Pickled courgettes

[greenstar]

Does anyoone have a recipe fpr pickled/preserved courgettes?  I've had two versions - one preserved in olive oil, the other pickled with spices that included turmeric, but can't find a recipe anywhere.

Thanks.

[greenstar]

[Columbus]

Hi Greenstar,  :)

I`m salting baby cucumbers overnight tonight and tomorrow I`m putting them into malt vinegar with pickling spice added. I guess thats the same.

Some larger ones will be sliced and the smaller ones will be pickled whole.

I`ve looked in recipe books and on the net and it seems that marrows and cucumbers need the salting process before pickling.

Col

[greenstar]

Thanks Columbus, I'll give that a go.

Do I need to cook them at all, and what sort of pickling spices do you use?  I'm new to this pickling malarky.

[greyhound]

I posted this one in the marrow recipes thread;  I guess it could be adapted for courgettes.

Sweet & Sour Pickled Marrow

2 ½  lb marrow
4 onions, sliced
2 green peppers, chopped
2 tsps salt
10 fl oz cider vinegar
1 lb sugar
½ tsp celery seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds

Halve the marrow, remove pulp & pips and slice finely. Put it into a bowl with the onions and peppers, sprinkle with salt, then transfer to a sieve or colander, place a weight on top and let it drain for an hour or so.

Put the sugar and vinegar into a saucepan and stir over a low heat till the sugar has dissolved.  Add the spices and bring to the boil.  Add the veg and bring to the boil again.  Let it cook for 4 minutes until the marrow looks translucent.

Spoon into warmed jars.  Ready to eat next day, good for about 3 months.

[Columbus]

ooooo  :o

When they came out of the salt it was all wet and they were all shrivelled and wrinkly !!! :o

Hi all,  :) I didn`t know that was going to happen.

I just use ready mixed pickling spice from sainsburys but I`m a beginner maybe next year I`ll mix up my own.

I took the baby cucumbers out of the salt and rinsed them off and dried them. I don`t cook the cucumbers. Some were small enough to pickle whole, some were sliced lengthwise and the biggest were sliced into rounds.

I let the vinegar with spices in reach boiling then let it cool, then add a bit of sugar. (Open all your windows when heating vinegar the fumes are terrible, don`t put the lid on the pan or all the water will drip back into the vinegar and dilute it)

I sterilize the jars and lids and let them cool a bit, If you put cold pickle in a hot jar the jar will break.

Put the pickle in the jar and cover with vinegar, Presumbly they will absorb the vinegar and swell up to their old size? If not then next time I won`t salt them, I want them to be crisp not floppy.

Col, I have no idea what I`m doing but I`m happy to try. I might try greyhounds recipe as a comparision

[PurpleHeather]

with pickling the salting removes the liquid from the vegetables, this allows for the vinegar to take the place of that liquid for preserving.

Please note that non brewed condiment, often used instead of vinegar is not the same thing. Do not use it, it is not suitable for pickling. It will spoil the taste.

You can add your own mix of spices to vinegar to make pickling vinegar it depends how hot you want it. You can leave out spices altogether.

The process is to boil the vinegar with your selection of, black/white peppers, a dried chili, mustard seeds, a clove and a bay leaf. Allow it to go cold. Pack the presalted rinsed and dried vegetables into sterilised jars and add the cold vinegar. Top up later, air can be trapped between the layers of vegetables, check for this.

For a milder pickle, onions for example, add sugar and dilute the vinegar with water so that it is not as strong. No more than 50% water though.

Taste your vinegar first, to see if it is about the flavour you want.

Balsamic vinegar on shallots is a nice luxury.

Using hot vinegar will soften the vegetables, because it cooks them.

If you are cooking a pickle recipe and you need to thicken it, mixing in cornflour, remember that cornflour has to be cooked for 5 minutes or it will separate when cold.

Apples and marrow thicken naturally, you can substitute one for the other it will effect the taste of course.

Don't worry too much using the exact quantity of vegetables from a recipe, you can substitute another vegetable of similar quality, for example, carrot for swede. Or french beans where it says runner beans. If the recipe includes dried fruit, you can swap raisins for sultanas Spices can be changed too.

Make a note of any changes you made to the recipe. For future reference.

I hope this helps some one.

[greenstar]

Thanks Purple Heather - you've given me the courage to trust my own intuition!  I shall try a number of ways and see which works best.  I'll get back to you if I find a particularly winning combination.  :)

[carloso]

Heres one i used but i have noooooo eddie results yet due to the fact im waiting until a couple of monthst has passed lol

Courgette Chutney           

 

Vegetarian  Vegetables  Cold  Accompaniment  Pickles Preserve  Preserves  Preserving

 

Ingredients
1.3kg/3lb Courgette  (Zucchini), thickly sliced
3kg/6lb 6oz Onion , thinly sliced
salt
1L/40fl.oz. White Wine Vinegar
250g/9oz White Sugar
2 teasp celery seeds
2 teasp turmeric
5cm/2 inch  Freshly Grated Ginger Root
2 teasp Mustard Powder
1 tbsp Mustard Seeds

 

Instructions

 

1. Place the Courgettes and onions in a large bowl, sprinkle liberally with salt,  cover with water and allow to stand for 1 hour. Drain thoroughly.

 

2. Place the remaining ingredients in a large pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, then add the vegetables to the pan and stir well. Simmer gently for 1 hour.

 

3. Meanwhile prepare the jars (see notes below).

 

4. Bring the mixture back to the boil then spoon into warm jars whilst still hot, cover, seal and label (see notes below).

 



Notes:    see also General preparations

 

Jars - Use jars which are free from cracks, chips or flaws â€" the best sizes to use are 450g/1lb although 1kg/2lb jars can be successfully used for pickling fruit/vegetables.  Prepare the jars by washing well in warm soapy water and rinsing thoroughly. Dry the jars in a cool oven (140C, 275F, Gas Mark 1).  Fill whilst still warm to prevent the jars from cracking when the hot filling is added.

 

Filling and covering the jars â€"  Fill to within 1cm/ ½ inch of the top.  Whilst still hot,  cover with a waxed disc (wax side down) ,  immediately place a cellophane cover over the top then cover with a screw top lid.

 

Storage â€" Store in a cool dark place for 2-3 months before consuming.


 

[Ave]

Here is a brilliant recipe for courgette pickle - I grow courgettes just to pickle them....

PICKLED COURGETTES

3½ cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar (½ may be more to your taste)
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 whole cloves
1 kilo courgettes
6 small onions
2 peppers (1 red 1 green looks nice)

Put vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, mustard seeds, turmeric and cloves in a deep saucepan. Bring to the boil. Cool.

Wash courgettes and cut into slices about ½ cm thick (if large deseed and cut the rings into 4). Slice the onions and separate into rings. Deseed and slice the peppers.

Place the vegetables in a non-metallic bowl and pour the cooled vinegar over. Stand for 1 hour. Turn into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 minutes.

Pack into clean, hot jars and add the liquid to within 1 cm of the top. Cover with non-metallic lids.

Makes 5 x 1lb (350 ml) jars.

Ready to use in 2 weeks.

[Mrs Ava]

I can't imagine pickled courgettes, but after the recent rain, the plants are in full production again, so maybe I will give it a go!

I tend to make River Cottage Chutney with my courgette/marrow glut.