Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz 

This week I want to talk about pickling,  

Pickling is different to preserving as you are adding a sweet and sour element. 

With the gardens producing a huge amount of produce at the moment, there’s no better time than now to set aside some time to pickle some vegetables. 

Even if you don't have a vegetable garden, your local vegetable shop is bound to have some bargains. 

Pickling gods have arrived in the Van de Elzen house 

Tired of those carrot sticks? Pickle those suckers and they will have a worthy place on any platter. 

I’m keen to get people pickling everything, that way you will have a pantry full of pickles. 

So here Mike’s basic pickling brine that’s going to be your base 

Makes 1.25 litres 

700 ml water 

500 ml cider vinegar 

1 cup white sugar 

1/2 Tbsp seasalt 

5 cloves garlic 

4 bay leaves 

1 Tbspn each peppercorn, coriander seeds, fennel seed, mustard seed 

Roast the seeds and combine with the other ingredients 

Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to the boil, stirring until the salt and sugar have dissolved 

Prepare vegetables and drop into either a cold or hot pickle 

Use a cold pickle for things like 

- Shredded cabbage for a pickled slaw for your pork sliders 

- Hard boil eggs, peel and marinate for 2 weeks 

- Great one for this time of the year, sliced tomatoes, baby yellow, roma and beefy reds. Pop them into the pickle and store for weeks in the fridge 

- Cucumbers, cut into wedges. Stuff into jars and pour the pickle over the top 

- Pretty much any vegetable that you want a raw crunch 

Hot Pickle. Boil the pickle and pour it hot over things like 

- Carrots, mushrooms, kumara, beetroot and Pumpkin 

Another couple pickle recipe’s 

Base recipe with 5 Tbspn soya sauce for a dark pickle 

- Mushrooms and baby onions 

Base recipe a good glug of gin and 10 juniper berries 

- Cucumbers, perfect for when the adults arrive 

- Summer cherries, sweet and sour at their best