Tricky Pickling During Harvest Season, Almost Anything Can End Up In The Jars Of Inspired Home-Canners

Pickling adds to the very atmosphere of summertime.

There must be early morning forays into the dew-wet garden to gather fresh vegetables. The kitchen must exude sharp gusts of vinegar and pickling spices. There must be dark earthenware jars standing on counter tops, shrouded in white muslin, and sparkling clean canning jars turned upside down in readiness by the kitchen sink.

And by September’s end, there must be several rows of home-pickled vegetables displayed on the open kitchen shelves.

I cannot let summer go by without canning my family’s favorite pickles. It’s a tradition.

My mother was an inspired and indefatigable pickler. Anything might end up in a pickle: watermelon rind, zucchini, green tomatoes, quinces, green beans, okra, clingstone peaches, bell peppers, pumpkin, tiny ears of immature corn, green walnuts, and, of course, cucumbers.

At the end of the summer’s pickling, there were sweet pickles, sour pickles, dill pickles and candied pickles. There were three-day, nine-day and 14-day pickles. There was no end to the pickling. After the winter’s butchering, there were even pickled pigs’ feet.

Pickles are divided into four general classes, according to the ingredients used and the methods of preparing them: brined or fermented pickles, fresh-pack pickles, relishes and fruit pickles. The recipes that follow include the last three types.

The salt used for pickling should be pure salt with no additives - no iodized salt, sodium-reduced salt or salt with anti-moisture ingredients added. Do not use rock salt because it is not food quality.

Vinegar may be either cider or distilled vinegar with a 40 to 60 percent grain strength (4 to 6 percent acidity). The strength of commercial vinegar should be marked on the labels; 5 percent acidity is common.

Cider vinegar is made from apple cider and is the general-purpose pickling vinegar. Its mellow flavor blends well with herbs, spices and other ingredients used in picklemaking.

Distilled vinegar is made from diluted alcohol and is either white or cider-flavored. The white distilled vinegar has no color and only its own characteristic sharp, acetic flavor, so it is used with fruits and light-colored vegetables that would be less attractive if combined with ambercolored cider vinegar.

For those timid about plunging into pickling, a few words of encouragement: Making pickles is not difficult, no more trouble than preparing for a dinner party. The recipes offered here are simple and do not require brining, fermenting or processing in a pressure canner.

Once you have set aside a block of time for the canning project and assemble the special equipment needed (boiling-water bath, canning jars, tongs and lids), it actually is not much more complicated than preparing a vegetable recipe requiring several ingredients.

To sterilize jars and glasses for pickling, wash the jars in hot suds and rinse them in scalding water. Put the jars in a kettle and cover them with hot water. Bring the water to a boil; cover and boil the jars for 15 minutes from the time the steam emerges from the kettle.

Turn off the heat and let the jars stand in the hot water. Just before they are to be used, invert the jars onto a towel to dry. They should be filled while they are still hot. Sterilize the jar lids by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for 5 minutes, or according to the manufacturer’s directions.

If you want to prepare the pickles and skip the canning procedure, you must refrigerate the prepared pickles and use them within a reasonable time, as you would an open jar of store-bought pickles.

If you choose to can, here’s how to process pickles in a boiling-water bath:

When ready to begin packing the prepared pickles into hot, sterilized canning jars, place the rack in a large canning kettle and add 4 to 5 inches of warm water. Place the canner on the stove and adjust the heat to keep water near boiling.

Pack the jars one at a time with the prepared pickles, using a wide-mouthed canning funnel. Cover the packed pickles with the accompanying hot or near-boiling pickling solution, leaving the designated head space.

Remove the canning funnel. Insert a non-metal spatula to release any trapped air bubbles between jar and pickles. Clean rims and tops of jars to remove any particles of spilled food.

Close the jars, following manufacturer’s directions for the caps and lids you are using (always use new lids; used lids will not seal properly). Place jars on the rack in the shallow hot water in the waterbath canner.

When all jars are packed, closed and placed inside the water-bath canner, pour enough hot or nearboiling water to bring the level of the water in the canner to a depth of 1 to 2 inches above the tops of the jars. Cover the canner.

Turn the heat to high. Begin counting processing time when the water in the canner comes to a full boil. Maintain a hard boil throughout the processing.

When the processing time is finished, turn off the heat and remove the jars from the canner at once, using a jar lifter.

Place the jars upright on a folded pad or cloth or on a cooling rack away from drafts. Complete seals, if the jars are not self-sealing, according to manufacturer’s directions.

Let jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then test the seals. If you are nearby, you can hear each self-sealing lid make a pinging sound when it cools and seals.

Make certain all jars are sealed. The center of the lid should be slightly depressed or concave, because the vacuum inside the jar pulled the lid down in the center as it cooled. Turn the jars sidewise and rotate them to check for leakage. If there is no leakage and the selfsealing lid cannot be lifted off, the jar is airtight.

Wipe the jars, label them and store them in a cool, dry, dark place.

Zucchini Relish

12 cups ground zucchini (about 16 zucchini)

4 cups ground onion

5 tablespoons pickling salt

4 to 6 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

2 sweet bell peppers, chopped (use 1 green and 1 red for color)

Put scrubbed and trimmed zucchini through coarse blade of food grinder. Measure 12 cups. Combine in large ceramic or glass bowl with onions and salt. Cover and chill mixture overnight.

Next morning, drain zucchini mixture in colander. Rinse under running cold water. Drain thoroughly.

Combine 4 to 6 cups sugar (see note) with vinegar, dry mustard, celery seed, pepper and turmeric in kettle. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add sweet bell peppers and simmer mixture, stirring frequently, 30 minutes.

Pack into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust lids. Process in boiling-water bath 15 minutes.

Yield: 5 pints.

Note: I have made this relish using 4, 5 and 6 cups sugar. All are good, but my family liked the sweetest relish best.

Stuffed ‘Mangoes’

12 large green or sweet red bell peppers or combination

2 tablespoons salt

4 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 to 1-1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons mustard seed

2 tablespoons celery seed

1 quart cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

Slice tops from stem ends of peppers. Remove seeds and membranes. Place tops and whole peppers into large crock and cover with cold water. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and let stand overnight.

Next day, mix together well in large bowl the cabbage, remaining 1 tablespoon salt, sugar to taste, mustard and celery seeds.

Drain peppers well. Fill their cavities with cabbage mixture. Replace tops of peppers. Tie or sew them into place with white cotton string. Place stuffed peppers in large, deep crockery jar. Cover with vinegar sweetened with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Place plate on top, weighing it down with suitable object to keep peppers under the vinegar. Cover jar with aluminum foil or lid and refrigerate 2 weeks before eating.

Yield: 3 to 4 quarts.

Note: Green tomatoes may be used instead of bell peppers, and large, sweet yellow banana peppers may be used as well. Cut off tops and scoop out centers. Fill with cabbage mixture, as directed.

To can stuffed “mangoes,” sterilize 3 or 4 wide-mouth quart jars. Lift peppers out of vinegar and sugar solution and into hot sterilized jars. Heat solution to boiling and pour over the peppers. Leave 1/2-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling-water bath.

Peach Chutney

8 pounds fresh table-ripe peaches

1 cup chopped raisins

1 cup chopped onions

1 large clove garlic, minced

3 pounds brown sugar

2 quarts vinegar

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup mustard seed

2 tablespoons salt

1 cup crystallized ginger, finely minced

Scald, peel and pit peaches. Chop into small pieces. Place in preserving kettle along with raisins, onions, garlic, brown sugar, vinegar, chili powder, mustard seed, salt and ginger. Bring mixture to boil while stirring. Cook slowly until chutney is brown and thick, about 2 hours.

Pour into sterilized half-pint jars. Leave 1/2-inch head space. Adjust lids. Process in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

Yield: About 6 pints.

Green Tomato Relish

4 quarts firm green tomatoes

10 medium onions, peeled

6 sweet red, green and yellow peppers, seeds and membranes removed

6 tablespoons salt, not iodized

6 cups sugar

4 cups vinegar

4 teaspoons celery seed

2 teaspoons whole allspice

4 teaspoons mustard seed

Wash and core tomatoes, but do not peel. Put through coarse blade of food chopper. Prepare and grind onions and peppers. Combine ground vegetables. Mix with salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain off any liquid that has formed.

Place ground vegetables into large kettle along with sugar and vinegar. Tie celery seed, allspice and mustard seed in cheesecloth bag and add to vegetables. Mix together. Heat to boiling. Remove spice bag.

Pack boiling-hot relish into hot canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust lids. Process 15 minutes in boiling-water bath.

Yield: 8 pints.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Send for free pickling guide For a free copy of the Heinz Successful Pickling Guide, write to: Best Picks for Canning & Pickling, P.O. Box 57, Pittsburgh, PA 15230. All the canning supplies you could possibly need - and then some - can be found in the new Ball Home Canners Catalog (including the revised Ball Blue Book, the Bible of home canning). For a free copy or to place an order, call 1-800-859-2255.