
But they must be crunchy, and tart, but not too much so.
Gherkins form part of a perfect burger, perfect with a ploughman's lunch and an essential accompaniment to rillettes. I love it when, in autumn, you find a box of little gherkins in the shop just waiting to be pickled. I have not yet been lucky enough to find a plentiful supply of the tiny cornichons, but maybe next year.
As with the kimchi and pickled onions, you need to have a large preserving jar in which to pickle the gherkins, which needs to be sterilized and then sealed according to your chosen method. Here is an example.
I made gherkins like this :
gherkins, enough to fill the jar you are intending to use, I used a 1.5L preserving jar..
Salt, enough to generously toss through the gherkins.
600mL white wine or cider vinegar
1 cup of water
3 bay leaves
Whole allspice
Whole black peppercorns
Wash and dry the gherkins ,then toss with the salt and leave for 6 to 8 hours. I have found that over night is too long and results in a gherkin that is too soft, salt and acidic, but that is probably because I do not salt them just before I go to bed and proceed with t he next step as soon as I get up.
Mix half the vinegar and the water and use to rinse the salt from the gherkins in a large bowl. Drain and put in a sterilized jar with the bay leaves and some allspice and peppercorns. Cover with the remaining vinegar and seal the jar according to your preferred method. Leave for at least a month before trying the gherkins. Refrigerate after opening.
3 comments:
toady... such an apt desciption of gherkins. NIce post.
Emma, your recipes descriptions are excellent. I didn't know you were such a food enthusiast.
Thanks Jenjen - good to hear!
Tanya - great to hear from you! I am heading over to your blog now . . . how funny, the places we end up.
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