Brine for pickling
I still use the old fashioned way of pickling which our forefathers used. It is simple and easy. It works. If you are serious about making your pickles you should visit Sandor Katz's website '"wild fermentation" or read his book - Wild Fermentation. There is a lot of information about pickling and fermentation there.I regularly do lacto-fermentation for my regular intake of probiotics. This article is not about lacto-fermentation. It is well covered in my post – Probiotics.
But occasionally, I make vinegar fermented pickles that make the food more enjoyable. They last longer. They can also be consumed as a snack.
The heart of the pickling process is in the brine. Brine is a mixture of water and sea salt. If you add one table spoon of sea salt to 4 cups of water (1 quart) you will get 1.8% brine solution. If you use 2 table spoons of salt to 4 cups of water you will get a 3.6% brine solution. Three table spoon of salt to 4 cups of water will give you 5.4% brine solution. Some recipes call for a 10% brine solution. The amount of salt in the brine is enough to float a fresh egg. The resulting pickle will be very salty. But this solution will keep the pickle for a long time. You should wash the pickle in cold water to get rid of the excess salt. Even after washing there will be enough salt in the vegetable to make it tasty.
I use 1 teaspoon of salt to every cup of water. I use this ratio for my probiotics also. This is about 2.4% solution. A 3.6% solution will be suitable for many vegetables. The pickles will also have a longer shelf life. A 2.4% solution is weak and the pickles will become soft sometimes. I use less salt because of my heart condition. With low salt the shelf life of the pickle will also be shorter. Tougher vegetable will require more salt. Every time you make a brine solution taste it, soon you will be able to tell the right amount of salt.
I use 2 tablespoons of vinegar for every cup of water. Some recipes call 1:1 ratio of vinegar. And some require half the amount of vinegar. I think this is too much vinegar. High concentration of vinegar will give longer life to the pickles.
To make the brine solution: add the salt, vinegar and bottled water and bring to a boil. Fill the bottle with vegetable leaving only about an inch empty space at the top. Compact the vegetables. Pour the solution to cover all the vegetables. The vegetables should be fully submerged in the solution.
I normally bring the solution to the boil and then reduce the heat and blanch the vegetables in the solution for about 3 minutes. Drain the solution and set aside. Compact the vegetables in the bottle pour the solution when cool. If you add the hot solution the vegetables will continue to cook and will become mushy. Blanching of the vegetables will make them softer and less crunchy. The boiling kills some bacteria in the vegetables.
You can add spices to the brine. Pickling spices can be bought from the stores. You can use garlic, ginger, dill, coriander seeds or garam masala. I normally do not use any spices. I like the natural taste of the vegetables. The pickle will have to be kept for a week or two for the spices to permeate the vegetables. Then you run into the risk of spoilage. I do not keep the pickles for long.
Recipe summary
for
Onion pickle
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Ingredients
250 grams shallots
3 cups of bottled water
3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of vinegar
Preparation
1. Peel 250 grams shallots, wash and dry.
2. Pack the shallots into an air-tight bottle leaving one inch space at the top of the bottle.
3. Make the brine solution by adding 3 cups of bottled water, 3 teaspoon salt,6 tablespoons of vinegar and bring to boil and cool (see introduction)
4. Fill the bottle with shallots.
5. Cover with an air-tight lid.
6. Keep in a dark warm place for 2 days.
7. After that move the pickle jar into the refrigerator.
This pickle will stay in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
2) Onion and chili pickle
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Peel 100 grams shallots and dry.
Remove the stem of 50 grams green chili wash and dry.
You can use red chili too.but it is hotter than green chili.
Brine as in the previous onion pickle recipe
Preparation and method is based on the previous article.
3) Mango pickle
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Peel 150 grams mango
Slice the mangoes into bite size pieces.
You can peel the mango and discard the peels
or slice the mangoes with the peels.
The cooking mango will be slightly sour.
If the mango is sour you reduce the amount of vinegar used.
Preparation and method is based on the previous article.
4) Mango Dip
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Wash and slice 150 grams unripe mangoes.Use only raw, green, cooking mangoes and not the mangoes for consumption as fruit.
Wash and cut 15 grams chilies roughly.
In a medium saucepan add 1 cup bottled water,
1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoon white vinegar.
Bring to the boil. Stir well to dissolve the salt. Taste it.
The salt and sour should be balanced.
If one is strong, add some more of the other.
When the water comes to the boil add the mango slices and chilies.
Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain the brine water and let it cool.
When the mango and the brine are cool add them to a blender. Puree the mixture fine. If you need more water for the blender to operate properly add bottle water. After blending pour the mix into a clean jar. Cover the jar with an air-tight lid. Leave the jar at room temperature for 24 hours. After that move the jar to the refrigerator. Wait for 3 days for the dip to mature. The dip will keep up to a month in the fridge.
5) Fiery Chili pickle
This is truly a fiery stuff. We call it dynamite. One word of caution! Chili is addictive. Don’t tell me later that I never warned you.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
In a medium sized sauce pan add 2 cup bottled water, 4 tablespoon of vinegar
of your choice and 2 teaspoon of salt.
Stir continuously until all the salt is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add 20 red chilies roughly chopped and 2 large onions roughly chopped. Boil for 3 minutes. Switch off the heat. Let it cool. Put in a bottle with and air-tight cap. Let it sit on your counter top for 24 hours. Move it into you fridge. Leave it for 4 days for the pickle to mature and become slightly milder.
This goes well with all forms of fried noodle, rice, tortilla, chapatti, naan and many other starchy dishes.
Recipe follows in detail with pictures.for
Onion pickle
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
 |
| Onion pickle |
Ingredients
250 grams shallots
3 cups of bottled water
3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of vinegar
Preparation
1. Peel 250 grams shallots, wash and dry.
2. Pack the shallots into an air-tight bottle leaving one inch space at the top of the bottle.
3. Make the brine solution by adding 3 cups of bottled water, 3 teaspoon salt,6 tablespoons of vinegar and bring to boil and cool (see introduction)
4. Fill the bottle with shallots.
5. Cover with an air-tight lid.
6. Keep in a dark warm place for 2 days.
7. After that move the pickle jar into the refrigerator.
This pickle will stay in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
 |
| Onion and chili pickle |
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Peel 100 grams shallots and dry.
Remove the stem of 50 grams green chili wash and dry.
You can use red chili too.but it is hotter than green chili.
Brine as in the previous onion pickle recipe
Preparation and method is based on the previous article.
 |
| Mango pickle |
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Peel 150 grams mango
Slice the mangoes into bite size pieces.
You can peel the mango and discard the peels
or slice the mangoes with the peels.
The cooking mango will be slightly sour.
If the mango is sour you reduce the amount of vinegar used.
Preparation and method is based on the previous article.
4) Mango Dip
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Wash and slice 150 grams unripe mangoes.Use only raw, green, cooking mangoes and not the mangoes for consumption as fruit.
 |
| Mango Dip |
In a medium saucepan add 1 cup bottled water,
1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoon white vinegar.
Bring to the boil. Stir well to dissolve the salt. Taste it.
The salt and sour should be balanced.
If one is strong, add some more of the other.
When the water comes to the boil add the mango slices and chilies.
Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain the brine water and let it cool.
5) Fiery Chili pickle
This is truly a fiery stuff. We call it dynamite. One word of caution! Chili is addictive. Don’t tell me later that I never warned you.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
 |
| Fiery chili pickle |
In a medium sized sauce pan add 2 cup bottled water, 4 tablespoon of vinegar
of your choice and 2 teaspoon of salt.
This goes well with all forms of fried noodle, rice, tortilla, chapatti, naan and many other starchy dishes.
1) Onion pickle
This is type of old fashioned vinegar pickles.Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
|
| Onion pickle |
250 grams shallots
3 cups of bottled water
3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of vinegar
Preparation
Peel the
onions, wash and dry. Pack the onions into an air-tight bottle leaving one inch
space at the top of the bottle.
Make the
brine solution as shown above. Fill the bottles with vegetables and brine
solution.
Cover with
an air-tight lid.
Keep in a
dark warm place for 2 days.
After that
move the pickle jar into the refrigerator.
Use as and
when required.
This pickle will stay in the fridge for up to 4
weeks.2 ) Onion and chili pickle
|
| Onion and chili pickle |
Ingredients
100 grams shallots
50 grams
green chili
We can use green or red chili to make this pickle. Red chili will be more tastier. It will also be hotter than the green chili. So I decided to go ahead with the green chili. Some heat will be transferred from the chili to the onions, The onions then will also become slightly hotter.
Brine as in
the previous onion pickle recipe
Preparation
and method is based on the previous article
3 )Mango pickle
Preparation time: 20 minutes
 |
| Mango sliced for pickling |
Ingredients
150 grams
mangoes
Preparation
Slice the
mangoes into bite size pieces. You can peel the mango and discard the peels or
slice the mangoes with the peels.The peel will be crunchy. Flesh will become soft after a couple of days. The mango used is a variety that is for cooking. We do not use the mango variety that is meant for fruits.
green mango
The cooking mango will be slightly sour. The more sour the better. If the mango is sour you reduce the amount of vinegar used.
The cooking mango will be slightly sour. The more sour the better. If the mango is sour you reduce the amount of vinegar used.
|
| Mango pickle |
I use the same brine and the cooking method as shown for other pickles above.
4) Mango Dip
|
| Mango Dip |
Mango dip is a versatile accompaniment to breads like chapatti, naan, tortilla, rice. It can be used as a sauce also.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Ingredients
150 grams green unripe mango sliced
15 grams of chili (red or green – 6 pieces)
1 cup bottled water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon white vinegar
 |
| Mango |
Preparation
Use only raw, green, cooking mangoes and not the mangoes for consumption as fruit. Wash and slice the mangoes. Wash and cut the chilies roughly.
Method
In a medium saucepan add water, salt and vinegar. Bring to the boil. Stir well to dissolve the salt. Taste it. The salt and sour should be balanced. If one is strong, add some more of the other. When the water comes to the boil add the mango slices and chilies. Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain the brine water and let it cool.
 |
| Mango slices and chili |
When the mango and the brine are cool add them to a blender. Puree the mixture fine. If you need more water for the blender to operate properly add bottle water. After blending pour the mix into a clean jar. Cover the jar with an air-tight lid. Leave the jar at room temperature for 24 hours. After that move the jar to the refrigerator. Wait for 3 days for the dip to mature. You can use it after that. The dip will keep up to a month in the fridge.
5) Fiery Chili pickle
|
| Fiery chili pickle |
This is truly a fiery stuff. We call it dynamite. If you are fain hearted it is not for you. If you have ever tried any chili sauce or cut chili sauce in any Thai, Korean or Chinese restaurant then you can handle this. The broken chili and the exposed chili seeds give the extra bite to this pickle. Don’t try to make it milder, because there are numerous recipes which are milder and with the addition of sugar or palm (brown) sugar. This meant for those select few who enjoy chili and who dare to defend their country.
This chili will fight your inflammation, help you lose weight, help your digestive system, assist you in fighting pain, improve your bowel movements and so on. Please read my post on chili.
Normally in restaurants in the east they tend to serve chilled and sweetened lime juice with a hot meal. Don’t take that when you have bitten a piece of chili that was too hot for you. Instead take a sip of warm to hot water or tea without milk. This will produce opposite sensation but will soon adjust to what is in hand and you will want more of it. One word of caution! Chili is addictive. Don’t tell me later that I never warned you.
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Ingredients
20 red chilies roughly chopped
2 large onions roughly chopped
4 tablespoon of vinegar
2 cup bottled water
2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoon of vinegar of your choice
Method
In a medium sized sauce pan add water, salt and vinegar. Stir continuously until all the salt is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add chili and onion. Boil for 3 minutes. Switch off the heat. Let it cool. Put in a bottle with and air-tight cap. Let it sit on your counter top for 24 hours. Move it into you fridge. Leave it for 4 days for the pickle to mature and become slightly milder.
This goes well with all forms of fried noodle, rice, tortilla, chapatti, naan and many other starchy dishes.
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