PICKLES! NATIONAL PICKLE DAY!
#NationalPickleDay
Guess what's coming up? National Pickle Day on November 14. You all know what a pickle is, right? Those green things you put on burgers, eat with grilled burgers, get wedges of on your deli-plates? Typically refereeing to cucumber pickles in the US of A?
Pickles can be sweet, sour, salty, dill, hot, garlic, fruity, mustardy, spicy or any combination there-of. They can come in chips (crosswise slices), sandwich slices (lengthwise slices), halve, wedges, quarters, whole (small, medium, large or gigantor), baby, chopped (relish, both sweet and sour). Generally we think of cucumbers as pickles, but just about any other fruit or vegetable can be made into pickles.
There are pineapple, peach and fig pickles. Don't forget green bean, bell pepper, okra and asparagus pickles. Meat can be pickled (pickled pig's feet anyone?). Cabbage (and other things are pickled into delicious sauerkraut, kimchi and hot sauces.
Pickled plums are snacked on in Japan. Pickled turnips are munched in the Mid-east. Chile pickle is ingested in India. Pickled winter vegetables are chewed in China. Garden vegetable pickles (giardiniera) in-taken in Italy. (please allow me my alliteration!)
Let's all celebrate the wonderful world of pickles! It is going to be National Pickle Day November 14—get a jar of pickles and pucker-up with someone you love.
http://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pickle-day-november-14/
Make some of these and store in the refrigerator so you will have PICKLES on hand for National Pickle Day:
Garlic Dill Pickles (For the Refrigerator)
(about two one-quart jars)
Adapted from Marissa Mcclellan, Tasting Table: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/garlic-dill-pickles.html
2 quart kirby cucumbers (approximately 3 pounds)
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 teaspoons dill seed
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Wash jars thoroughly in warm, soapy water. Rinse well. Wash lids of jars, rinse well. Since these pickles are NOT processed and MUST be stored in the refrigerator, you may use any jars you wish as long as you have their lids to fit.
Wash and dry kirby (pickling) cucumbers. Remove both ends. Cut into chips, spears or leave whole, depending on your preference.
Combine vinegar, water and salt in sauce pan and bring to a boil briefly. Turn off heat.
Divide garlic cloves, dill seed, black peppercorns and red chili flakes between jars. Pack cucumbers into jars as tightly as you can without crushing them.
Pour the brine into the jars, covering the cucumbers and leaving 1/4 inch headspace (that's the amount of space between the surface of the brine and the rim of the jar).
Remove any air bubbles from jars by gently tapping them. You can also use a wooden chopstick or plastic utensil to help remove stubborn bubbles.
Wipe rims of the jars and put the lids on; do not screw down too tightly.
Let the jars cool before putting them into the refrigerator. Do note that your jars may seal during the cooling process—they still must be stored in the refrigerator.
Good after at least a day or two of marinating in the refrigerator. Will be better with a week or two of refrigerated storage—if you can wait.
These will disappear quickly! Enjoy.
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