Pre-Pickling Prep

One part science, one part cooking, pickling can be overwhelming - especially because the idea of leaving cans of vegetables at room temperature for six months at a time is completely contrary to everything I have ever been taught about food safety. It is, however, much easier than it seems, and with a little help from your culinary fairy godmothers (Food52 and Serious Eats), you too can taste local cucumbers, beans eggplants, and asparagus in the middle of winter. 

First, make sure you are prepped and ready to go. Serious Eats can help you out there - prep all your equipment (it probably hasn't been used in about a year), make sure you have enough jars, and check up on your stores of vinegar (usually a gallon of cider vinegar, one of red wine vinegar, and one of distilled white will do the trick). 

Next, make sure you have a good recipe. Nothing is worse than opening your jars in January to find that the proportion of vinegar was too low and your precious cukes spoiled. 

If you are looking to jar something slightly different from the standard pickles, check out these Food52 classics - Nut Butter and Rhubarb Chutney. 

Planning for Pickle Season from Serious Eats