Pickling helps preserve and enjoy summer and harvest vegetables for months. The process is very popular with professional and at-home chefs. Stu Waters the founder of Stu's Kitchen shows us how easy it is for folks at home to pickle their own seasonal vegetables.
Stu's Kitchen is at Dose Market, a new monthly food and fashion bazaar, at the River East Art Center, 435 E. Illinois on Sunday, July 28, 10.a.m.-4p.m. And enter Stu's Sour Face Photo Entry at Stuskitchen.com and Submit your best sour face photo!
You can learn more by visiting stuskitchen.com or following Stu's on Facebook or Twitter at #stuskitchen.
TIPS
It's important to sterilize jars and caps before you begin.
You can find Mason jars at most Target, Container Store, Jewel and Dominick's Food Stores
BIO
Chicagoan Stu Waters (30) is a Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School graduate and owner of the specialty foods company Stu's (www.stuskitchen.com) Heritage Foods. He is also a master at pickling. If you show Stu a vegetable his attitude is "I can pickle that!". On almost a monthly basis he has friends over for Sunday pickling parties where they can bring anything they wish to pickle. Last fall, one pal brought pumpkin, and it tasted great pickled!
RECIPE
Stu's Easy Pickled Beets – One of my Granny's favorites!
Ingredients
3 pounds of golden beets
1 stick of cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cups of vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
A really big pot! You'll use it for ingredients as well as boiling jars
Mason jars – NOTE: before you begin pickling, sterilize jars and caps in boiling water
Process
1. Submerge beets in water and boil for 15 minutes, remove from water and when cool enough to touch, slip the skin off with kitchen towel. Slice however you like.
2. Heat vinegar and other ingredients. When the liquid reaches a boil add the sliced beets and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Pour liquid and beets into sterilized jars and leave 1/2 inch of headspace.
4. Seal jars and heat for 30 minutes.
Stu's Easy Pickled Spring Onions
Ingredients
2 quarts of small peeled onions
3/4 cup pickling salt
1/2 gallon of water
1/2 gallon of vinegar
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
A really big pot! You'll use it for ingredients as well as boiling jars
Mason jars – NOTE: before you begin pickling, sterilize jars and caps in boiling water
Process
1. Bring vinegar, water, salt, sugar and spice to a boil.
2. Add onions to boiling liquid and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Pack onions into sterilized jars and cover with hot liquid leaving 1/2 inch of headroom.
4. Seal jars and heat for 10 minutes.
Stu's Easy Pickled Fennel & Orange
Ingredients
5 fennel bulbs cleaned and sliced lengthwise
3 cups of vinegar
1 cups water
1/3 cup of salt
Tablespoon of fennel seeds
1 hot pepper per jar
Table spoon of orange zest
1 cup orange juice
A really big pot! You'll use it for ingredients as well as boiling jars
Mason jars – NOTE: before you begin pickling, sterilize jars and caps in boiling water
Process
1. Bring water, vinegar, salt, zest, orange juice and fennel seeds to a boil.
2. Layer fennel in sterilized jars and put 1 hot pepper in each jar.
3. Pour hot brine and spices into jars.
4. Seal jars and heat for 15 minutes.
