What is Pickling?
Pickling, is a method of preservation that has been around for many years, but has only recently found some new popularity as more and more people become aware of its nutritional value. It brings an awesome and interesting taste profile to your normal veggies and allows for you to keep them for longer, minimising wastage. All pickling really is, is process of adding acid to a low acid, either lemon juice or vinegar, to food in order to decrease its PH level, thus preserving to food. The process of pickling is quite simple, but can go wrong if incorrect quantities and ratios are used in the pickling process.
As easy a the pickling process can be, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind in order to give your first attempt its best chance of success. If one of the reasons for pickling is to preserve food, then it would make sense to make sure that you are using food that is fresh. You need to make sure that you scrub your food well as any dirt could speed up the shelf life of the the food that you are pickling. Since pickling isn’t just a case of just taking a few items, cutting them up and bottling them. It requires for you to take a some consideration in getting the ratios of items that you put in correct as each item has an influence on the final taste of your pickle as well as have an effect on the process as a whole. A rookie mistake would be to, after having done everything else correct, go and put all your hard work in a jar and lid that is not 100% clean and then ruin it all. Once your pickling process is done and you have bottled your pickle correctly, in a airtight and clean jar, it would be advised to label and date your pickle to ensure you know how long it has been pickling for.
There are many recipes out there that are sure to get you on your way, some more complicated than others. Here are a few fairly simple recipes to get you started. One of the most common of pickling recipes is the Crunchy Dill Pickles recipe, which is very similar to your normal store bought pickles, only much better. You might get a little tired of eating the same pickles over and over so this Pickled Peppers recipe is sure to give you a little more variety on your palate and perhaps pave the way to some of your own experimental recipes.
The only way to get going is to try, so what are we waiting for?