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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2011 20:08:59 GMT
As I read this thread, it makes me realize that pickled items are nowhere near the top of the list of things that appeal to me, and yet I eat some of them anyway -- and most specifically pickles (gherkins) and kimchee.
But as much as I try to wrap my mind around the idea of a pickled egg (which I have not yet ever tried), there is nothing about the concept that appeals to me.
Do I have an aversion to vinegar, or might it be some other element?
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 8, 2011 0:45:17 GMT
Maybe it just sounds too odd to you. Do you generally like plain hard boiled eggs? The pickled ones are denser and less messy. Towards the end of the last batch I made, the yolks were completely purple as they'd been pickled with beets. They were absolutely delicious. Not only can you enjoy them as-is, but cut up into an ad-hoc soup, their texture is meaty and turns the soup into a full meal.
Since eggs are, as far as I know, generally pickled in the sweeter type of pickling mixture, envisioning oval dill pickles is incorrect. Actually, that sounds really odd to me.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 8, 2011 8:53:21 GMT
Overall, naturally fermented pickles appeal to me more than vinegared pickles. But I'll eat the latter also. I do like eggs pickled with beets, once in a while.
Testerday, I bought 2 fresh cabbi weighing a total of 6+ lbs. I shredded it all with a sharp chef's knife, and sprinkled sea salt over each large handful. I tossed in a few smashed juniper berries and a sprinkling of yellow mustard seeds. I tapped it down as well as i could, and put a double plastic bag of water into the neck of the glass "aguas frescas jar", whatever it's called. Then I put that into a large square plastic food service container, and stuck it into a dark corner down the hall. There's a rarely used side door there that has some cool air flow. (Even though we live in sunny Mexico, it's cool here, at 7000 ft a.s.l.)
This will be the first sauerkraut I've ever made. If it doesn't work, it may stink awfully, but I'll only be out some 12 pesos.
Earlier, I brewed up the brine for kosher style dill pickles. I found a pretty good deal in the P?tzcuaro mercado of 3 kgs of decent cukes for 10 pesos. They are not too large, and are unwaxed.
So I now have about 10 cukes sitting in a spicy and garlicky brine. Dill weed from Mrs. Cuevas' garden patch.
(Early a.m.): the shredded cabbage has not seemed to have given off much liquid, although it is very compressed the the glass container from its original bulk. I pulled the water bag stopper and sprinkled on a couple of teaspoons more salt, ?stomped? it, then replaced the bag. In case that doesn?t produce the juice, Bruce, I have some salt brine prepared to give it a goose.
The cucumbers, OTOH, are looking relaxed, floating in the stone crock of brine.
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Post by lola on Oct 30, 2011 17:34:36 GMT
Reporting back on Mockchoc's eggplant pickles:
I made them with eggplant from the garden and onions instead of the exotic asafetida that would require a trip to World Market*, and they are delicious.
* "Beware of recipes requiring small amounts of expensive and/or requiring special trip ingredients" is my motto anymore.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 31, 2011 0:46:14 GMT
Reporting back on my sauerkraut attempt: even after 2 weeks it was sort of tasty, barely sour, and pretty damn salty.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 20, 2011 16:31:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2011 17:21:08 GMT
That just made me yearn to be in Alsace for the "choucroute nouvelle" which is a major event every year.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 20, 2011 18:05:45 GMT
No, I tweaked my brines to where they made a tolerably decent kraut, and I have enough to go the winter, considering our travel plans. I'm done also with cucumber pickles for the year. It's time to slow down. Who can eat all this stuff, anyway?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2011 18:29:31 GMT
Isn't it all beneficially diuretic, removing the toxins of all the stuff we shouldn't be eating?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2012 20:26:10 GMT
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 20, 2012 1:25:10 GMT
We are supposed to download those, print, cut them out and apply glue to one side? I just use canning jar tape and a Sharpie Marker. That in itself is about as much as I can handle.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 20, 2012 4:05:09 GMT
Gad ~~ you're a worse Luddite than I am!
Okay, I admit I thought the very same thing. However, I believe they're meant to be printed on special label sheets. No having to hold your mouth just right as you cut around the circles.
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Post by lola on Jun 20, 2012 15:54:51 GMT
Catching up here from the fall. That Kaufman Mercantile website, bixa's one with the canning jars, is too seductive. You get the impression that if you only had one of every item that you could lead a perfect life. Managing to stifle a desire for the jars, I now crave a Japanese weeding hoe made with samurai sword precision.
Speaking as someone who at most manages at the last minute to slap on a handmade label when giving away a jar, or else says "Here's some of this fall's blackberry jam" -- leaving the "I hope" part unsaid -- I would download and print those labels if I didn't feel too guilty doing it at work.
I have cucumbers coming in nicely now, but neglected to plant dill. Fennel's not readily available, but if I can find some I'll try Domestic Goddess' recipe.
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Post by cristina on Jun 26, 2012 3:11:42 GMT
But as much as I try to wrap my mind around the idea of a pickled egg (which I have not yet ever tried), there is nothing about the concept that appeals to me. I had a pickled egg at lunch today. I went to Philippe's for a French Dip sandwich and they had big jars of pickled eggs on the counter so I got one. It was delicious.
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 3, 2012 7:39:04 GMT
I'm having two pickled eggs with my rice soup today for dinner.
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Post by rikita on Jul 6, 2012 20:09:04 GMT
i am more for pickled gherkins recently. one type in particular: "saure gurken" from the spreewald region. i bought some when i was there recently, and now i keep buying them. they remind me of my childhood... the other pickled thing i eat a lot lately is pickled mushrooms.
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 11, 2012 12:56:07 GMT
Agree, those are great. The Spreewald Gurken I mean.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2012 21:53:19 GMT
Besides French gherkins, about the only other ones I buy are imported from Poland.
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Post by patricklondon on Jul 12, 2012 5:27:54 GMT
I made some piccalilli not so long ago (I cheated and including some already-pickled small gherkins and silverskin onions from a jar, along with cauliflower florets and various other bits of green veg that needed to be used up). It tastes OK to me, but I rather think my mustard has lost a lot of its bite (it has been sitting in the cupboard for rather a long time): autolycus-london.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/i-like-pickled-onions-i-like-piccalilli.html
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 12, 2012 6:44:25 GMT
So will you make it again with a new tin of mustard? The recipe is very straightforward & the comments after it are encouraging & helpful.
The picture is most tempting!
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Post by bjd on Jul 12, 2012 7:15:55 GMT
I don't like the French pickles (aka gherkins or whatever little cucumbers are called) -- they just taste of vinegar. I buy German ones or Polish ones when I find them. At least they contain dill, they way they are supposed to.
I like pickled beets too -- used to make them but don't bother any more.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 12, 2012 13:41:42 GMT
Our restaurant down the road now sells deep fried dill pickles. I have not tried them yet. I will have to take some pictures when I do.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 13, 2012 15:57:14 GMT
I read something about putting grape leaves in when you make pickles to keep them crisp. Apparently, cherry or oak leaves can also be used, presumably because of the tannin in them. I'm trying to follow this up, but would love to hear what any of you know about this. Quote from the National Center for Home Food Preservation:I have an old recipe that calls for adding a grape leaf to each jar of pickles. Why? Grape leaves contain a substance that inhibits the enzymes that make pickles soft. However, removing the blossom ends (the source of undesirable enzymes) will make the addition of grape leaves unnecessary. nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_pickle.html#6A little more about crispness: extension.usu.edu/htm/faq/faq_q=220
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Post by lola on Jul 13, 2012 20:53:08 GMT
I finally have dill, pickles, jars, a day off tomorrow. And oh, fun, grape leaves galore I'd love to use.
Thanks, bixa.
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Post by lola on Jul 13, 2012 20:54:15 GMT
Pickled beets? hmm. Maybe when I'm done with the cukes.
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Post by rikita on Jul 15, 2012 8:41:34 GMT
i think i will have some more pickled gherkins now...
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Post by tod2 on Jul 15, 2012 10:43:10 GMT
Pregnant...definitely pregnant ;D
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Post by lola on Jul 17, 2012 1:30:30 GMT
I made refrigerator pickles over the weekend, using the large but not yellow ones from my garden I had picked and refrigerated over the past several days. I thought I was all set until I read my farmer's wife type canning book that said basically if you don't use little bitty warty special pickling ones, and especially if you picked them more than a day previously, you are wasting time and setting self up for heartache.
With little to lose, I looked on good old internet, found a recipe I could adapt. 3 large cukes, cut into thin slices on the 3 large hole slicing side of a box grater to make faster work. Supposed to be 1/16 " thick. Well equipped people will use a mandoline. 1 onion, sliced thinly 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips 1 tablespoon pickling salt scattered over slices in large bowl, tossed every once in awhile for 2 hrs at room temp.
then, mixed in small bowl: 1/2 c white wine vinegar 3/4 c granulated sugar added to cukes, mix
Then place into bottom of 2 quart jars: folded rinsed grape leaf jalapeno pepper, sliced up the middle several leaves of fresh baby dill filled jars with cukes couple garlic cloves peeled more baby dill and another folded grape leaf for good measure and because I already had em rinsed. Put into fridge for at 24 hrs. Result: nice, crispy and refreshing sandwich pickles. I think the grape leaves made a difference. Thanks, Bixa!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 17, 2012 3:32:23 GMT
Can't thank you enough for that recipe, Lola! The little bitty warty special pickling ones might as well grow on big rock candy mountain for all the access I have to them. This is just what those of us who buy our pickles need to know.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2012 5:38:01 GMT
I wouldn't know where to look for grape leaves.
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