broccoli stem pickles
Sep. 8th, 2015 02:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljgeoffAs I've mentioned, I have a ton of broccoli plants with great big stems that honestly didn't produce much broccoli florets this year. So, I'm on to pickles. This week I'm going to pull all the plants and make pickles from the stems.
I'm going to do two different kinds of pickles; fermented dills and processed bread and butter. I've cobbled together some recipes that I think will work. Note that broccoli stems have the same vitamin content as the florets, and that the fermenting process doesn't destroy the vitamins and may actually enhance them.
Fermented Broccoli Stem Dill Spears
I have a 1-gallon crock for fermenting that I got at a garage sale. Any jar would do, though.
Ingredients:
> broccoli spears -- wash stems and cut to fit the height of the crock, minus a couple of inches. Peel the stems -- the woody outer layer is too tough. Pack stems tightly upright.
In and around the gallon of broccoli stems, pack in:
> 4-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
> 4 tablespoons of pickling spice, 4-8 bay leaves, and a handful of fresh dill (should have the seed heads in bloom, but the seeds not yet dropping.)
> brine; for every quart of water, add 1 ounce of salt (by weight.) A *lot* of recipes call for sea salt or kosher salt. I don't know if the kind of salt makes any difference -- YMMV. I've got some sea salt that I'll use. Warm the water and stir in the salt until dissolved.
Pour enough brine over the spears until the spears are completely submerged. Put a weight on top to keep everything under the brine -- I have a small plate that will do, and I'll probably put something on the plate for added weight.
Place crock in a dry, dark corner let ferment for two weeks. Check every couple of days to make sure that everything is covered by brine, and add more water if needed. After two weeks, give it a taste. You may want to add more garlic or spices. If they taste good, go ahead and put the whole crock in the back of the fridge and enjoy as you will. Most recipes say not to ferment longer than 4 weeks. You can process the pickles but that will kill the probiotics, again YMMV, but they should last in the 'fridge for 6 mos.
Bread and Butter Broccoli Chunks
This should make 4 pints
> 8 cups of broccoli stems; cut into spears, peel and then slice into coin/chunks.
> 1-2 onions, sliced
> 1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
> 2 tablespoons of course salt
> 1 1/4 cups white table sugar
> 3/4 cup vinegar
> 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
> 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
> 4-6 whole cloves
> 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon tumeric
-- In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, garlic and salt. Allow to stand approximately 3 hours.
-- In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil.
-- Drain liquid from the cucumber mixture. Stir the mixture into the boiling vinegar mixture. Remove from heat shortly before the combined mixtures return to boil.
-- Seal in sterilized jars, 10 minutes in a hot water bath.
Easy way to sterilize jars: Wash them well in hot soapy water. Dry them off. Put on a cookie sheet, right side up, at 225°F for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave them in there until you need them.
I'm going to do two different kinds of pickles; fermented dills and processed bread and butter. I've cobbled together some recipes that I think will work. Note that broccoli stems have the same vitamin content as the florets, and that the fermenting process doesn't destroy the vitamins and may actually enhance them.
Fermented Broccoli Stem Dill Spears
I have a 1-gallon crock for fermenting that I got at a garage sale. Any jar would do, though.
Ingredients:
> broccoli spears -- wash stems and cut to fit the height of the crock, minus a couple of inches. Peel the stems -- the woody outer layer is too tough. Pack stems tightly upright.
In and around the gallon of broccoli stems, pack in:
> 4-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
> 4 tablespoons of pickling spice, 4-8 bay leaves, and a handful of fresh dill (should have the seed heads in bloom, but the seeds not yet dropping.)
> brine; for every quart of water, add 1 ounce of salt (by weight.) A *lot* of recipes call for sea salt or kosher salt. I don't know if the kind of salt makes any difference -- YMMV. I've got some sea salt that I'll use. Warm the water and stir in the salt until dissolved.
Pour enough brine over the spears until the spears are completely submerged. Put a weight on top to keep everything under the brine -- I have a small plate that will do, and I'll probably put something on the plate for added weight.
Place crock in a dry, dark corner let ferment for two weeks. Check every couple of days to make sure that everything is covered by brine, and add more water if needed. After two weeks, give it a taste. You may want to add more garlic or spices. If they taste good, go ahead and put the whole crock in the back of the fridge and enjoy as you will. Most recipes say not to ferment longer than 4 weeks. You can process the pickles but that will kill the probiotics, again YMMV, but they should last in the 'fridge for 6 mos.
Bread and Butter Broccoli Chunks
This should make 4 pints
> 8 cups of broccoli stems; cut into spears, peel and then slice into coin/chunks.
> 1-2 onions, sliced
> 1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
> 2 tablespoons of course salt
> 1 1/4 cups white table sugar
> 3/4 cup vinegar
> 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
> 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
> 4-6 whole cloves
> 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon tumeric
-- In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, garlic and salt. Allow to stand approximately 3 hours.
-- In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil.
-- Drain liquid from the cucumber mixture. Stir the mixture into the boiling vinegar mixture. Remove from heat shortly before the combined mixtures return to boil.
-- Seal in sterilized jars, 10 minutes in a hot water bath.
Easy way to sterilize jars: Wash them well in hot soapy water. Dry them off. Put on a cookie sheet, right side up, at 225°F for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave them in there until you need them.