Pickling Time!
When you get to the bottom of your jar of pickle, it is time to make more. We make pickle around every three months, though lately it has been longer than we would have liked.
The history of pickle is quite interesting because it was almost exclusively a middle class food. Using sugar and vinegar as preserving materials, as well as salt, made it beyond the reach of the average family. However, the railways and farming of sugar beet changed all that. Moreover, the extension of the British Empire to India brought soldiers home with a taste for sweetened preserves.
Victorian kitchens took advantage of the availability of sugar and made all kinds of delicacies, which reflected the numerous fruits and vegetables grown in Victorian gardens. Unfortunately goodies like quince jelly and fruit butter are rarely made these days and cauliflower or cucumber pickle are equally rare.
But a couple of wonders are still on the menu from Victorian times worthy of mention. What we call Pickled onions are nothing like their Victorian counterparts. The modern version has been diluted so much that they are hardly recognizable. Victorian pickled onions contained herbs and mustard seeds. However Brown pickle, along with mustard piccalilli and HP sauce are still around.
Delicious with home made bread and a pint of bitter!
How to make Brown Pickle
This recipe is fairly easy to create, and really does have a tang. If you haven’ t got all the ingredients then you can replace them with others, but the dates and apples are really important.
Makes 2 large jars
• 250g( 10oz) Peeled and chopped carrots- 5mm or 1 / 4 inch
• 1 medium peeled swede, chopped into cubes 5mm or 1 / 4in
• 4- 5 garlic cloves, grated
• 125g( 4oz) dated, finely chopped
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium apples, cored peeled and chopped finely
• 15 small gherkins chopped
• 250g( 10 oz) soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 500 ml( 1 pint) malt vinegar
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons allspice
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pan and slowly bring to the boil.
2. When the pickle is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and stir every few minutes or so to keep the mix from catching on the pan bottom.
Piccalilli
This is the north of England’ s pickle, loved with bacon and egg as well as sandwiches.
Makes 2 large jars
• 2.5 Kg vegetables( Lots of cauliflower, baby onions, cucumbers, some recipes call for finely diced carrot and turnip)
• 1 litre white vinegar
• 160 g sugar
• 25g dry English mustard powder
• 25 g ground ginger
• 15 g turmeric
• 1 tsp corn flour
1. Clean all the vegetables and soak in brine overnight( 300g salt per litre of water for the brine). When the pickle is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and stir every few minutes or so to keep the mix catching on the pan bottom.
2. Place all but 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a pan and warm to dissolve the sugar.
3. Add all the vegetables and bring to the boil, turning to a low simmer. Cook until the vegetables are soft.
4. Use the remaining vinegar to make a paste of the remaining ingredients and stir into the vegetables. Bring to the boil and simmer until the pickle thickens.
5. Bottle in sterile jars.
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