Thursday, July 5, 2012

Lemony Pickles


“Reading is one form of escape. Running for your life is another.”  
–Lemony Snicket



When I found this recipe for Lemony Pickles, it made me think of Lemony Snicket... maybe I'll call them Lemony Snickets!


Here's what I did...

In my large stainless steel bowl, I mixed 14 cups of veggies (cucumbers and yellow squash this time... any number of combinations of fresh vegetables would work nicely... or just cukes)

4 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
and
2 Tbsp. canning and pickling salt


I mixed it all together well, covered the mixture with ice water and let it stand at room temperature for 3 hours.


In the meantime...

I made a spice bag using a square of cheesecloth... I added

1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp. whole allspice

I tied it all up in the spice bag and set it aside.


In a large stainless steel saucepan, I combined

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice


1-1/4 cup granulated sugar


1-1/3 cup white vinegar


I added the spice bag to the brine mixture and brought it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. I reduced the heat and boiled gently for a few minutes (recipe said 7 minutes, I think I went a little longer).

Then (after the 3 hour ice water soak) I drained the vegetables in a colander...



I added the veggies to the brine mixture and brought it all back to a boil, then discarded the spice bag.


After heating my pint jars and lids I added to each hot jar...

1 slice of lemon
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic


I packed the vegetables into the hot jars to within a generous half inch headspace. I ladled the hot pickling juice into the jar to cover the veggies, removing air bubbles and adjusting headspace as necessary. I wiped the rim with a damp cloth and tightened the lids on to fingertip tightness.

I processed the jars in a boiling water bath... ensuring they were completely covered with water, I brought the water to a boil and processed for 10 minutes.

After processing, I removed the jars from the canner using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool, and to listen for the PING of each successfully sealed jar!


According to the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving... "If you find traditional pickles too astringent, try this refreshing alternative. Lemon juice provides a unique flavor, and a touch of sugar takes the bite out of the vinegar. For best flavor, let these pickles 'mature' for 4-6 weeks before using."


For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

21 comments:

  1. Very nice! I'm pinning this one to my pantry board. Looking forward to making it in the late summer.

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  2. Never heard of this. It sounds really good.

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  3. I am gonna make this, and Granny thanks for sharing everything, You inspire me as a new canner ( I canned my first jellies today: red pepper and green pepper jelly cause my fiancée loves them and the garden is full of peppers right now).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank YOU for reading! I love seeing new canners get "bitten" by the "canning bug!" ~~Granny

      Delete
  4. Hey Granny!! I'm BACK! Loving this too..is there other spices I can use that would work instead of bay leaf, etc? I have veggies just not those on hand! I was gonna do traditional pickled peppers but this would be great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennifer, you can try pretty much any spices that suit your fancy! If you have premixed pickling spice on hand that would work... go for it. ~~Granny

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  5. ok gonna try for garlic dill and use garlic cloves, mustard seed, & dillweed...does fresh oregano sound good in that???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmmm... YES! Oregano sounds yummy! ~~Granny

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  6. I am going to combine all of those and see what happens to me:)

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  7. Granny, Was wondering if you have any tips for those cucumbers that have a bitter taste to them. I have tried soaking them in sugar but the bitterness is still there. I have heard that the bitterness comes from the heat. What do you know about this and any remidies.? Can't wait to try these lemony pickles.
    Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes pickling helps the bitterness, I don't know what else can be done. ~~Granny

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  8. LOVE this one! Tried it today.. there were a few pieces left over that didnt fit in the jars and those tasted awesome, can't wait to try then when they've fully processed.

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  9. Granny: Can any fully ripe bell pepper work? I have whites, yellow, orange, reds, purples and a deep green... also have regular green "unripe" ones.. I don't want to mess with the recipe's PH..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Any peppers will work, as long as you keep the same measurements for your peppers, the PH won't be affected. ~~Granny

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  16. I packed the veggies as tightly as I could and still didnt have enough brine, not by half. Am I missing something? I measured everything correctly, checked and double checked.

    ReplyDelete

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