Before I tell you about this amazing carrot quick pickle with ginger, I want to make sure you know this: pickling means preserving food in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture, and in case you didn’t get the memo, pickles are the new cupcakes.
I sorta kinda doubt it — try bringing pickles to your nephew’s birthday party — but, as someone who grew up with store-bought jars of cornichons (gherkins) as the single pickled element of the family diet, I am most intrigued by the techniques involved, and the wide range of products they create.
I am a city dweller and it is unlikely that I’ll ever have the bumper crop and larder space (or, um, patience) to fill dozens of towering jars with multicolored vegetables biding their time in their sterilized bath, so the method I am most drawn to is the quick pickle: this simply consists in pouring a boiling brine or vinegar solution over pieces of raw vegetables, and letting the mixture cool to room temperature. This type of pickle keeps for about two weeks in the refrigerator, so it is usually done in small batches that you can consume within that time frame — unless you’re giving some away to well screened friends and relatives.
I am a city dweller and have neither the bumper crop nor the larder space to fill dozens of towering jars with multicolored vegetables, so the method I am most drawn to is the quick pickle.
My first near-pickling experience, long before this carrot quick pickle with ginger, occurred at my friends Braden and Laura‘s place recently, as I helped Braden prepare the quick-pickled chili peppers he was later to serve with squid ink pasta and fried squid rings. My involvement was limited to the chopping of said chili peppers, which taught me an important, though non-pickling-related lesson: you should protect your hand with a glove or a light film of oil before handling a large amount of hot peppers, otherwise you’ll wake up in the morning feeling like it’s been dipped in acid.
Scoville scale aside, I had thus been introduced to the quick pickling thing, and was ready for a re-run in my own kitchen. So when I received a copy of Pierre Lamielle’s very lovable cookbook Kitchen Scraps, the first recipe I decided to try was the carrot-and-ginger quickie pickle on page 82.
If you don’t know who Pierre Lamielle is, head over to his food blog and tell him I said hi: he’s a talented illustrator/cook with wit to spare, a definite knack for food-related puns, and a weakness for root vegetables.
His book is a collection of humorously written and illustrated recipes, and I am enjoying it more than a little. It is wacky, irreverent, and funny, yet the recipes are built on solid ground: the author went to culinary school, and this you can tell by his intermittent use of the verb “to blap,” a technical term that means sticking something in the oven without making too big a deal out of it. So it’s a book you can actually cook from, chuckling privately at the prospect of serving the bear butt-kicking granola, the whirled peas soup (give whirled peas a chance — get it?), or the angel hair conditioner pasta.
Among the recipes I’ve flagged are the bread of roses (a bread pudding with chocolate and rosewater), bruno “bloody beets” barbabietola’s beets and ricotta risotto (one of five mafia-approved risotti) and, of course, the stinking french onion soup, because that’s hard to resist.
The carrot quick pickle was indeed a breeze to make — it took about ten minutes, and I was on the phone for most of that time — and I am delighted with the result: the ribbons look terribly pretty, and we’ve been eating them as a sweet and sour condiment nested inside tuna sandwiches, as Pierre suggests, or swirled over this warm squash and bean salad, and I can see it bringing a lovely brightness alongside a hearty, brooding stew.
As for the book, it has earned its place on the special bookshelf I reserve for alternative publishing projects from Canada, right between L’Appareil and Au Pied de cochon, and when my little nephew turns 19 years old rather than 19 months old, I have an inkling he’ll get a kick out of it, too.
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Carrot and Ginger Quickie Pickle Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Makes about 400 ml (1 2/3 cups)
Ingredients
- 2 medium-small carrots, about 200 grams (7 ounces)
- a 40-gram (1 1/2-ounce) knob of fresh ginger, scrubbed but unpeeled, sliced thinly
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) white vinegar (I used a tarragon-infused white wine vinegar, but cider vinegar would work as well)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and, using the vegetable peeler, cut them into thin ribbons. Place the ribbons in a heatproof bowl, and set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl.
- Combine the ginger, vinegar, salt, sugar, and 240 ml (1 cup) water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture boils, stir with a wooden spoon to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved, and remove from the heat.
- Pour the ginger brine through the sieve and into the bowl of carrots. Make sure the carrots are completely immersed, cover with a plate, and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a clean jar, close tightly with the lid and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Note that the not-entirely-pleasant odor of hot vinegar will linger in your kitchen for a few hours afterward, so if you have guests coming over I suggest you make it the day before.
- Adapted from Pierre Lamielle's Kitchen Scraps.
https://cnz.to/recipes/vegetables-grains/carrot-and-ginger-quickie-pickle-recipe/
Unless otherwise noted, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.
FAQs
Traditional pickle making includes canning, which uses high temperatures to sterilize and create an airtight seal that further preserves the contents from spoilage. Quick pickling uses the same basic ingredients as traditional pickling but you skip the canning process and store them in your refrigerator.
Do you have to peel carrots before pickling? ›
The first step in making pickling carrots is to wash and peel them. In theory, you could pickle your carrots without peeling them. But unless the carrots are young and small, the skins can taste bitter, so I recommend peeling all but the smallest before pickling.
How do chefs quickly pickle vegetables? ›
Place the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar (if using) in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour the brine over the vegetables, filling each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top. You might not use all the brine.
How long do quick pickled veggies last? ›
Once cool, store in the fridge. The quick pickles can be enjoyed right away, although they'll taste much better after 24 hours and even better after a week. Quick pickles will keep for about 3 months in a sealed jar in the fridge.
Which vinegar is better for pickling? ›
Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.
How long do homemade quick pickles last? ›
Quick pickles last for 2-3 weeks when stored properly in the refrigerator. Take note: This is not a canning recipe. This is a simple refrigerator pickle. These pickles stay crisp and are meant to be stored and served chilled.
Why do you soak carrots in water? ›
Once the greens are trimmed off, all you have to do to keep the carrots crisp and fresh is put them in a container of water and store in the refrigerator! Whole carrots stay nice and crunchy in their cold water bath, and this is also a great way to store packaged baby carrots.
Do you have to boil vinegar for pickling? ›
No, there are other methods for pickling, including quick pickling and refrigerator pickling. But this pickling method does call for boiling the brine. This process helps bloom the flavors of the ingredients and help speed up the pickling process when it's added to the fresh vegetables or fruit.
Why do you blanch carrots before pickling? ›
Blanching is the process of partially cooking vegetables in boiling water until they are slightly tender but still hold their crunch, then quickly submerging them in ice water to inhibit further cooking. This process helps to maintain the carrots' vibrant colour throughout pickling.
How do you keep quick pickles crispy? ›
Use Calcium Chloride
Sea salt is sodium chloride. In this case, we're talking about calcium chloride! These little granules, which dilute quickly in water, are THE trick to crunchy pickles, as they prevent the enzymes from softening the pickle during lacto-fermentation.
Beyond the classic cucumbers, other fruits and vegetables that work well for pickles include asparagus, beets, bell peppers, blueberries, cauliflower, carrots, cherries, fennel, ginger, grapes, green beans, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, peaches, peppers, radishes, ramps, rhubarb, strawberries, squash, tomatoes, turnips, ...
Are quick pickled vegetables good for you? ›
While quick pickles do have some of the blood sugar and healthy gut benefits of regular pickles, they don't undergo the full fermentation process to form lactic acid, and so they have fewer of the probiotics.
Is it OK to eat pickled vegetables every day? ›
While pickles should be consumed in moderation due to their high sodium content, they may have some health benefits: Probiotic effects: Naturally fermented pickles and their juice contain good bacteria, which when ingested in moderation can help with digestion and immune health.
What is the salt ratio for quick pickling? ›
The classic ratio is super easy to remember and is easily scale-able depending on how many pickles you're making. It's 100% vinegar, 50% water, 25% sugar and 12.5% kosher salt by weight. So for example, 200g vinegar, 100g water, 50g sugar and 25g kosher salt (again, you can scale this up or down!).
Should quick pickles be refrigerated? ›
Refrigerator pickles, or quick pickles. These guys aren't shelf-stable (meaning that they need to stay chilled in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature), and they won't last as long as canned pickles, but then again they don't need to because they are so delicious, crisp, and versatile.
What does quick pickling do? ›
Quick pickles only require a few days in the brine before they can be enjoyed. If you are impatient (or your 2-year old is) you can even try them the next day! Quick pickles also tend to stay crispier than canned pickles because they're not heated as long.
What are the benefits of quick pickling? ›
The brine imparts a tangy flavor and helps to preserve the food. And compared with store-bought pickled veggies, homemade quick pickles can be lower in sodium and sugar.
What are the 2 methods of pickling? ›
Pickling Science
The pickling process is carried out in one of two ways. One method is through anaerobic fermentation in a brine that creates lactic acid. The other method is marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar (acetic acid).
What are the 4 types of pickling? ›
The many varieties of pickled and fermented foods are classified by ingredients and method of preparation. The four general classes are: brined or fermented, fresh-pack or quick-process, fruit and relishes. Caution: The level of acidity in a pickled product is as important to its safety as it is to taste and texture.
