A lot of fresh and canned vegetables get sold in units too large for a small household. So instead of letting the remainder go to waste, remember that a lot of things can be pickled.
A vinegar solution needs to be a least 2.5% acidity to prevent spoilage. Most household vinegars are 5% acidity, which means a 1:1 ratio is adequate for preservation. Groceries in my area sell vinegar by the gallon at $4.50 to $6.50.
The other day I opened up a can of black olives but couldn't use them all because I'm the only one here who likes black olives. The remainder went into a half pint mason jar with a 50:50 mix of red wine vinegar and filtered water. The next day some of those olives got baked into a rosemary and feta cheese focccia. Will probably saute the rest next week to serve with pasta.
I do something similar with fresh asparagus, garlic, shallots, and other vegetables. Usually adding salt and pepper and a few savory herbs such as bay leaf, mustard seed, and juniper.
A side benefit is this also cuts down on cooking time. Carrots and potatoes that might take 40 minutes to cook fresh are ready to serve after eight minutes on the stove.
edit
In response to questions, if you want a crunchy pickle (as in dill pickled cucumbers) then the thing to do is to add tannins. You can get that from adding a grape leaf or from oak chips. Oak chips are available from home brewing suppliers where they're sold in several different types; for a safe choice try medium toast French oak. I like to use small Persian cucumbers for pickling.
A mandolin slicer is invaluable in making sauerkraut and rotkohl (rotkohl uses red cabbage). One head of cabbage is enough for a quart sized mason jar. Get the wide mouthed mason jars if possible; they're easier to work with.
Usually my pickling goes straight into the fridge. If you intend to store at room temperature then you need to weight down the vegetables so they aren't exposed to air. One inexpensive way to do this is to tie up glass marbles in a piece of cheesecloth.
Note to apple cider vinegar fans: apple cider vinegar is normally 3.5% acidity. So you don't dilute it as much if you use it for pickling.
Yes, the flavor of the vegetable improves with interesting vinegars. Distilled vinegar works but it tastes kind of bland.
Once you're done with the vegetables, the vinegar pickling juice makes a savory addition to cooking. Marinade chicken or beef in it, or else add the liquid to a saute with a dash of corn starch and stir to make it into sauce.
Hard boiled eggs can be pickled in vinegar too. Which might seem odd to some palates but it's an easy breakfast on the go. Athletes often take a liking to pickled eggs because of the electrolytes.
This isn't the only way to do pickling but it's the easiest. There's a separate method called brine pickling that you can Google if you want but it doesn't work in warm climates during summertime.
Regarding other food preservation methods, there's dehydrating and freezing. Those are different topics and I'll write about them in another post.
February 07, 2019 at 04:18PM
