Foods have been pickled for years, and it’s rumoured Cleopatra claimed pickles aided her beauty, and that Caesar gave pickles to his troops for strength. Neither rumour can be proven, but what is proven is that pickling is a way to preserve food, or even give food a different flavour, and it is easy to do. Basics of Pickling Pickling won’t keep produce indefinitely: maybe three or four weeks in the fridge, more if unopened, but it depends on the method used and usually involves immersing food in a solution of vinegar and water so bacteria can’t survive.
The final flavour will vary depending on your choice of vegetable or fruit, the ratio of water to vinegar, the type of vinegar, and any optional ingredients or seasonings you add. Methods of Pickling There are two pickling methods — quick pickling and canning. While they’re based on the same concept of preserving food to eat later, they are very different.
Quick pickling means that your produce undergoes a fast and simple process of pickling in a brine. Once preserved, they can be stored in your fridge for a few weeks or more, and in a relatively short time are ready to eat, but will become soggy the longer they remain in the brine. It is recommended to use young fresh veggies or fruits of a similar size.
The only vegetables I could think of for pickling were pickling onions, beetroot and red cabbage, but there is a whole list of vegetables suitable for pickling - asparagus, beets, bell peppers, cauliflower, carrots,.
