How to preserve and pickle vegetables…
There has never been a better time to start preserving your vegetables, said Xanthe Clay in The Daily Telegraph. With root veg in particular widely available during the lockdown, and a host of spring veg coming into season, preserving is a “longterm investment into future dinners”. There are a range of methods, such as pickling, salting, canning and fermenting. A good one for novices, though, is oven drying, which is ideal for courgettes and other thin-skinned summer squash, such as the saucer-shaped patty pan squash.
Start by slicing the vegetables thinly using a vegetable peeler or mandolin (or a sharp knife will do), making sure to keep an even thickness. Lay the slices on metal baking sheets lined with baking parchment, and bake at the oven’s lowest temperature – ideally (without fan) 50°C-60ºC. If it doesn’t go that low, prop the door open slightly. Paper-thin slices should take two hours; thicker ones will take twice as long, and should be turned halfway through. When they are totally dry, pack the slices into an air-tight container – if properly dry, they should last well over a month. You can nibble them as they are, or briefly soak them in boiling water, before using as normal, for example in pasta sauces.
When it comes to pickling, there are two main approaches, said Brette Warshaw on Eater.com in 2019: immersing raw vegetables in a brine, or in a strong, vinegar-based acid. The difference is that brined pickles are also fermented, since “the salt encourages certain good microbes to flourish, while preventing the growth of other microbes that cause the food to go bad”. Pickles dunked in acid don’t benefit from this process of lacto-fermentation, and although they are faster and easier to prepare, their flavour will be less complex.
Here’s how to make a basic brined pickle, said Alys Fowler in The Guardian. Make a brine by bringing water to the boil and then adding 20g-40g rough-grained sea or rock salt per litre. Allow to cool to room temperature. In a clean flip-top Kilner jar (or airlock fermentation jar), layer the chopped veg. For a classic dill pickle, use cucumber slices, but turnips, radishes, carrots, runner and french beans, chillies, peppers and tomatoes will all work well. Add other flavourings as you go (garlic cloves, peppercorns, coriander and mustard seeds, dill, a chilli or two). Once the vegetables and spices are packed in, cover with brine, leaving a small gap at the top of the jar. Place a vine leaf (or a bit of cabbage) across the top. Close the jar and leave somewhere warm in the kitchen. Once a day over the next few days, “burp” the jar by quickly releasing the seal: this allows CO to escape. The pickle will be ready in one to two weeks, at which point store in the fridge, and start to enjoy.
For a simple vinegar pickle, heat 300ml of cider vinegar with 50g-75g of golden caster sugar and 150ml of water until the sugar dissolves, said Eleanor Maidment in The Sunday Times. Allow to cool completely. Cut 200g of cucumber into spears and leave to drain in a colander for 30 minutes with 1 tsp of sea salt. Cut 200g of carrots into spears and halve 150g of radishes, then place these, along with the cucumbers and 2-3 sprigs of dill, 2 fresh bay leaves, 1 tsp of fennel seeds and 1 tsp of coriander seeds in a sterilised one-litre jar. Pour over the cooled pickling liquor, and seal and chill for 24 hours. Then store in a cool place. Once opened, keep it the fridge and eat it within a month.