Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (2024)

FAQs

What can I use if I don't have pickling spices? ›

I recommend using mustard seeds, black peppercorns, or red pepper flakes, and at least one of the sweet spices (allspice, cinnamon, or cloves), and then as many of the other spices as you like.

For quick pickles, a basic brine is equal parts vinegar and water, but you can adjust the ratio to your preference. Any basic vinegar is game — white vinegar, apple cider, white wine, and rice vinegar all work well. You can use these vinegars alone or in combination.

The actual process of pickling takes as little as 10 minutes. Then you should allow your pickles to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. Although for best flavor, let them brine for 24 hours before serving.

Pickling spice has no impact whatsoever upon the safety or quality of the food product you are using it in; it is purely a taste element. Often, you use it only during the preparation phase to flavour the pickling liquid and discard it before you begin the canning process.

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.

Two components of the pickling process, acid and salt, are key participants in the preservation of perishable products. Acid, which may be added directly or produced through microbial conversion of indigenous sugars to acids, will lower the pH of the product and inhibit spoilage microorganisms.

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.

Storage: To make pickles, you'll use about one tablespoon of pickling spice per quart.

There are three general methods for vinegar-brine pickling: quick-pickling, salt-brine pickling and the vinegar-brine soak and rinse method. Within those methods, there exist many variations, recipes and approaches to make things like relishes and chutneys.

Can I use lemon juice instead of vinegar for pickling? ›

Pickling involves steeping foods in an acidic liquid, usually vinegar. This gives the pickled foods a distinctive flavor and helps to preserve them. If you don't like the flavor of vinegar or simply have an abundance of lemons, you can use lemon juice instead of vinegar for your pickling projects.

Quick pickles are made by adding hot brine to fresh veggies and letting them sit in the fridge. You can eat them almost immediately for a crunchy, lightly flavored snack, but they're best if you give them at least 24 hours. For true pickle flavor, wait a week.

Start with the base.

For our base Epi pickle brine, we wanted a solution that could be used with virtually any vegetable to create a simple but satisfying snack. This liquid uses a ratio that's easy to remember: Add equal parts water and vinegar, one-quarter part sugar by volume, and one-sixteenth part kosher salt.

The technique—a version of vinegar pickling that doesn't require a full canning process—produces briny, crunchy pickled vegetables in just a couple hours. Heat the brine until sugar and salt dissolve, then pour it over the vegetables and let them cool in the jar—voila, pickles.

Pickling spice ingredients (usually whole or in coarse pieces) can include allspice, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mustard seeds, and peppercorns. Pre-packaged pickling spice mixes are sold in most supermarkets.

Some were typical of what we think of in modern pickling (dill, garlic, mustard, turmeric, and celery seeds), while other were quite unexpected: ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, mace, horseradish, allspice, and bay leaves.

Apple cider vinegar made from fermented apple juice is a good choice for many pickles. It has a mellow, fruity flavor that blends well with spices. But it will darken most vegetables and fruits. Cider vinegar may be substituted for white vinegar of the same acidity.

Ingredients : Cinnamon, Allspice, Mustard Seed, Coriander, Bay Leaves, Ginger, Clove, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Mace, and Sulfiting Agent.