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pickled spring greens ...

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pickled spring greens ...

Postby KeenCook2 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:33 pm

Hello
Yesterday we were clearing the fridge before the Asda delivery arrived and had a couple of bunches of spring greens left over from last week.

We decided to "pickle" them, roughly combining a couple of recipes.

They are delicious (... if somewhat windy .... :oops: )

My question is, should we keep them in the fridge? There's about half a medium sized kilner jar. I daresay it'll last a couple of weeks if we don't have cheese sarnies with them every day!

Thanks :thumbsup
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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Jun 10, 2021 5:06 pm

You don't say how you pickled them - vinegar, salt, heat?

I'd be inclined to refrigerate, especially as you combined recipes which may have introduced approximations

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby KeenCook2 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:09 pm

Ah, vinegar and heat.

I heated the vinegar mixture - different flavour vinegars, peppercorns, kalonji seeds, fennel seeds, salt, sugar (didn't have juniper berries as I threw them out recently - they were about 20 years old!) then cooked the greens in it for about 5-10 mins as I wanted them to get tender

Yes, I think we probably did introduce some approximations :oops:

This is the Nigel Slater mixed veg pickle recipe from Sunday's Observer:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/j ... sandwiches

and this was the other one I found, actually for greens:
https://www.food.com/recipe/pickled-greens-76899

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:32 pm

Both recipes say to refrigerate the jars after filling, neither mention removing from refrigeration later, I'd be very inclined to leave them there myself

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby KeenCook2 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:49 pm

:thumbsup :thumbsup

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:22 am

If you haven´t filled the jars to the top with hot pickling liquid, then there´s a very good chance some mould might eventually develop. So leave them in the fridge.

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby ZeroCook » Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:21 pm

.
Pickled greens are great.

I do a lot of pickling - these days more salt brine pickling via fermentation than vinegar because I prefer the flavour. Like jams, which is preserving using sugar, vinegar pickles if done with
low vinegar dilutions will almost never go off, which is the whole point of the exercise. Same is true of salting - packing with salt with little or no added water. On the whole, tho, I always fridge pickles. I have year old kimchi and pickled greens in the fridge and they're perfectly fine due the method used.

Mould will occur if the acidity is too low. Mould can also occur in the fridge btw. But it's also not just about mould, it's about whether unwanted bacteria present in the decay process can grow in the prepared vegetables. Vegetables can become toxic without becoming mouldy. Speaking from experience, here too.

The first recipe isn't a true pickle at all but more like an escabeche and so definitely to be fridged and eaten very soon and Nigel Slater says his are fridge pickles. I'd go with that. You didn't say what your vinegar/salt/sugar/water and veg measurements were, KC2, or what type of spring greens you used - can't tell from the photo.

For pickled or preserved green veg, unless you're looking for an escabeche type pickle which should be eaten within days or under a week, I'd recommend Asian (e.g. kimchi) or sauerkraut type methods which use raw veg and salting as the first step. But they take longer. Very rewarding tho.

I'm about to salt brine pickle/ferment some red chilis :D

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby jeral » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:27 pm

This Sarson's site gives a variety of pickling methods which they've matched to various vegetables or fruit. In truth it'll take as long to read it as to make 'em, but it does give all the dos don'ts and correct measures for vinegar or brining, plus a section on quick pickles:
https://www.sarsons.co.uk/pickling

I read it a while back and decided that if any doubt about the result being "right",best to treat as fridge pickles and eat in 3-4 days.

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:44 pm

ZC - we should start a pickling business :gonzo
I regularly pickle beetroot, onions, gherkins, chiles, asparagus, vegetables, etc, etc. I use one of two methods: either pickled in vinegar, or pickled in a brine/vinegar mixture.
If it´s a vinegar pickle ( onions, beetroot, gherkins) I simply warm up the vinegar (usually wine vinegar, which has about 6% acidity) with salt, sugar and a mixture of coriander seeds, mustard seeds, bay, black pepper and chile pepper. Once it´s almost boiling, I pour it over the veg ( already in the sterilised jar) and make sure it´s covered. Then I tighten the lid. Then I turn the jar upside down and leave it overnight.
If it´s a brine/vinegar mix, I add 1/4 lt vinegar to 3/4 water, and add around 85-90 gms of salt. Heat up, pour over the veg, same process as before.
It´s important to fill the jar up to 1cm from the top and to completely cover the veg.
IF the pickle goes off ( and very rarely, that happens), the liquid will go cloudy and you´ll see bubbles rising from the bottom of the jar. As I said, very rare. In that case, dump it.

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby Stokey Sue » Sat Jun 12, 2021 1:25 am

Going back to KC2’s original question I think we should bear in mind that she isn’t storing a sealed jar but one that’s open and that she is taking portions from - the repeated opening makes a difference I think

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Re: pickled spring greens ...

Postby KeenCook2 » Sat Jun 12, 2021 1:23 pm

Thank you all, definitely in the fridge :lol:

We would have had some for lunch yesterday but given what it does to our digestive systems we felt we couldn't then go to friends for supper yesterday and be out in polite company ... :oops:

Not sure if that's because we didn't do a very good pickling job or if pickled greens always do that to you ...

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