Victory Garden Pickling Recipe

[CoM]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/victorygarden/eat/...es/canning.html

 

 

Homemade Pickled Vegetables

 

Ingredients

 

Quart-size glass jar

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons salt

Fresh dill

Grape leaves

Crushed red pepper

Vegetables: carrots, green beans, cauliflower, pickling cucumbers, asparagus, pearl onions, garlic

 

Directions

 

Sterilize the jar by boiling it for 15 minutes. Place the jar sideways in boiling water, allowing the water to flow in.

 

Boil water, vinegar and salt to create the brine.

 

Place 3 to 5 sprigs of dill and 1 to 2 grape leaves (to help your vegetables stay crisp) in the sterilized jar.

 

Stuff jars loosely with vegetables. Add red pepper as desired for spicy pickles.

 

Pour the boiling brine over the vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch of head space at the top of the jar.

 

Wipe the rim of the jar and heat the lid for a few seconds before sealing. Boil the jar for 10 minutes. After boiling, be careful not to touch the lid. It will take 15 minutes for the jar to create a vacuum and seal itself.

 

Pickles will be ready to eat in 6 weeks.

 

[Crazy4Canning]

CoM,

 

Upon looking at your recipe below, I'm inclined to state that it isn't safe for water bath canning for a number of reasons.

 

It is no longer recommended to add grape leaves to pickles, nor it is recommended to leave the spices in the jar. Both can lend a sour or bitter taste and give an 'off-color' to pickles.

 

Also, you are not free to 'pick and choose' whatever veggies you like for pickling. pH is ALWAYS something to be considered and in the Ball Blue Book, all the recipies in there have been tested for density, pH, cooking time, and safety. Also, due to their density, green beans should NEVER be water bath canned, only pressure canned.

 

Here is an 'approved' recipe for mixed pickled veggies from the national website:

 

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/pickled_mixed_veg.html

 

Do check in the BBB or the National Center for Home Food Preservation website for safe recipes.

 

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_home.html

[westbrook]

but... but... but... grape leaves are edible! I use them in my pickles in stead of alum. I grow grapes for the leaves.. the grapes are a nice addition.

 

I grow figs for the fig milk to make cheese!

 

 

 

 

[Violet]

Colorado Mix (Pickled Pepper Vegetable Blend)

2 1/2 pounds peppers, mild or hot as desired

1 pound cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 to 4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/2 pound cauliflower, cut into 1-inch flowerettes

1 cup peeled pickling onions

7 to 14 garlic cloves, as desired

6 cups vinegar

3 cups water

2 tablespoons pickling salt

2 tablespoons sugar, if desired

Yield: Makes 7 to 8 pints

 

Procedure: Wash and prepare vegetables. Slit small peppers. Core large peppers and cut into strips. Remove blossom end of cucumbers and cut into chunks. Peel and chunk carrots. Break cauliflower into flowerettes. Pack vegetable medley into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. In 3-quart saucepan, bring vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Pour hot solution over mix in jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Add liquid to bring headspace to 1/4 inch. Wipe jar rims. Add pretreated lids and process in boiling water bath. For best flavor, store jars five to six weeks before opening.

Process pints 10 min. quarts, 15 min.

 

 

I have no problem adding the grape leaves, it is still safe, it is a flavor issue. The best way for crisp pickled vegetables is to use FRESH vegetables. Also, if you soak them in ice water for a few hours, that will help.

The only issue I have with the vegetable recipe posted from Victory Garden is that not all vegetables require the same amount of added acid. Some can use the half water/half vinegar and be safe, while others need a higher concentration, sometimes even full vinegar to prevent botulism. As was said, the ph of each vegetable will be different. I posted this one above as a good alternative, as well. It is from Colorado State extension.

 

 

[CoM]

I am sorry for posting this recipe. I would have never dreamed that the"Victory Garden" people would not be up to date on these things. The article is dated 2003 so maybe the changes have been since then.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Now I never said grape leaves weren't edible. I love dolmas (those greek rice thingies in grape leaves) I just said that it was not 'recommended' to use them or leave them in the jar...but you can do it. I'm sorry for implying if it was a 'no no' or coming down too hard.

 

I do clearly remember the lecturer at the Extension Service saying the leaves were a 'no no'. BUT, Violet KNOWS for sure. I'm so glad she does. I'm still learning the ropes.

 

And - after a summer of not using grape leaves (didn't have any on hand), I must say that I don't miss them AT ALL. BUT if I had to use them in a SHTF situation, I would.

 

I'm so glad Violet added another recipe. I knew she had one somewhere in her vast files.

 

Com, please don't be upset. This is the way we learn. I'm so glad you shared it because it drove me to look at my books and papers....and we all got a couple of good (and approved!) recipies out of it!

 

[Violet]

Yep, we are all friends here, all still learning. There is so much to learn and just when you think you have some things figured out, they change it on us !!!

I have never eaten a grape leaf. My friend tried canning them, but she said they were so bitter she dumped them. I didn't get to taste them. She thought maybe she let them get too large before she canned them. I had to dump the pickles she gave me with the grape leaves in the pickles as were really musty and bitter tasting. I didn't think to eat part of the grape leaf from the jar.

Westie, do you eat the smaller sized ones for better flavor ? Is that the trick to them tasting good ?

[Crazy4Canning]

When I watched a friend make dolmas she used grape leaves the size a medium adult hand. The LARGE grape leaves have some sort of acid that makes them bitter. Cherry leaves are also approved and those are definitely Yeeeck. I've done that (before I knew better!)

[Violet]

Perhaps that was my friend's problem, then.

While I cannot give credit to the USDA or Ball Blue book, I do remember running this by the food safety educator and was told it was fine. It does have bottled lemon juice, or citric acid, just like you would use for tomatoes. I feel safe in posting this. It is a whole cup of the lemon juice per quart. You can also freeze grape leaves, just lay flat and freeze. I remembered about having this recipe. May be a good way to increase our food supply for survival.

Canning Grape Leaves

Whole grape leaves about 1 quart;

2 teaspoons salt in

1 quart water;

1 cup bottled lemon juice OR

2 1/2 tsp citric acid;

1 quart water;

 

Bring salted water to a boil. Add washed grape leaves and blanch for 30

seconds. Drain. Form into loose rolls and stand them up in pint canning

jars. Add lemon juice or citric acid to the second quart of water and

bring to a boil. Fill jars within 1/2 inch of top with the hot mixture.

Seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.