Jatz crackers, crumbly aged cheddar, and…??

 

PICKLES!

Seriously, pickles are delicious – if pickled in the right brine. And there in lies the secret… How much sugar, vinegar and water do I add?? Well, I guess the combination of spices is also relatively important, but seriously, if you’re getting that wrong, you should remove yourself to the bedroom to have a long and hard look at yourself in the mirror…

I am personally a bit of a fan of slightly sweet pickled gherkins. Luckily, this summer I have had an abundance of gherkins, so I’ve been able to work on a few variants. I’ve come up with a combination of 2 cup of water to 1 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of sugar. So far it seems to be ok…

Firstly…

1 kg of gherkins, washed, blossom end trimmed, and packed in 1/4 – 1/2 cup salt overnight.

Then…

2 cups of water

1 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp dill seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 cloves of smashed garlic

1 tsp turmeric

Throw all brine components into a pot and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, get your freshly washed jars into the warming oven on 100C. Take the gherkins to the sink and rinse thoroughly to remove excess salt. Once the brine has been simmering for approximately 5 min, pack the gherkins into the warm jars and pour over the hot liquid and cap. Note, if the gherkins are a little oversized, slice them lengthways before packing into the jars.

Leave the gherkins to mature for a week before devouring…