Pickle Recipes

Oregano

Italian Pickles
Giardiniera
These are my favorite pickles.  The oregano and olive oil mellow the vinegar bite.

1/2 pound pickling cucumbers, trimmed 3/4-inch
2 celery stalks
5 teaspoons pickling salt
1/2 small cauliflower head
1 large carrot, sliced 3/16-inch
1 cup peeled whole shallots
1/2 pound sweet pepper, seeded & sliced thinly in rings
6 bay leaves
12 garlic cloves
1- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
6 oregano sprigs
2 -3/4 cup white wine vinegar (5% acidity)
2- 1/2 cup water
6 Tablespoons olive oil

Gently toss washed and trimmed cucumbers and celery with 1 teaspoon salt.
Let stand 1-2 hours.
Drain well.
In large bowl, combine these with the remaining vegetables.
Into 6 pint jars place:

1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns

Pack jars with vegetables, adding a clean oregano sprig to each jar.
In a nonreactive saucepan, bring the brine to a boil:

vinegar
water
remaining 4 teaspoons salt

Stir to dissolve salt. 
Pour hot liquid over vegetables, leaving 1/2-inch head space.
Top each jar with 1 Tablespoon olive oil.
Process 20 minutes.

Dill

Grandma Lyn's Dill Pickles
These are the pickles my husband grew up eating.  I like to keep a batch of brine in the refrigerator for quick preserving.

Brine:

11 cups water
2 cups vinegar
1 cup canning salt

Boil.  

Into 7 quart jars:

1/2 teaspoon dill seed
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 clove garlic
1 dill stem
2-3 hot peppers

Pack each jar with pickling cucumbers.
Fill with hot brine to within 1/2-inch of rim.
Process 10 minutes.

Tarragon

French Pickles
Jardinière
I add cabbage to this brine and they're all the rage!  The herbs and the allspice compliment all the vegetables, but especially the cabbage.
 
1-1/4 pound very small pickling cucumbers
2 medium bell peppers
1/2 pound shallots, peeled
1/4 pound carrots, julienned
1/2 pound patty pan squash, 1-inch
5 large garlic cloves
1-1/4 teaspoons black peppercorns
20 allspice berries
5 tarragon sprigs
5 thyme sprigs
5 small, fresh chili peppers
2-3/4 cups white wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon pickling salt

Gently wash cucumbers and remove blossom ends.
Combine clean and prepared vegetables in a large bowl.
Into 5 sterilized pint jars place:

1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
4 allspice berries

Pack jars with vegetables.
Add a tarragon sprig, a thyme sprig, and a chili pepper.
In nonreactive saucepan, bring brine to a boil:

Vinegar
Water
Salt

Stirring to dissolve the salt.
Pour hot brine over the vegetables, leaving 1/2-inch head space.
Process 20 minutes.

Basil

Armenian Pickles
Tourshi
This is the first year I've made these.  They're the gorgeous pink ones in my photo below.  I'm looking forward to trying them, all the flavors are captivating! 

2 quarts mixed vegetables:

cucumber
pepper
carrot
tomato
cauliflower
radish

1 small raw beet, peel and slice
2 large garlic cloves
8 basil sprigs
8 cilantro sprigs
8 tarragon sprigs
1 cup white wine vinegar
3 cups water
3 Tablespoons pickling salt
6 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 1-inch cinnamon stick

Wash and trim vegetables.
Pack into 2 sterilized quart jars, interspersing herbs and garlic.
Shake the jar to settle the vegetables.

In a nonreactive saucepan bring the brine to a boil:

white wine vinegar
water
salt
peppercorns
bay leaves
cinnamon

Fill with hot brine to within 1/2-inch of rim.
Process 10 minutes.

~    *    ~    *    ~

You're on your way,
Happy pickling!



(After pickling season, I need to dust.)



Addendum:  18 August, 2011

Norwegian Pickle

Sylteagurk

We love the State Fair brand Norwegian pickle, so I looked it up online.  Of course I found several, but most of them are generally the same.

14 cups cucumbers, sliced thin

2 cups green pepper, sliced thin

4 garlic cloves, cut fine

2 cups onion, sliced thin

4 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons celery flakes

2 cups white vinegar

2 Tablespoons salt

Mix all ingredients well. 

Put in glass containers and store in refrigerator.

Keeps for months.

Do not heat.

Makes 1 gallon.