Is your Strawberry Cordial loving its new home in your pantry yet? Are you ready to add jars of pickles to your holiday stock? I’m sharing my recipe for Minty Pickles from my book, Food Gift Love, that combines the best of summer’s fresh herbs and cucumbers. What better way to prepare for the holidays than with bright red strawberry cordials and rich green pickle jars? Just wait until you see what we do next week.
And don’t forget to enter the Save Summer Giveaway for a chance to win a Simple Peace French Market Tote filled with a 3-pound box of Frog Hollow farm-fresh fruit, a signed copy of Food Gift Love, a Le Parfait Jar, and several other goodies.
How to enter: To enter this week’s giveaway, comment on our Minty Pickles Instagram photo with an answer to the question: What is your favorite summer produce to pickle? For an extra entry, tag a friend in the comments, and for an extra, extra entry, Instagram a photo of your favorite pickled produce and use the hashtag #EBsavesummer. You can also leave your answer in the comment below, if you prefer.
We’ll randomly pick ONE winner on Monday, August 22, 2016. If your name is picked, we’ll notify you between August 23-26 and ship to you directly shortly thereafter. Please reply within 48 hours, or we’ll need to choose another winner. (Don’t forget the fine print: We can only ship to continental U.S. addresses.) Or, you can also leave comment below of what fruit you love, if you prefer.
Did you miss the Strawberry Cordial recipe? Don’t worry. You can find it and other details on the giveaway (including the latest winner) over on the Save Summer Giveaway page!
Minty Pickles
Makes: 2 pint jars
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 (about 1 pound) pickling cucumbers, washed
- 2 to 4 sprigs mint, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon white, pink, or black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1 scant tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- 2 pint jars with airtight lids, sterilized
- Wide-mouth funnel
Directions:
- Slice the cucumbers into 1/8-inch slices (up to 1/4 is fine too) and divide them evenly between your jars. Nestle 2 sprigs of mint into each jar, or nestle only 1 sprig if you’re leery of too much mint intensity. One sprig is refreshing, and 2 sprigs is very minty (in a good way).
- In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine the white wine vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil and, once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat.
- Place a funnel on each cucumber jar and ladle enough liquid into each jar to leave 1⁄4 inch of headspace—be careful, it’s hot. Tap the jar a few times to loosen any air bubbles. Top off with any extra liquid. If you have a little leftover liquid, pickle some veggies hanging out on your counter (Swiss chard stems, perhaps?) or discard.
- Seal the jars and place in the fridge to marinate at least 3 days, then they’re ready to eat. These pickles keep in the fridge up to 3 months or longer.
- Alternatively, you can process these immediately after sealing in a water-bath canner 10 full minutes and store up to 1 year in your pantry.
Materials
- Glass jar with airtight lid
- Rubber band
- Paper
- Pickle fork (optional)
Directions
- Add your pickles to a clean jar. Wipe the rim and seal. Slip a rubber band around the jar. Write a label on a paper rectangle, and slide it between the rubber band and the jar. Add a pickle fork (if using).
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