'The Complete Book of Pickling'

[March 19, 2010]  ^"The Complete Book of Pickling: 250 recipes, from pickles and relishes to chutneys and salsas." Jennifer Mackenzie, Robert Rose Inc., 2009, 335 pages.

Review by
Richard Sumrall

One of the best ways to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables is pickling. In her new book, "The Complete Book of Pickling," author and home economist Jennifer MacKenzie writes that "there is nothing more satisfying than popping open a lovely jar of homemade pickles, chutney or chili sauce, knowing that each ingredient was prepared by hand and the freshness of the harvest is captured beneath the lid."

How Does Canning Work?

Since pressure canning is a process that requires different equipment, MacKenzie uses the boiling water method in her book. This process works best with highly acidic foods and will eliminate the microorganisms that cause food to decay. If you choose to use low-acidic foods, you can compensate by adding acidic ingredients to the recipe to achieve a pH level of 4.6 or lower. When the food is heated, it is placed in hot canning jars and those filled jars are processed in a boiler-water canner to deactivate the enzymes and destroy the microorganisms. This step removes the oxygen from the jars to preserve the food.

Preserving Techniques

According to Mackenzie, preserving and pickling is easy, provided you follow the 12 basic steps. They are:

1. Read the recipes thoroughly to ensure that you have the correct equipment and ingredients.

2. Prepare the canner by filling it with water and bringing it to a boil.

3. Sanitize the jars and place them in hot water to increase their temperature.

4. Prepare the lids with hot water before filling the jars.

5. Prepare and measure the ingredients in the recipe.

6. Cook the ingredients and pickling liquid and proceed with the recipe's instructions.

7. Quickly fill the jars to prevent either jars or ingredients from cooling down.

8. Affix the hot lids and screw band to the filled jars.

9. Process the filled jars in the boiling water canner.

10. Let the jars cool at room temperature for 24 hours.

11. Store the jars in a cool, dry place for up to a year.

12. Use the preserves after inspecting for spoilage; listen for the distinctive vacuum sound when you pop open the lid.

Equipment

You will need specific kinds of equipment to ensure the safety and quality of the preserved food. The list includes a large pot to serve as the boiling water canner; a rack to lower the jars into the canner; Mason glass canning jars; canning lids (a disc and screw band); plastic storage lids (once the jar has been opened); kitchen scales; a large pot to cook the preserves; a small saucepan to heat the disc lids; sturdy bowls to soak the ingredients; measuring cups and spoons; heat-resistant spoons and slotted spoons (for the correct proportion of food and liquid); cheesecloth; wide-mouth funnels; lint-free towels (to draw the produce); vegetables peelers; a ruler to measure the headspace in the jar; and a kitchen timer to monitor the cooking, boiling and processing.

Recipes

MacKenzie includes a delectable assortment of recipes for making vegetable pickles, fruit pickles, sauces and salsas, chutneys, and relishes and tapenades.

A classic two-day pickling recipe is Aunt Thelma's Bread & Butter Pickles. MacKenzie says that "this is the pickle that got me hooked on eating and eventually making pickles." The secret to their delicious flavor? Loose packing in the jar makes room for plenty of liquid.

Sweetly Spiced Pickled Strawberries is a tasty fruit pickle that uses delicate spices and flavors to create a savory breakfast dish that everyone will enjoy. To capture the best flavor, always use berries of uniform size and remember to soak them overnight in the pickling liquid.

Do you need a surprise sauce for your next party? Try the Grilled Corn & Tomato Salsa recipe; it is perfect for tortilla chips or fajitas. The corn is first grilled on the barbecue and adds a nice color contrast and flavor.

A chutney is a thick sauce of Indian origin. If you are looking for a tangy, sweet taste to heat up your roast meats or poultry, try the Warmly Spiced Cranberry Chutney. It is also a perfect complement for cheese and crackers. You can control the heat or mildness of this recipe by the jalapenos or chili peppers that you decide to use, and you can always adjust the final taste by adding your favorite hot pepper sauce before filling the jars.

"The Complete Book of Pickling" is a modern, revised approach to this ages-old tradition. It is a wonderfully written and concise guide that includes everything you need to safely preserve fresh foods. Consumers now have another choice in deciding what to eat; in fact, "pickling makes in-season food more economical than foods imported through the year, and homemade preserves are much less expensive than commercially prepared ones." This book is recommended to anyone looking for a safe and healthy method of preserving and eating good, fresh food.

[Text from file received from Richard Sumrall, Lincoln Public Library District]