In the Pickle

Whats black and white, black and white, black and white and green?

 

As a child I still remember the hot days that we were dragged into the field in the hot sun and tortured under the pretence that we would be able to enjoy these small green things later in the year once we had done a hard days work.  Now I know that today most children would associate pickles or pickled cucmber with a Mc Donalds burger that can be left to the side of the tray, often taken for granted as another way of mum and dad getting me to eat my greenz

 

There is only about 4000 years of history behind the pickling process so we still have much to learn about this humble vegetable  (and yes there are the confused that refer to them as a fruit).  We know that Pickling ferments foods with beneficial baceria for flavor, that it is a process of preserving food for later use and that it normally has a tart or acidic flavour to it.  Now it does not have to be a cucumber to be in a  pickle – it could be miso pickles from japen, duck eggs from China, pickled pigs feet in USA, pickled herrines in Scandinavia and my pesonal favourite the Bobs Pickle Pops which consists of frozen pickle juice that you can also buy in lemon and lime, jalapeno and cherry flavour from Texas. 

 

With out toutruing ourselves by eating Pickle Pops the easist way to experience the pickle at its best to take some the bounty from the garden and do it yourself, easy, low cost and a great way to enjoy at any time of the year.  The Answer is – three zebras fighting over a pickle

 

Pickled Cucumbers

 

4 large cucmbers

150g salt

6 cups water

4 cups white wine vinegar

1 T salt xtra

2 t corriander seeds

2 t black peppercorns

5 T fresh dill or fennel chopped

 

Wash and slice the cucmber into a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the water and pour over the cucumbers, leaving for 24 hours.  Bring the vinegar to the boil with the one Tablespoon of salt and spices and leave to cool,  Drain and rinse the cucumbers then pack into sterlised jars, sprinkling the fennel between each layer.  Pour over the vinegar and seal