Vegetable Pickle Experimentation

 

Yep, this is not only my second post this month, but my second cooking post in a row.......strap in, 'cause I have a few more cooking posts coming up, because I'm stuck at home and haven't got that much better to be doing other than working on projects of one sort or another.

Now that I have some peppered vinegar I decided I should try to use some to make pickled vegetables. While I'm at it I figured I'd also try to make some lacto-acid fermented pickled veggies as well.

I started by gathering a bunch of veggies, mostly cauliflower, carrots, green beans, daikon, and green onions. I did also chop up some peppers (serrano, jalapeno, and thai), but they weren't in each batch of pickles.

I broke out a set of six half-gallon mason jars and filled them about 3/4 of the way with a mix of veggies. Half of the jars were filled with the seasoned vinegar and the other half were filled with a mix of Apple Cider and White Vinegar (roughly 2/3 & 1/3).....I wanted just Apple Cider Vinegar, but I didn't have enough.

Some spices went into every jar, some additional just in the "regular" set, and from there three additional spice mixtures were made so I could compare similar spices in vegetables with the differing vinegar bases. 

It gets confusing quick, so I had to make a little chart. Instead of posting that  I'll just put down each jar and everything that isn't the veggies:

Jar A : Seasoned Vinegar/Water (50/50), 2-3 whole cloves Garlic, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 1t whole Black Peppercorns, 1t Celery Salt (04Mar21 Notes: Hot & Spicy with strong after-taste 2nd best of the lot)

Jar B : Apple Cider/White Vinegar mix/Water (50/50), 4 whole cloves Garlic, 3-4 whole Thai Chilis, 2 thick-sliced Serrano Chilies, 2 thick-sliced Jalapeno Chilies, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 1t whole Black Peppercorns, 1t Celery Salt (04Mar21 Notes: Not as hot & spicy as Jar A, but sharper "pickle" taste/sensation; best pickle of the group)

Jar C : Seasoned Vinegar/Water (50/50), 2-3 whole cloves Garlic, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 1t Cumin, 1 dried Bay Leaf, 1/2t Oregano (04Mar21 Notes: Kind of a savory [?] compared to others, with hot & spicy undertones; just "OK")

Jar D : Apple Cider/White Vinegar mix/Water (50/50), 4 whole cloves Garlic, 3-4 whole Thai Chilis, 2 thick-sliced Serrano Chilies, 2 thick-sliced Jalapeno Chilies, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 1t Cumin, 1 dried Bay Leaf, 1/2t Oregano (04Mar21 Notes: Very "meh", closest to what I would think of as a grocery store weak pickle; worst of the lot)

Jar E : Seasoned Vinegar/Water (50/50), 2-3 whole cloves Garlic, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 2 Allspice berries, 3 Cardamom pods, 2 whole cloves (04Mar21 Notes: Hot & spicy with "interesting" notes I cannot quite place)

Jar F : Apple Cider/White Vinegar mix/Water (50/50), 4 whole cloves Garlic, 3-4 whole Thai Chilis, 2 thick-sliced Serrano Chilies, 2 thick-sliced Jalapeno Chilies, 1T Coriander, 1t Mustard Seed, 2 Allspice berries, 3 Cardamom pods, 2 whole cloves (04Mar21 Notes: Not as hot & spicy as Jar "E", but weird after-taste that is definitely from the cardamom and maybe the cloves interaction; don't add cardamom again!)

The lacto-fermented pickled vegetables.....evidently I failed to right down what spices I used. Ugh. Looking at the jar I can see Corriander, Black Peppercorns, and I think some Mustard Seeds. I know I didn't measure. Instead of vinegar, a simple brine is used (1T salt per cup of water) along with a couple packets of Starter Culture from Cutting Edge Cultures. These pickles are going to take a while to ferment, probably at least 10 days.

I'll update this post when I get some taste-testing in......