If you have a garden you probably know the thing about how if you grow zucchini "You know who your friends are" . . . Zucchini has a tendency to be rather abundant. Surpluses going to friends and neighbors, again and again. If you want to make lasting friends, give them zucchini pickles.

Watermelon Rinds: Leave a very little pink showing and, of course, trim the skin and down a bit to get past that tough outer rind. Make a very sweet brine flavored with cloves and cinnamon and cook the rinds until done. There are recipes online that make this into a 3-step multiple day thing. Just simmer them in the sweet brine until crisp/tender and put in a jar. Let cool and store in the refrigerator. In two days, enjoy. K-I-S-S.

Peppers: If there's a place here for the green bell pepper, it's probably in some kind of relish. Otherwise, were talking about every other pepper other than those belly bomb green bells.

Small peppers can be pickled whole. Larger, cut them up. If you are preparing large thick fleshed colored peppers, best to deseed and cut in half at least, or quartered, slivered, cross-sliced thin.

Thin flesh peppers tend to be tough skinned, so cut them in thin slices crosswise. Maybe try simmering in brine longer for a more tender whole thin flesh pepper.

As for whether to leave the seeds or not. You choose. Only, as we said, with the large thick fleshed kinds the seeds and the pulp take away aesthetically. Remove.

Last Words . . .

We know this is not anywhere near the total picture. You either have the experience to fill in, or the Internet is at your finger tips. Just we offer the priceless Cooky Cat hard earned by experience knowledge to light your path. So you shouldn't get into a real pickle. OK?

Inspired by our Dear Friend David D. Wronski ...

Dill Pickles 101

If you are one of the legion of Cooky Cat followers, you know that he is spot on, but not so much with the detailed in's and out's. This piece is about pickles and how to get into one yourself without too much muss or fuss. And, even trying to keep it to the bare basics, we wound up with a bit of verbiage. It's not tricky or complicated, just a few points to follow strictly.

Pickles and pickling is a broad subject. If you want the chapter and verse, we recommend The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. It just might be the bible of pickles, and all fermented things.

But, you got some Kirby pickles from the green grocer or farmers market and you want some dills. And, soon. So here it is.

Brine Cured Dill Pickles

Small fresh cucumbers (Quantity of your choosing, a dozen is a good start.)

Select smallish cucumbers. Kirby's (aka gherkins) are the gold standard. We've also had success with the Persian type and Cornichons. Freshness is key. Select plumpers with unblemished skins, nothing shriveled. On that let's not quibble.

Brine water (Ratio of 2.0 Tablespoons non-iodized salt to 1 quart water, non-chlorinated)

REPEAT: Non-Iodized salt (Kosher is good) and no chlorine in the water. That means no tap water. Or, if using tap water, it must be boiled first to remove the chlorine.

For the brine 2.0 T level salt per quart of water. We got the proportion from an interpretation of Mr. Arthur Scwartz's definitive recipe. Just to be sure it's non-iodized: Pickling salt or Kosher. Regular table salt won't work.


The water should be room temperature, pure, and un-chlorinated. Bottled spring water or tap water boiled (the boiling removes the chlorine from tap water).

You don't need to boil the spring water to dissolve the salt. Or, boil a little to dissolve the salt. Heat up the whole bunch and you end up waiting for it to get back down to room temperature. We're guessing the usual recipe instructions to boil the brine has more to do with being sure the Chlorine is dissipated when using tap water.

So, you ask, how much brine do I need? How should we know? You figure it out. OK, here's how. Load the cleaned cucumbers into your clean container. Fill with water. Then measure the liquid volume. That's that. Proceed to add the salt at the 1 quart water to 2.0 T salt ratio. Yes, you have to remove the fresh pickles from the container; but, it's a pretty slick trick don't you think?

Spices/flavorings (Recommended: Fresh dill [in flower is best, available mid/late summer if you can find it]. Yellow mustard seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, whole allspice berries, bay leaf. Optionals: Garlic, whole cloves (just a few), hot pepper pods.)

Assembly

We prefer to cure our pickles in one batch. For that a large 2.5 quart glass jar will hold about 18-24 very small pickles nicely. Divvy them among several jars if you want; but, big is better. Or, invest in a clay crock and get all Martha (Stewart) up in there. A crock is great especially if you are making mass quantities. And, if you are making pickles often. Otherwise, it's a dust catcher. Or, a crock, if you will.

We pack first some dill and the spices, then a layer of pickles standing on end, more dill, more pickles, then some more dill. It'll be dillicious.

You want the pickles to be completely submerged in the brine. We pack the brining jar tight so the pickles don't float. But a small something like a dish or a plastic bag with some brine water will make a decent weight to keep those critters in the brine.

Taking the Cure

Here's a key factor to keep in mind: "Time & Temperature." Fermentation takes place in time; how fast, however, depends on the temperature. If you go on to actually prepare your own brine fermented pickles, pay attention to the progress. Higher temperature, faster brining. 

In the summer weather it seems to take only a 1 to 2 for our pickles to reach the "half sour" stage; kind of a 50/50 fresh/brined level. (Great with a pastrami or corned beef on rye and a cold Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Tonic*.)

You decide how sour you like your pickles. Probably no more than 3-5 days at room temperature should be more than enough. Then put them in the fridge. They will continue to sour in the cold, but more slowly.

Lately we are leaving the pickles only one day at room temperature. Then, into the refrigerator. They will continue to ferment, but slowly; keeping that half sour freshness.

We transfer the pickles as their numbers decrease into smaller and smaller jars. That saves refrigerator space and gets the big boy jar ready for next week's batch of pickles. This summer season we've been in the weekly pickle now for three months.

Don't Forget

And, don't toss out the brine. Cube some cooked potatoes and add to a good chicken stock with minced onion/shallot sautéed in butter, shredded carrots and shredded dill pickles. Add 1 cup of brine to 4 cups of stock (more, to taste). Stir in lots of chopped fresh dill. Thicken with a slurry of flour and water. Season to taste; careful, the brine is salty. Polish Dill Pickle Soup. Really excellent. For sure. You likey.

When we serve pickles, we serve a bunch. "For the money" is a delicatessen term for a lot. Which, of course, you gotta pay for. Usually you will get a complementary single slice of a half sour or a full sour dill pickle with your Pastrami or Corned Beef on Rye sandwich. 

"For the money" let's them know you want a boat load. And, like we said, you'll pay. The Cooky Cat recommended proper amount. 

 

Best Indian Pickle (Mixed)

If you like to, as Christopher Walken would say, "eat Indian," then you may know that pickles of all kinds are a big part of the cuisine of the subcontinent. My great grand daddy would wax wistful of the culinary delights he savored during his days in the colonies during the "Raj."

By far, in our humble opinion, sahib, the best of the best is Achar Pickle. Insist on the recipe put up by the venerable Pachranga Foods. Any proper Indian food store should carry this item. 28 oz. / 800g. / 750 ml. size can. Ingredients: Limes, Mango, Lotus Root, Carrots, Indian Gooseberries, Turnip, Fresh Green Chile, Cinnamon, Ginger, Fenugreek, Coriander, Dried Red Chile, Fennel Seed, Turmuric, Cumin, Salt, Vegetable Oil.

If you weren't nursed as a wee one at the breast of a traditional Indian mother, you may not have the taste for this pickle built into your subconscious taste preferences. If you weren't born to it, be patient. It is a cultivated taste; and, once acquired, it will make you feel like a Bollywood star. Jai Ho!