Pickling Information

Vinegar is used with both vegetables and fruits to make a variety of pickles. The English word vinegar comes from the French vin aigre, which means “sour wine.”

Wine vinegar has the best flavor, but less expensive cider, malt, or distilled vinegars can also be used as long as it has at least 5 per cent acid. The vinegar’s label should note the acid content.

The acid in vinegar reacts to metal tools and equipment; nonreactive materials must be used to avoid discolored food and off-putting flavors. Ceramic and stainless steel are both nonreactive. Avoid aluminum, copper, iron and steel, not stainless steel.

Do not adjust the amount of vinegar or alcohol called for in a recipe. It is part of the preservation process. Also, to prevent the loss of the preserving liquid due to evaporation, the food should remain tightly covered and refrigerated until it is processed. Water bath processing is the usual method used to preserve pickled foods.

Foodstuffs preserved as “pickled” include two-stage vegetable pickles, ketchups, relishes, chutneys, preserves, and mincemeats. See the recipe section for complete instructions, however, the chart below gives the required processing time for water bath canning of these items.

Please note that mincemeats require pressure canning, as they contain meat products. Hot-pack into pint jars only, and process for 20 minutes.