Juco wrote in message
k...
Not 100% sure but my mother in law used to do a lot of picklimg based
on...
boil to sterilise (once) then add vinegar herbs spices etc to preserve.She
always said the preserve bit was important.
I am sure sombody more knowledgeable will give more info on this.



"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote
gherkin crop is going O.K. so I thought I would look up pickling.

http://www.astray.com/recipes/?search=Pickles has three variants of
the
same
recipe and they all take four days of boiling, draining, boiling,
draining
etc.

Is all pickling like this?

I thought you just boiled them up to sterilise them then shoved them
in
pickling vinegar!


Some say that about pickling shallots, boil the vinegar etc, why? Just
top
and tail, peel and drop into a sterilised jar with spices to taste
topping
up with good quality Malt Vinegar, seal and store in a cool dark place
(under the stairs).
Just finished some from two years ago, still good and crisp.
Actually that's a job for the first bad weather day as the shallots are
dry
now.

--
Regards
Bob
in Runnymede, 17miles west of London, UK







I've only ever pickled onions, but kept it simple:
1. Top and tail, remove skin
2. Steep in brine (salted water) overnight. This sterilises and flavours,
but is not hard work.
3. Pack into jars with spiced vinegar. (I learnt to spice the (unboiled)
vinegar during process 2, then remove the spices before packing. This is
because the pickled veg can become bitter (to my taste) if kept too long in
the spice solution).

Good cooks, like good gardeners, are prepared to experiment a bit. Have a
go .. do your own thing.

Spider