New New Pickles

Sometimes I eat them faster than I can take pictures.

Each season I like to try at least one new canning recipe. There are just so many things to try! Last year it was Pickled Eggplant and it was a complete keeper- I just made 4.5 pints today. I love using it in lieu of salad dressing on whatever salad greens I can get from the farmers market during the winter. I also imagine it would make a wonderful addition to an antipasto plate. Last year I made it with the 7% acidity white wine vinegar I love to use for pickled green tomatoes. While everyone loved the eggplant, there were many comments regarding the acidity. I credit my love of all things pickled to my high tolerance/ immunity to acidity. This year I took it down a notch with the eggplant and tried a 6% white balsamic vinegar. We’ll see if people like it better or not.

This year my new pickle was Linda Ziedrich’s New Pickles. I love this type of pickle. It is usually crisp and briny with a hint of garlic. It still has a fairly fresh cucumber taste to it as well. I like them best very cold. It seems to make them quite refreshing.

I made two batches this summer and ate the first very quickly. I remembered to grab a photo of the lone survivor of batch one just prior to gulping it down over the sink on a hot day. It has been a force of will to let batch two sit in the fridge longer. I want to see if/ how the texture changes as they sit. One of the biggest disappointments I have had playing around with fermented sour pickles is the quality deteriorates, even when you cut the blossom edges. Nothing is more disappointing than a limp pickle.