Probiotic pickled vegetables, the gut friendly fermented food that adds crispy bite and pop of color to your diet.
Beautiful fall colors from my New England kitchen made for you. Hope you enjoy!
Make your own batch by customizing ingedients to your liking. Pickling to preserve produce by fermenting in salt brine has been in practice since thousands of years. Here is a pickle history time line and also here is more Perfect probiotic pickle just needs salt brine. Salt is the only absolutely important element here.
Traditionally tart vegetables(like cucumber) and fruits (like mangoes) were used for pickling which produces its own acidic flavor. Vinegar introduces acidic flavor into otherwise salty pickle. As the pickle matures the entire natural sweetness of produce breaks down and disappears. This results in a sharp sourness. Sometimes sugar is added to make up this and balance with sweetness. All these elements aid in preserving the produce properly.
Contrary to popular belief the commercially available pickles unless specified are not high in probiotics, just the acids and sharp vinegar breaks down the vegetable from which you are most definitely not getting the intended benefit. Google it if you don’t trust what I say… exact words I tell my daughter too. 🙂
To get maximum benefit out of Pickled vegetables :
- Clearly consume pickle only in moderation.
- Goes without saying probiotic pickles are highly heat sensitive hence avoid cooking.
- Make small batches of different varieties to keep things interesting.
Last but not least pickled vegetables bring a lot of color and add interest to the main food. Besides all this it is so easy to make at home.
Pickled vegetables
INGREDIENTS :
Whole spices : (Reduce as per preference)
- 1-2 tsp Coriander seeds
- 1-2 tsp Yellow mustard seeds
- 1-2 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1-2 tsp Dill seeds / Caraway seeds
- 1-2 tsp Pepper corns
Other ingredients :
- 6-8 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 – 1 cup Vinegar
Vegetables used :
- 2 small carrot
- 2 mini Cucumber ( Persian )
- 6-8 Sweet peppers
- Baby pink radish
- 2 Jalapeno
- 6-8 Gooseberry (Indian variety) Find fresh in Indian groceryor frozen in( frozen veggies aisle)
INSTRUCTIONS :
- In a pan and heat the whole spices one by one for not more than a minute. We are not roasting simply warming up the spice to emit the aromas.
- Wash wipe and cut the vegetables into desired shapes. I use small jars to keep things interesting and make only small batches. Fill the jars(clean & dry) with vegetables with various combinations. Fill varying amounts of whole spices and with or without garlic.
- Heat 2 – 21/2 cups of water add salt bring it to a rolling boil now add the sugar and vinegar give it a minute or two and immediately fill each bottle with the hot liquid prepared.
- Close the bottle tightly and allow it to come to room temperature and refrigerate the pickles. It can be used from the next day.
- Gooseberry takes atleast a week to soften so use that last.Do not mix other veggies with it.
Video
NOTES :
- Make sure to fill the boil enough to drown the veggies.
- Garlic should go to the bottom for even pickling if it turns green I usually discard it.
- Cucumber softens faster than other veggies so remember to use it first.
- Thick slices will take longer to soften.
- Gooseberry is very pungent with strong bitter and sweet after taste. Definitely acquired.
It should be Noted : Probiotic pickled vegetables can spoil easily. It is pretty easy to make the pickle yet you need to pay attention to little things for getting perfect results.
Pickle spoiling reasons :
- When the pickle is under salted the pickle will rot and won’t turn out the way you want.
- Along with salt if other ingredients in extreme it can destroy the pickle.
- By not using a clean and dry spoon.
- Not washing off the dirt and pesticides off of the vegetables.
- Not using firm vegetables (which may be already mushy inside)
I have a whole page dedicated to pickles – homemade pickles and dips recipe page HERE
Spicy varieties – Beef , fish, Artichoke, Cherry Cranberry etc are some of my family favorites you might fall in love with.
Hope you will give these recipes a try and let me know.
Meena