Pickled Cukes and Zukes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Yield: About 2 quarts
John Willoughby's Easy Cucumber PicklesBe sure you remove the blossom ends of the cucumbers. This is necessary not because that section wouldn't taste good, but because it will sometimes soften a pickle; only a very thin slice need be removed. For a quick pickle that's closer to the familiar bread and butter pickles, add one large onion, peeled and sliced into rounds, to the cucumbers from the beginning of the process.
Sweet and Hot Curried Zucchini PicklesSummer squash is also excellent in this recipe, although the coloring of the final product is not quite as distinctive. If you're one of those ambitious gardeners who plants both types of squash, try using both in this pickle at the same time.
Ingredients
John Willoughby's Easy Cucumber Pickles- 3 pounds pickling cucumbers, under 5 inches long
- 3 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and slightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
- 3 cups cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 pounds zucchini, ends trimmed, cut into very thin rounds, about 1/8-inch thick
- 2 red onions about the size of baseballs, peeled and cut into thin slices
- 3 to 4 colorful chile peppers of your choice, cut into thin rounds
- 1/4 cup kosher or other coarse salt
- 1 cup seedless golden raisins (optional)
- 2 3/4 cups distilled white vinegar
- 3/4 cup sherry
- 1 1/2 cups orange juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons prepared curry powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1 piece of ginger the size of your thumb, peeled and sliced into very thin coins
Similar Recipes
Latest Recipes
Instructions
John Willoughby's Easy Cucumber Pickles- 1. Trim and discard the blossom end of the cucumbers, then peel the cucumbers and cut them into rounds about 1/4-inch thick. In a nonreactive bowl, toss them with the salt, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 or up to 24 hours (I like them after 12). Drain well, rinse, and drain again. Repeat the rinsing and draining process, then set the cucumbers aside.
- 2. In a nonreactive pot, combine all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring once or twice to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low, simmer for 3 minutes, then pour the liquid over the cucumbers. The cucumbers should be amply covered or slightly afloat.
- 3. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. These pickles have good flavor as soon as they are cooled, but the flavor will deepen if you let them sit for 24 hours. They will keep, covered and refrigerated, for a month or more.
- 1. In a large nonreactive bowl, combine the zucchini, onions, chilies, and salt, and let them stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse twice to remove the salt, then add the grapes and set aside.
- 2. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, bring all the remaining ingredients except the ginger to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring once or twice to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot liquid over the squash mixture; the squash should be amply covered or slightly afloat. Add the ginger to the squash mixture, allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.
- 3. These pickles develop great flavor within a couple hour of refrigeration and will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 weeks.
About The Show
In 1994, acclaimed food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper was receiving accolades for her debut book, The Splendid Table, which at that time was the only book to have won both the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook of the Year awards. Among the many people enchanted by the book was producer and foodie Sally Swift, who thought the time could be right for a radio program on food.
