How to Pickle Fruits and Veggies
Basic Pickle Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- Apple cider vinegar - 2 cups
- Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Kosher salt - 1 tbsp
- Black peppercorns - 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
- Garlic - 1-2 bulbs (of savoury)
Instructions
- Bring all the ingredients to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Place your pickling vegetable or fruit into a re-sealable jar.
- Pour the hot brining pickle liquid over the food into the jar.
- Let cool to room temperature, then cover and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before serving, and maximum of 3 weeks.
Learning to pickle your own veggies can lead to amazing results! Have vegetables at home losing their crunch? Don’t let them go to waste and learn how to pickled fruits and veggies at home – it’s surprisingly easy! Use a little vinegar, salt, sugar and spice to transform ageing veggies or fruits into a delicious snack, side, or even gift!
As for what foods you can pickle, the list is endless.
Cucumbers (of course), beets, capsicum, radish, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, fennel, green beans, mushrooms, parsnips, onion, rhubarb, strawberries, watermelon, rock melon, tomatoes, figs are enough delicious alternatives to get you started.
Save empty, cleaned jam and chutney jars for your pickling.
Don’t bother going out and getting new jars and reuse! Soak the paper labels in vegetable oil for a few hours and then use warm, soapy water to wipe the labels clean off. Decorate with a ribbon and a tag and you’ll know how long you’ve kept the jar for or be able to write a note if it’s a gift!
Mix it up and be adventurous with your pickled food!
- Pickle figs and other sweet fruits with honey and cinnamon.
- Add pickled lemons with smoky flavours to barbequed meats and seafood.
- Pickle mango and apricot and mash into a relish for savoury meals.
- Toss pickled pineapple into a stir fry or grill your pickled watermelon and place on top of a salad with fresh feta
- Add cauliflower to punchier veggies like tomato and capsicum.
- Pickled leeks go great with summer salads.
- Serve pickled corn with smoky meats.
- Pickle beets and slice finely and serve with smoked salmon and cream cheese on bread.
Be imaginative with your spices:
Other spices that might go well with particular pickled veggies are chilli flakes, coriander seed, dill seed (good for dill pickles), turmeric, and staranise.
Use our basic pickle brine recipe, but switch out and add any herbs or spices depending on what flavour you’re going for.
