If you ever thought learning how to pickle vegetables was only for the farmer’s wife on a homestead think again. Pickling your vegetables is not only a delicious way to add flavor to any dish but the perfect way to make your produce last much longer. Don’t think of it as a new recipe but rather a new way to save money.
Learning to pickle vegetables means foods that would usually go bad in a week or two now last for months in the fridge! Which means buying produce less often. Have you ever bought a cucumber, kind of forgot about it, then when you remember, get excited to eat it, grab it from the drawer and it’s practically mush and rotten? Well, if you had pickled that cucumber the week you bought it, it would still be fresh and crisp in a jar in your fridge. For someone who was taught NEVER to throw away food, pickling gives me an odd peace of mind as an adult.
A little back story on the peace of mind and learning never to waste food. When I was growing up (and still) my dad would take a molded block of cheese, cut off all the rotten pieces until all that was left was the 1 by 1 inch cube in the dead center, and say “See, it’s still good” and pop it in his mouth. The man has a stomach of steel. But he also taught me to never waste food. You’ll notice a lot of my recipes are using leftovers and repurposing them due to this upbringing. We always joke as a family that if we turn the leftovers into enchiladas it’s a mom recipe and if we took any sort of meat leftovers and cooked it into eggs the next day, it’s a dad recipe. We joke but let me tell you, my sister, my brother, and I do not waste food; in turn not wasting money.
BENEFITS
We know pickling vegetables will make them last longer. Now let’s talk about some benefits of learning how to pickle vegetables.
Health Benefits
According to WebMD: pickled vegetables help with digestion because of the good bacteria called probiotics. Vegetables are packed with antioxidants and vitamins (differing depending on what vegetable you pickled). It’s also noted that pickled vegetables could ease muscle cramps and help curb sugar spikes and cravings.
You’ll Save Money.
When your foods last longer and you can enjoy them over a longer period of time, you’re throwing away bad produce less often and having to go to the store fewer times.
You’ll already have all the work done for taco toppings.
Instead of spending time chopping up all the toppings for taco night, you’ll already have pickled carrots, pickled red cabbage, pickled radishes, pickled cherry tomatoes, you name it!
They make great gifts.
Pickled veggies are pretty darn beautiful. Package yours in a mason jar, add a bow and you have a unique hostess or housewarming gift.
One thing to note: pickling does slightly change the flavor of your vegetable. Especially in produce like cucumbers which are mostly water and soak in whatever flavor you pickle them in. I personally love the vinegar taste and the slightly sweet tangy pickling flavor. But depending on your vegetable and what flavors you gravitate towards, you can change the flavoring quite a bit by adding things like fresh herbs, garlic, more sugar, etc.
- Peach Cucumber Mint Orzo Salad
- Kale Mushroom Sushi With Beet Hummus
- Carrot Noodles With Ginger Curry Sauce
- Loaded Sweet Potato With Cilantro Lime Sauce
WHY PICKLE YOUR OWN?
You may be thinking, Diana this all sounds great, but why would I spend time and go through the work of chopping up a bunch of vegetables and pickling them on my own when I can buy them already pickled in the store? Long story short, the pickled vegetables you’ll buy at a store no longer have the nutritional value the vegetable did. This is due to government regulations that foods must be preserved in a way that they can travel long distances and no bacteria can grow. (so no one gets poisoned) Sounds like a good plan but the problem with “killing/sterilizing” the food is along with the bacteria, all the nutrients are killed too. And those preservatives that were added to keep it “fresh”, well most preservatives have harmful side effects over time. It’s like comparing a fresh cucumber to eating cardboard.
Think about how people used to live off their land and how much better they used to look. There were no fridges or preservatives and there was no rampant obesity rate either. Our bodies need good bacteria to fight off illnesses, you’re saving money, and pickled vegetables are damn delicious. So let’s get you started on how to pickle vegetables!
Ingredients
- These are just the veggies I used but you can use whatever kind you like!
- 5 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 cucumber sliced or cut into spears
- 1 c carrots sliced or cut into sticks
- 1 c radishes sliced
- 1 c jalapenos quartered or halved
- 1 c cherry tomatoes
- Other veggies you could try: red cabbage, beets, bell peppers, cauliflower
- Brine or Pickling Juice
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ¼ -½ cup white sugar
- ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorn
- 2 tbsp salt
- + 3 large mason jars or sealable glass jars
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables, cutting and dicing them to your desired shape and size.
- In a saucepan, combine water, vinegars, sugar, and salt.
- Bring to low boil over med-high heat. Simmer 2 minutes, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let sit until cooled.
- Fill jars with vegetables (I did one jar cherry tomatoes, one red cabbage, one radishes, and one asian style with cucumbers, carrots and jalapenos).
- Add in any fresh herbs you like. Some ideas: dill, oregano, basil, or rosemary. I also like to add chopped ginger when I’m making Asian style pickled vegetables.
- Pour brine over vegetables submerge completely, pressing down on them. Be sure to leave ½ inch headspace.
- Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours and then place in the refrigerator.
- Allow pickling for 48-72 hours, then enjoy! These are good for up to 2 months under refrigeration.
