Cathy Isom has a great idea for you for your excess garden vegetables. She fills you in about turning your garden harvest into a pickled treat. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Pickling is a food preservation method where it creates a safe environment for foods to become overly ripe and decay. Because of the ingredients, it doesn’t leave room for harmful bacteria to form while the food ages. The food can be safely stored in jars and enjoyed later on for a gut-healthy treat.
You really only need these three ingredients to pickle anything: Water, Vinegar, and salt. When canning, you might also want to add: dill, mustard seed, cumin, and pickling spice. Some of the most popular items to pickle are: cucumbers – of course, green beans, okra, beets, carrots, peppers, and onions.Â
When you begin pickling vegetables or fruits, it’s important to cut the produce into manageable sized pieces. For fruits, this could mean slicing them into rings, chunks, or wedges. It’s best to pickle items in a pint-sized jar. Whether you presoak your pickles in brine before placing them in the jar, you must cover them in brine once in the jar. Every type of produce has different processing times. Be sure to do your research to make sure the jars are boiled long enough to kill any bacteria inside them.
Once finished, allow the lids to seal, the jars to cool, and place them on a shelf in a cool, dark area for storage until you’re ready to enjoy them. Be sure to refrigerate after opening a canned jar.
I’m Cathy Isom…