[Livinhope]

When pickling veg does it need to be cooked/blanched beforehand.  I'm confused about this because I don't cook onions or cabbage before pickling.  I want to use Vals' recipe for the sweet spicy pickling vinegar and I like the veg to be crunchy not soggy.

[mumofstig]

Not according to Val's recipe

http://www.allotment-garden.org/recipe/?s=pickled+red+cabbage

[Livinhope]

Sorry, not quite with you, I don't cook or blanch red cabbage before pickling neither does Vals' recipe.  In a lot of her and other recipe writers they either put veg to be pickled in hot vinegar or as in picallili actually cook the veg in the pickling agent.  I wondered whether, to pickle veg in clear vinegar, it needed to be partly cooked first. or used raw.

[mumofstig]

sorry, I obviously misunderstood the question   

I think the hot vinegar immersion, or cooking in the vinegar is what preserves the heavier vegetables. Some American recipes for vinegar preserves suggest a life, in the fridge, of only a couple of weeks..I wonder if this because the veg has not been heat treated in any way?

[Livinhope]

This is the thing with the, I suppose you would call it blanching, because it stops, or at least slows down the growing/ageing process.  I think it's Vals' recipe for piccallili where she puts the veg into the cooked pickling agent for a few mins.  I seem to remember years ago I made piccalilli and didn't heat or treat the veg and it was awful, and discoloured.  I just want to keep the veg crunchy.  My mother cooked ALL veg to a tasteless splodge and I don't like tipping the goodness down the drain.

I've got cucumbers, beans, courgettes etc., coming on fast and although I do give some to my neighbour, and freeze quite a bit (had to buy another freezer) I like to use the produce in other ways as well and jams and pickles fit the bill perfectly.

[Trillium]

I too hate soggy veg and I overcame this problem by first soaking the required veg in cold water overnight. By morning they were very crisp and would easily take covering with hot vinegar solution and still stay crunchy. In particular, pickles. My own pickles are far more crunchy than store pickles and just as tasty, if moreso. I even seal my jars in hot water bath so they'll stay fine for years if necessary.

[Livinhope]

It's not until you start throwing ideas around that you learn something new and that's a good one.  I'll go with that it sounds right.

[sloegin]

Made aubergine chutney cooked the aubergine first.

Has anyone made lime pickle - Indian style?