[Kindred]

Do you know if they retain their nutrients well?

Is pickling easy?

What types of things do you pickle and how did they turn out?

 

[nomad888]

I love pickling.

I'm sure quite a bit of nutrient value is lost from the pickling process, light absorption, etc. You probably lose less nutrient value from things that don't have to be peeled before pickling, like cucumbers. But vinegar is supposed to be good for you too so who cares

You can probably find a pickling recipe online for just about any vegetable, and the process is extremely easy. You just make the mixture, throw in the vegetables, and then come back in a few days to a few weeks depending on the vegetable. For some, you have to wrap them in something and then put something heavy on top to compress them so that once they are submerged in whatever they're being pickled in, they will have a tendency to soak it up much more efficiently. This too is pretty easy once you get used to it.

Cucumbers are an obvious choice (i.e. pickles

). Some of my other favorites are carrots, asparagus, daikon, and turnip. Good as snacks, in sandwiches, and pickled anything makes a VERY good addition to veggie sushi or maki rolls. Also my girlfriend recently made a Japanese style rice bowl recipe that, though fairly simple, utilized firm, pickled chunks of tofu that was just delicious.

 

[kazyeeqen]

Are we talkin' canning in vinegar or fermenting in a brine? Fermented foods have their own kind of benefits, in the beneficial bacteria kind of way, but I don't think vinegar pickled things are very super for you, health-wise. I'll say no, they do not retain many of their nutrients. I don't think it's too hard to vinegar pickle, just need a good recipe. Brine pickling too can be pretty easy, especially something like sauerkraut, but it's not without its difficulties.

I tried various forms of cucumber pickles that turned out crap cause either because I had a recipe I didn't care for or I skipped an important step like soaking in ice water or because my cukes were just too big. With friends I've pickled garlic scapes, they were easy and delicious. I've made brine pickled sauerkraut that turned out very nice, and pickles which were nice until they turned not so nice and I threw them out.

I'm taking a break from pickling this year, I want to cut down on how much vinegar I eat. It's delicious, but I can go a little overboard...

 

[kazyeeqen]

Hmmm... Pickled tofu, you say?

Wait, no! No pickles!

 

[affidavit]

I used to, every fall. I'm not a fan of icebox pickles, but REAL pickles on the other hand....

It's not hard. Brine can pretty much be made up- vinegar, herbs (especially fresh) and spices to taste, and a bit of brown sugar.

I don't like the canning process, sealing the jars, however. Just makes me nervous, I guess.

I don't know about nutrients much, but I've done carrots, onions, jalapenos and, of course, cucumbers.

 

[Misty]

I did a dozen jars of pickled onions just this morning. Unsure how it affects the nutrients though.

 

[I Heart Corey Haim!!]

yess my sweetie and I make pickles outta the ooodles of cucumbers we get out of our garden.....we have also done the carrots and jalepenos from our garden too.....yummmy!!......not sure about the nutrients though.

peace

 

[offthahook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kindred

Is pickling easy?

It's not hard, but I found it to be a little time consuming.

 

[Shallot]

I pickle veg for my other half - I'm not a massive fan of pickled veg but he is a vinegar freak! I've done pickled onions (in balsamic vinegar with thyme - these are actually ok not too crazy sour) and pickled cauliflower (his favourite - these are a spicy version with a bit of an indian slant with chilli, mustard seed, coriander seed and ginger).
For the onions I just cleaned salad onions and added them to the hot vinegar mix and let simmer for about 45 mins - then added to a sterilised large jar. Very easy - done one rainy morning!

 

[kazyeeqen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Heart Corey Haim!!

yess my sweetie and I make pickles outta the ooodles of cucumbers we get out of our garden.....we have also done the carrots and jalepenos from our garden too.....yummmy!!......not sure about the nutrients though.

peace

Oh yeah, I did jalapenos last year. Cowboy candy, sweet sweet spicy pickled peppers.

But it was too spicy for me, so I gave them all away.

 

[nomad888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazyeeqen

With friends I've pickled garlic scapes, they were easy and delicious.

Completely forgot about garlic

Yes I pickle garlic cloves as well, and eat them like candy lol. I can't imagine what it does for my breath, but it sure tastes good.

 

[ocrob37]

Sounds so good. I used to hate vinegar and the smell disgusted me. Now, I seem to really like balsamic vinegar and I don't think other vinegars bother me anymore.