Pickles & relishes: 150 recipes from apples to zucchini

161 Pages·2002·15.573 MB·English

by  Chesman, Andrea

Pickles & Relishes
150 Recipes from Apples to Zucchini
Andrea
Chesman
Updated to Follow New USDA Guidelines
ß
Storey Publishing
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© 2002, 1991, 1983 by Storey Publishing, LLC
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chesman, Andrea.
Pickles & relishes : 150 recipes from apples to zucchini / by Andrea Chesman.
p. cm.
Includes index.
“Updated to Follow New USDA Guidelines.”
ISBN 978- 0-88266-744-7
1. Canning and preserving. 2. Pickles. 3. Cookery (Relishes) I. Title: Pickles and relishes. II. Title.
TX603.C47 2002
641.4'6—dc21
2002003076
Contents
Preface 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi
Part One How to Make Pickles and Relishes . . .1
1 Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
3 Fresh-Pack and Brining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Part Two Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4 Bread ’n Butters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
5 A Host of Sweet and Sour Pickles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
6 Cucumber Dill Pickles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
7 Refrigerator and Freezer Pickles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
8 Apples to Zucchini: Pickled Fruits
and Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
9 Relishes and Sauces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Appendixes
1 Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
2 What Went Wrong? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
3 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
4 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Preface 1983
The idea for this book grew out of “The First Hinesburg Pickle Barter Party,”
which I like to think was one of the social events of the year in my town.
My housemate, Andrea Morgante, and I invited dozens of friends and
colleagues to come and swap pickles. We asked everyone to bring a few jars
of pickles: one for tasting at the party, the rest for trading. Recipes were
exchanged as well as pickles. The idea for collecting those recipes evolved
into the idea for this book.
The recipes here have been collected from friends — personal friends
and friends of Garden Way, which has since become Storey Publishing.
A large number of the recipes came from readers of The Troy-bilt Tiller
Owner News,who responded generously to my request for recipes. Many
of the recipes are my own.
All of the recipes were read carefully to be sure that they conformed to
generally accepted safe canning and storing practices. I eliminated recipes
that called for alum, since there is a question about its safety. Likewise, I
eliminated recipes that called for slaked lime and artificial ingredients, such
as food coloring. Pickles made with fresh ingredients and handled properly
do not require additives.
I tested all of the recipes collected here to be sure that they were work-
able and that the proportions of brine or syrup to yield were accurate.
iv
The pickles were carefully evaluated for flavor and texture by the folks
at Garden Way. Throughout the better part of a year, I brought a jar of
pickles to work each day to be sampled at breaks and lunches by pickle
aficionados. We called it the “pickle du jour program.”
Once a pickle passed our collective taste and texture scrutiny, the recipe
was edited for clarity. My goal was to make pickling as easy as possible.
Where I have significantly adapted recipes, I have so noted.
Pickle preferences vary widely. To some people, no pickle is too sweet;
others hate dill. I have tried to compile as broad a range of recipes as possi-
ble. Some tasters who have reduced their salt intake found many of the
pickles too salty; thanks go to them for inspiring me to seek out and
develop more recipes that are low-salt and salt-free. I feel confident that
there are recipes here to please just about every palate.
Enjoy!
PREFACE v
Acknowledgments
The following people contributed recipes to this book: Heidi Abate, Darlene
Allen, Mrs. Thomas Alvey, Janet Ballantyne, Betty Barnes, Babe Behrend,
Mrs. E. F. Blackwelder, Anna Bulger, Mrs. Richard Butler, Janet Chadwick,
Marjorie I. Chapin, Judy Chaves, Nancy Chioffi, Betty Cowen, Mrs. Kenneth
Cram, Norah Davis, Rae Driscoll, Mary Anna DuSablon, Jane Dwinell, Jo
Frohbieter-Mueller, Andrea Gray, Georgeanne Grover, George Hawk, Lewis
and Nancy Hill, Phyllis Hobson, Betty Jacobs, Becki Jaeger, Norma Johnson,
Marynor Jordan, Mrs. Rose Kutzner, Alice V. Lucas, Ann MacDonald, Joan
MacDonald, George J. Manes, Sally Ann McCrea, Mrs. Damon McKay,
Lillian McMaine, Sharon McNeil, Gretchen Mead, Herman Miller, Larry
Myott, Patricia Kennedy Nagy, Helen Nearing, Mrs. Arnold Oen, Thelma
Osgood, Jerry K. Otto, Marge Parizo, Elizabeth Pecor, Helen Philbrick,
Mrs. Walter Pool, Dora Potts, Nancy C. Ralston, Dick and Jan Raymond,
Rosalie Rehrmann, Mrs. Raphael Richard, Louise Riotte, David Robinson,
Albert Rohrmann, Dorothy Rouse, Peggy Sadler, Alexandra Severance,
Jack M. Sherman, Mrs. Nadyne Sprick, Elizabeth Straugh, Mrs. Benjamin R.
Swarey, Jeanne Tourrin, Win Way, Mrs. Theron Wemple, Pat Werpy, Vera T.
Williams, Olwen Woodier, Mrs. Steve Yawney, and Lydia York.
My thanks go to all the people who contributed recipes and to all the
people at Garden Way Publishing, those who encouraged me to write the
book in the first place and those who kept me inspired throughout the year.
My special thanks go to Larry Abell, Ann Aspell, Janet Ballantyne, Peggy
Blanchette, Judy Chaves, Beth DeWeese, Andrea Gray, Karan Jacques, Jill
Mason, Andrea Morgante, Judy Thomas, and Louellen Wasson — testers,
tasters, advisors, and bookmakers.
vi
Part One
How to Make
Pickles
and Relishes

Chapter 1
Ingredients
Imagine yourself in a whitewashed pantry lined with shelves of colorful,
home-canned fruits and vegetables. The sunlight makes rainbows against
glass jars filled with spiced beets, golden overripe cukes, and brisk green
dilly beans. Drying herbs are hanging from the rafters, and their sweet
scents mingle with the tangy fermenting gases escaping from the sauerkraut
crock. This is the romance of pickling — creating beautiful tasty food.
The word “pickle” may be synonymous with cucumber pickles to
most people, but you can pickle just about anything. And the results can
be as pleasing to the gourmets as it is to the folks who remember when sur-
viving the winter depended on putting food by.
Pickling converts everyday foods into exotic taste treats. Home-canned
jars of pickled vegetables make quick and convenient side dishes for rushed
dinners, special additions to salads, unique and always welcome gifts, and
pleasant surprises for potluck dinners. Best of all, pickling transforms over-
whelming garden bounty and seasonal bargains into conveniently stored,
inexpensive, delicious condiments that enliven the most humdrum meal.
What goes into those rainbow-colored jars? Only the finest ingredients.
3